A More Staccato Chord

[Bongo Boy]

Heh, you guys called it Beginner's Corner, so here it is:

I've got a chord that lasts exactly one beat--I'm not actually looking for a staccato style, per se, but I didn't know what else to put in the subject line of this post.

How do I 'stop' my chord so I can pick that next single note? Should I simply not worry about this aspect of transitions right now, because the question really applies to moving between chords in general.

Let's talk about feeling like a dumbass.

[EricV]

I don´t know whether I understand the question, but... do you mean how to stop the chord from ringing at the right time ?
Well, that is achieved by muting ( i.e. with the palm of the right hand ) or releasing the left hand fingers.
I have a guitar in my hands right now, so I try to explain the process... I fret a chord ( i.e. E Major ), strum the strings, and to completely mute it after a short time, I release my left hand fingers and lay them flat onto the strings quickly ( which I guess is not absolutely necessary for the muting ) while at the same time, I put the palm of my right hand onto the strings softly ( softly so it won´t cause a "thump"-noise )
Hope this helps
Eric

[Bongo Boy]

...here's the tab. It's the D7 (for right now)--what's the right way to damp it out a bit before doing the little D-E-F# that follows it.

Okay...you got there before I did. That makes sense--thanks. I'm thinking this must be the outside (little-finger) edge of the right hand if you're using a pick, eh?

[EricV]

Yes... the side of the pinkie and the edge of my hand.
That alone would be enough to mute, but muting using both hands is the most efficient.
This goes out to the "metalheads", too... if you wanna play really powerful riffs incorporating breaks ( silence ), you need both hands to completely mute... if you are using hi gain, and you don´t want any noise when there is supposed to be silence, you really need to use both hands, otherwise it´ll "mush up"...
Eric