GUitar technique

[Synth]

The one guitar technique i've been trying to get down is left handed muting/rakes in the style of vai.

An example of this is in "Bad Horsie" http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8319341695402083479&q=bad+horsie
After the first trem dive he is muting with his left hand....or its what it seams to be. Here is the tab(song is playing in droped C).



|-(7)>><---------------------------(5)<<>-|
|-(7)>><---------------------------(5)<<>-|
|-(7)>><---------------------------(5)<<>-|
|--------0-0-x-x-0-0-x-x-0-0-x-x-0--------|
|--------0-0-x-x-0-0-x-x-0-0-x-x-0--------|
|--------0-0-x-x-0-0-x-x-0-0-x-x-0--------|

Can someone explain excatly how to do it the way Vai does? I've been trying a long time, and it should be an easy technique but I cant seam to get it down.

[SnappleMan]

That's called chocking the strings. It's like palm muting only you move your hand father into the body. The farhter you move from the bridge, the more chocked the strings will get. Also, be sure to kill the resonance with your left hand as well, you don't want those heavy bass overtones to fill the air.

So yeah, bring your picking hand farther onto the strings when you're muting, and mute the strings with your fretting hand so they dont resonate after each chug. Not hard to do, but it takes a little practice.

[Synth]

That's called chocking the strings. It's like palm muting only you move your hand father into the body. The farhter you move from the bridge, the more chocked the strings will get. Also, be sure to kill the resonance with your left hand as well, you don't want those heavy bass overtones to fill the air.

So yeah, bring your picking hand farther onto the strings when you're muting, and mute the strings with your fretting hand so they dont resonate after each chug. Not hard to do, but it takes a little practice.

I don't have my guitar with me to try it out. But in the video he ins't keeping his palm at the bride....is he brushing his palm on the strings with each strum?

[SnappleMan]

Well, he's Steve Vai... I never could really learn from watching him play because his hands don't move like normal humans.

All you gotta remember is that the more of the strings that your hand is resting on, the more you'll choke the sound. Lemme give you a couple of examples so you know what I mean.

www.inverteddungeon.com/triacesuperfan/SnappleMan/shitty.mp3

The first bit of crap is standard muting technique, then I do a bunch of muted chords, the first is lightly muted, like you would mute any normal note, but as you can hear, the more I move my palm onto the strings, the more badass it sounds! Then you get to hear a typical application of set technique!..... sorry about the sloppy playing and bad tone, it's past 5am and I haven't slept yet.

[Synth]

Well, he's Steve Vai... I never could really learn from watching him play because his hands don't move like normal humans.

All you gotta remember is that the more of the strings that your hand is resting on, the more you'll choke the sound. Lemme give you a couple of examples so you know what I mean.

www.inverteddungeon.com/triacesuperfan/SnappleMan/shitty.mp3

The first bit of crap is standard muting technique, then I do a bunch of muted chords, the first is lightly muted, like you would mute any normal note, but as you can hear, the more I move my palm onto the strings, the more badass it sounds! Then you get to hear a typical application of set technique!..... sorry about the sloppy playing and bad tone, it's past 5am and I haven't slept yet.

I gotcha, thanks I appericate the help. Bad tone? Sloppy playing? lol Your playing better than I can play when i'm in my prime.


I remeber you saying you have a carvin...is that what i'm hearing?

[SnappleMan]

nope, the carvin is back home, here (vacation house) I'm playing my friend Norg's ESP. The active EMGs are pretty much the only pickups I can plug into guitar rig without a pre-amp and have them sound good. (them or the active unit that my Carvin runs on)

[KyleJCrb]

nope, the carvin is back home, here (vacation house) I'm playing my friend Norg's ESP. The active EMGs are pretty much the only pickups I can plug into guitar rig without a pre-amp and have them sound good. (them or the active unit that my Carvin runs on)

Norg has an ESP? *jealousy abound*

Okay, useless post. Carry on. :P

[Sixto]

Most of Vai's hand movements are just there to look cool. He's said that himself. He tries to make things look more complicated/entertaining than they really are.

[SnappleMan]

Well, that's true, but it's also an element of technique because exagerrating your movements is not easy if you're in the middle of playing something, complicated or not. It's all a matter of your own personal style, which is a major part of technique.

while he says that it's all useless motion, I can assure you that his music would sound more robotic if he didn't play like that.

[PriZm]

I thought the 'x' meant to only mute the strings with your fretting hand.

[andyjayne]

I thought the 'x' meant to only mute the strings with your fretting hand.
Yeh the 'x' means rake which I've always known of as muting the strings with the fretting hand. I don't know about the way Vai plays that as I haven't watched the video, but according to the tablature I'd just mute the strings with my fretting hand.

[Fenzark]

Yeah, basically, Steve always plays like some kind of model, he poses and shit, and likes to show off like your average mall kid. ;) So I wouldn't really watch him to learn that sort of thing, although he's one of the best guitar players I know of.

Basically, what he's doing, is playing the first two strokes with open strings, then for the 'X's he holds his hand close to the strings; enough to mute them for the "chugg-chugg" sound. It's not really hard to do; his sound is what makes it sound so heavy and hard. Plus I think he's using his Bad Horsie wah-wah in that song. :)

Silver Vai FTW!