To play muted strums, lift your fretting hand slightly so the strings are dampened, and strum across them, making a percussive chuck sound with almost no pitch. The mute is made by the fretting hand, not by the picking hand, and it is used for rhythm and groove, not for harmony.
How do you play muted strums?
To play muted strums, lift your fretting hand slightly so the strings are dampened, and strum across them, making a percussive chuck sound with almost no pitch. The mute is made by the fretting hand, not by the picking hand, and it is used for rhythm and groove, not for harmony, because the muted strum has no chord, only a percussive sound. The muted strum is the chuck, the percussive hit that fills the space between the chords, and it is what makes a strumming pattern groove. The muted strum is made by the fretting hand lifting off the strings, just enough to stop them ringing, but not enough to take the fingers off the fretboard, so the strings are dampened and the strum makes a chuck, not a chord. The picking hand strums across the strings, as normal, and the fretting hand controls the mute, by pressing down for the chord and lifting for the mute, and the two hands work together, with the fretting hand making the rhythm and the picking hand making the sound. The G major guitar chord and the C major guitar chord are the chords most players first mute with, and the metronome keeps the beat steady.
How muted strums work
A muted strum works by damping the strings with the fretting hand, so the strings cannot vibrate freely, and the strum makes a percussive sound, with almost no pitch. The fretting hand lifts off the strings, just enough to stop them ringing, but the fingers stay on the fretboard, touching the strings lightly, so the strings are dampened and the strum is a chuck. The picking hand strums across the strings, as normal, and the strum is the same movement as a normal strum, but the sound is different, because the strings are muted. The muted strum is used in a pattern to fill the space between the chords, and to make the rhythm groove. A common pattern is down, down, mute, up, down, mute, up, where the mutes are on the offbeats, and the chords are on the beats, and the alternation between the chord and the mute makes the rhythm alive. The mute is not a mistake, it is a choice, and the player chooses when to mute and when to ring, and the choice is what makes the pattern. The D major guitar chord and the A major guitar chord are the chords the muted strums are built on.
Worked example — a muted strum pattern. Hold a G major chord, and strum down on beat one, down on beat two, mute on the and after beat two, up on beat three, down on beat four, mute on the and after beat four, and up on the and after beat one of the next bar. The pattern is down, down, mute, up, down, mute, up, and the mutes are the percussive chucks that fill the space between the chords, and the rhythm is groovy and alive, because the chords and the mutes alternate. Now try the same pattern without the mutes, strumming every position, and notice how the rhythm sounds flat and even, because there is no contrast between the chord and the mute. The I–V–vi–IV progression in G major is a good progression to practise the muted strum with.
How to practise muted strums
Practise muted strums slowly, learning to lift the fretting hand just enough to mute the strings, and then to press down again for the chord, so the mute and the chord alternate cleanly.
- Practise the mute alone: hold a G major chord, lift your fretting hand slightly, strum across the strings, and listen for the percussive chuck, with almost no pitch, and then press down again for the chord.
- Practise the pattern down, down, mute, up, down, mute, up, on a C major chord, keeping the hand moving through the mutes, so the rhythm stays steady.
- Play the I–V–vi–IV progression in C major with muted strums, and listen for the rhythm to be groovy and alive.
- Practise with the metronome at 60 beats per minute, and increase the tempo by 5 beats per minute when the mute is steady at the current tempo.
- Practise muting with the picking hand too, resting the palm on the strings near the bridge, and compare the sound with the fretting hand mute.
Common mistakes
- Lifting the fretting hand too far — A fretting hand lifted too far off the strings will take too long to come back down, and the next chord will be late, and the rhythm will break. Lift the hand just enough to mute the strings, and no more, so it can press down again quickly.
- Muting every strum — A pattern where every strum is muted has no chords, and no harmony, and it sounds like percussion, not music. Mute some strums, and let others ring, so the chords and the mutes alternate, and the rhythm is alive.
- Pressing down too hard for the mute — A mute needs the hand to lift, not to press, and pressing down harder will not mute the strings, it will make the chord ring louder. Lift the hand slightly, and the strings will be dampened, and the strum will be a chuck.
Quick reference
This table shows a muted strum pattern, with the strum, the fretting hand, and the sound for each position, so you can see the mute and the chord alternating. The fretting hand presses down for the chord and lifts for the mute, and the sound is a chord or a chuck, and the alternation makes the rhythm groove.
| Strum | Fretting hand | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| Down on beat 1 | Press down | Chord |
| Down on beat 2 | Press down | Chord |
| Up on the and | Lift slightly | Chuck |
| Down on beat 3 | Press down | Chord |
| Up on the and | Lift slightly | Chuck |
| Down on beat 4 | Press down | Chord |
Use the table to practise the muted strum pattern: press down for the chord, lift slightly for the chuck, and keep the hand moving through the pattern, so the rhythm stays steady. When you can alternate the chord and the chuck cleanly, you can use muted strums in any song.
Frequently asked questions
How do I play muted strums?
Lift your fretting hand slightly so the strings are dampened, and strum across them, making a percussive chuck sound with almost no pitch. The mute is made by the fretting hand, not by the picking hand, and it is used for rhythm and groove, not for harmony.
What is the difference between a muted strum and palm muting?
A muted strum is made by the fretting hand lifting off the strings, so the strum has almost no pitch, while palm muting is made by the picking hand resting on the strings near the bridge, so the notes are short and percussive but still pitched.
Why do my muted strums still ring?
Because the fretting hand is not lifting enough, or because the fingers are still pressing the strings down. Lift the hand slightly, so the fingers touch the strings lightly, and the strings will be dampened, and the strum will be a chuck.
Can I mute with my picking hand too?
Yes. Palm muting, resting the heel of your picking hand on the strings near the bridge, damps the strings and makes the notes short and percussive, but still pitched, which is different from a fretting hand mute, which has almost no pitch.
When should I use muted strums?
When the rhythm needs a percussive hit, to fill the space between the chords, and to make the pattern groove. A muted strum on the offbeat, between two chords, is the most common use, and it makes the rhythm alive.