The secrets you need to clean up your playing! Your Muting SUCKS! This Is Why You Suck At Guitar 13

[@leestoop5739]

Hey Uncle Ben , after watching this video and making some adjustments to my playing my step kids stopped crying and my wife finally stopped hitting the crack pipe every time I picked up my guitar. Thanks.

[@RickWilleyOMC]

🤣😂🤣😂

[@Moskal91]

1993

[@CraigMcGill-u2o]

😂

[@RobertBakerGuitar]

Uncle Ben why you so smart

[@neonx30]

hello Robert !!!

[@RobertBakerGuitar]

well hi there :)

[@neonx30]

Robert Baker your vids are awesome keep makin em

[@ZEBEE0110]

I agree haha I've been learning a lot from you two haha

[@fistoftheaxis]

cuz he loyal

[@KamiHamster90]

I picked up the guitar over 9 years ago, haven't practiced diligently all that time. However, I did have a guitar teacher and used some online lesson services. Never once did anyone mentioning using my index finger to mute the other strings. Without hyperbole you have improved my guitar playing radically. For years I couldn't get songs to sound right everything was always a little off with distortion. Now, with just one day of drilling my hands to play like this all the songs I played sound better and I can play them hard and passionately. I sound the best I ever had and am having the most fun with the guitar than ever. So thank you from the bottom of my very cramped hands, you are a hero.

[@BenEller]

Brandon Soares cheers man, thank you for watching!!!! Happy to help!

[@Music-el7if]

I have all of my students doing this nearly from day one. Most teachers wait a number of years, teach you a bunch of stuff, you think you're getting better, and then eventually they say, "By the way, you ALSO need to do this other thing!" So stupid.

[@mikeyfazed]

Man, guitaring is so complicated... just hitting the right notes is hard enough, but now I need to work on cleaning up all this extraneous noise too. This vid was what I need, thanks.

[@joncbartlett]

I've wondered how they've managed to sound so clean for a long time. All the lessons I've seen on youtube, and this is the first time I've seen one about this. I can't believe no one ever addresses this.

[@Ashaliel]

No shit. I'm learning guitar, and primarily acoustic. I grabbed an electric with a pedal, and was stumped and where the fuck all this other noise was coming from, lol. This helps, a lot.

[@raym.778]

I think it becomes kind of obvious when you're playing and you start asking yourself the right questions. Plus it helps to just watch other people play too. When you realize that the good ones move their hands around a little differently, you start to catch on that there's more to their technique than just banging out chords.

[@daoyang223]

@@raym.778 No joke. I picked up the electric and had no idea how to mute or what muting is.

[@raym.778]

@@daoyang223 When I initially picked up an electric guitar when I was in high school, I was lucky because I was listening to the band Veruca Salt and they do a ton of muting when playing power or barre chords. So, I learned that initially from them and I think I came across the same technique it in Guitars for Dummies. I started playing again recently and it randomly occurred to me that I could use my right hand to mute strings that would ring sympathetically when I was playing chords. Then I found out that was an actual thing, so I'm kind of just experimenting with it. I feel like it takes away from the power of my strumming so I'm not crazy about how some things sound, but I also don't have solid technique and probably could stand to work those muscles out in my pick hand. So, I'm just going to see where this goes. I get it though. Depending on the type of music you listen to, you can go for a while without ever being aware that the technique is being used. Had I not been listening to the band I was listening to, I would have had any interest in learning and probably would have glossed over the technique when reading about it.

[@camilomontoya7412]

a major part of playing electric well is muting especially if you have high gain. acoustic if not amplified you can literally not think about muting because there is hardly any sustain

[@fanuchman]

The reason why I stop playing guitar everytime I start practising a lot is this. I don't understand why I've never come across this in books and websites! Bless you Unlce Ben.

[@ghjyjghyhs2638]

this is the most helpful guitar lesson on youtube.

[@evgeniy_moscow_gooner]

I wonder how many comments like this there are on KZbin.

[@connoregan8980]

*This is the most helpful lesson on youtube

[@nikolakojic]

On the other hand, this is the most helpless comment on KZbin

[@stratkster]

"You are djenting now" lol pretty good description of the genre

[@drewhofmann4251]

Kanye=Good Muting..... Tears from laughing and yet it is so true!

[@MMoturi22]

Good tutorial but it really wasn't the funniest joke.

[@liverpool0690]

I never knew he preformed that song. I’m so shocked I’ve never seen any memes about it lol

[@kirkclement7918]

😂😂😂😂 I'm cryin'!!!!!

[@yuridanylko]

What

[@Magik_Johnson]

Freddie Mercury said do whatever you want with my music.....just never make me boring". I think even he'd cringe listening to it.

[@leehaley1472]

Uncle Ben, thank you thank you thank you! I am 60 years old been working on muting my entire life. I started playing in 1978. I’ve really been working on my muting for a long time. Your lesson seemed like it was the most straightforward and I really really analyzed it over and over and over about a month ago. I just sat down and said this is gonna take me years to learn. I was shocked in two days. I started improving. I am way way cleaner than I have been in my entire life so I’m so very grateful to you! Amazing, freaking lesson.

[@timpierceguitar]

Just found you.....absolutely love you.....you great!!!

[@BenEller]

Hey Tim, thanks a lot! Your channel is killer!!!

[@naegleriafowleri2230]

@@BenEller you’re missing one muting technique of the left hand often used by swee picking can be used for alternate as well for extra security. The bar finger will only work for strings under but not for above. You can leave one fingertip on the previously played string above thus making the use of the right completely unnecessary, use both and maximum muting is achieved.

[@GrantSchinto]

Yeah. Ben is awesome. As are you.

[@abdelkaderelbrazi]

@Ben Eller I've been playing for many years and, of course, I heard of palm muting. I've watched many tutorials but they all say "put the edge of your picking palm near the bridge and mute the strings. Full stop." I love how you explained how palm muting actually works. I've followed your advice from this video and my playing got sooooo much better within 2 weeks. I've always thought I wouldn't be able to play extremely fast because either my left hand is too slow, my brain is too slow to process all the sounds and finger changes, my right hand is not accurate enough. However, when I used your advice I immediately saw how accurate my picking hand actually is and how my brain totally stopped worrying about the string buzz because I gained full control. This, in turn, freed lots and lots of brain space to focus on WHAT I play instead of HOW I play. I immediately noticed that my fretting hand is actually extremely fast, something I wouldn't have been able to say some months ago. There was a time that I was planning to sell almost my entire guitar collection because I felt I'd reached my peak and can't go beyond. Hell, how wrong I was! Once more, thank you for opening the doors to progress for me!!!!!

[@Ravenixrising]

Neither of the guitar teachers I had as a teenager told me about this - I assume they were the dudes who did it without thinking so they never thought to explain it! Great video!

[@samstorie2647]

I had never heard someone mention sympathetic resonance before! Helps make it clear why muting is needed ALL THE TIME, and not just when strumming across more strings than you need. Great video.

[@erikthered1719]

@@chopholtz4950fine, but here are people who want to avoid noises they don’t wanna hear 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Potato12312]

1 hour ago I was trying to cover GOJIRA - L'Enfant Sauvage and I had no idea why my sound was so bad. After watching your video I realized what I was doing wrong in 2 min. cheers buddy

[@generalklytus1393]

Brilliant lesson! I've been playing for years and hated, hated, hated what I call "squelchy sounds" when letting go of strings or extra noise when riffing. These muting techniques are precisely what has been missing. Thanks so much!

[@Thaipeople196]

I just started learn guitar chords. And the noise would frustrate the hell out of me. I've heard about muting, been told about muting but never fully understood it until now. This is the most in depth coherent explanation I've seen to date. Your camera angles are what really helped me see how to properly mute the left, and right hand. I thank you for willingness to help others.

[@BenEller]

Happy to help, buddy! Good luck on your musical journey! I’m always interested to get some good ideas for more beginner-related stuff, so please post some other topics you’d like to see broken down on here!

[@Thaipeople196]

@@BenEller As a beginner I'm getting mad crickets between chord changes. At this point I'm unable to get my fingers to form the different chord shapes in a timely fashion. Can you show a good practice technique to build this skill? Thanks.

[@ShawnFumo]

@@Thaipeople196 It's a bit late now, but in case someone else is reading.. JustinGuitar has some good practice routines for switching between open chord shapes. Also if you have a lot of distortion and amplification, regular chords may not sound great in general. Having so many strings ringing out at once can become really noisy and muddy. So people who use lots of distortion more often use power chords that limit the amount of strings that ring out at the same time (often also muting strings that aren't being played in the chord). To practice regular chords, probably want to use as clean a tone as you can.

[@udontknowme293]

"This is Why You Suck at Guitar" are probably most valuable materials for guitar players on KZbin. Thanks dude, you helped me a lot!

[@nonma2312]

Can you make a tutorial explaining why my tone (amp & guitar settings) sucks?

[@trDewy]

I'd love to see this cus my tone sucks ass too.

[@quintinpace2627]

yeah. an amp/tone tutorial in a live situation would be interesting.

[@nopotato4217]

Please uncle ben

[@SorooshGb]

yeah this is sth that we don't have a real good video about, would be real nice to have some real pro advice about how to get the tone closer to the song we're trying to play

[@rizkyalvian9935]

needed this one uncle !

[@ronaldschmidt913]

Paul Gilbert teaches this on his online classes. Another good muting idea he teaches is to use the left thumb over the top of the neck to mute the E when playing open chords and power chords not using the E. Also he teaches to let the left index finger touch the E string when playing chords that don't use the E but require fretting the A string. Just thought this might be a good add to an awesome lesson. Always enjoy your lessons. Thanks Ben.

[@justsomeclown7197]

this is exactly why I suck at guitar! well, that and the other 12 videos in this series but this was really bugging me! thanx for doing these

[@ThePilate30]

@11:34 Jabba the Right Hand was my favorite Star Wars character. Awesome video BTW!

[@woodenhatrecords]

One of the best guitar tutorial videos I have ever seen. On such a crucially important topic (even on acoustic, may I say). So detailed, to the point, all-encompassing, beautifully filmed and explained. Thank you, thank you , thank you!

[@kbzonmarko]

listening to begginer players playing without muting is painful as hell, I always tell them to control their sound and muted when necesary, and im not even a Pro-Guitar-player. Good Video uncle Ben.

[@TheCobhc2005]

I know this video is old as shit now lol but i just wanna say that this is the absolute most helpful video on string muting i have ever come across on KZbin especially when you got up close and personal with the right hand muting, something NO ONE ever does in these kinds of videos. It really helped me alot in figuring out what the hell i've been doing wrong all this time xD Thank you so much Ben! you're the best dude! \m/

[@robanderson3559]

Picked up playing again after about 30 years of not playing and no one has ever told me this. Now I know why I always sounded like crap. Now just to master it.

[@gathda]

I also do a left index finger under the next lower string muting (playing A and muting E with the tip of index finger). This can give my right hand some freedom when picking. I just noticed that I do it automatically the other day when trying to describe how I mute to someone else.

[@BenEller]

Yes!!!! This ^^^^^ .... That is another GREAT super secret muting technique I use all the time!

[@canman87]

Same here. It happens sort of subconsciously for me, heh. Definitely a great addition to these other techniques.

[@settratheimperishable4093]

I do this all the time too! Never noticed until I saw your comment it just happened automatically

[@ShawnFumo]

I've seen this mostly mentioned for power chords that start on the A string.

[@HotJam5]

this video really helped me. Everyone who I've talked to has said "just lay your hand across the bridge." that never worked

[@axe2grind911a]

I'm a former non-muter and didn't even know it until my friends started pointing it out. I wish I had had this lesson years ago because I had to figure it all out on my own - gradually! One thing that helped too was learning slide guitar. I learned it using fingers - without a pick - and realized that you can basically devote one right hand finger to each string for muting out unwanted sounds using those same fingers to pluck the notes (slight alterations: I don't usually pinky pluck and you still need palm muting for lower strings). If you practice that regularly, it spills over into your lead playing with a pick - though you then have one less finger, so you finally learn to mute two strings with your middle finger and two with your 4th. Like all technique, it just takes practice. Excellent video!!!

[@BodhiSoftMobileApps]

Bonus meta-tip: With all that muting in place, you are now free to bash all the strings really hard, and add a whole bunch of attack and nasty attitude to your single-note lines. See SRV and Hendrix for example.

[@ShawnFumo]

Good point. I've seen that referenced usually with power chords and punk songs (like muting the low E with the tip of the index when doing 5th string power chords). Then you can strum as crazy as you want and not worry about accidentally hitting the wrong strings.

[@s2aka]

Excellent. Very thorough lesson in sympathetic muting. My former “teacher” couldn’t understand why the strings keep ringing when I played even while doing my best muting only with my picking hand. Thank you.

[@RickWilleyOMC]

Dude! Not only are you Hilarious!! But a great teacher! Took a while to find this video which was EXACTLY what I was looking for!!! Those camera angles were ESSENTIAL to show exactly what's going on! Something that I've always hoped I could find but until now haven't been able to! You sir have a new subscriber!! Thanks!

[@SheaRecordmetal]

I really like this. It’s the one thing that really separates a beginner from a pro. And beginners don’t even see it. Starting out on a small practice amp then switching to a 120 watt monster. Playing with lots of gain and volume will make bad muting sound just terrible.

[@aladams684]

Amen, and amen! Really great video. Ben does a great service to the playing community. I might as well quit teaching (lol). Ben, you can make my check payable to....Just kidding. I do actually send my students to your vids. It helps. Sometimes new guys get too nervous in person and watching actual GOOD videos takes the "in person" nerves out of the equation. Great job.

[@molekyyli]

I'm gonna object cos some beginners do. :P It used to drive me crazy, right from the beginning, first not knowing how and then knowing how but unable to do it consistently/well made me avoid playing with distortion for quite some time, despite metal being the main thing I'm interested in playing. I'm definitely still in the beginner category and I think my teacher seems to think I'm obsessed with muting in regards to my level a bit too much lol. Can't help it. It's still so easy for me to accidentally bar some strings that I don't intend to bar or not mute them while I meant to mute them and I can hear that pretty well when they ring.

[@danenorment]

This has to be the most helpful guitar tip I have ever seen. As an online taught beginner I knew my playing sounded like crap and that other strings were ringing out but I didn't know why or how to stop it. THANK YOU !!!

Only you can make muting so interesting for 19 minutes. You are awesome Ben!! (as always)

[@pfkmsandiego]

truth

[@johnkk7863]

I'm playing off and on over 30 yrs and this lesson was the most important change to my technique ever, fkin excellent mate makes a massive difference and it is something you just dont think of THANK YOU

[@allrelative3065]

Wish I knew this 15 years ago, palm muting I did subconsciously. The soft capo technique for lower strings and vibrato parts is going to be a game changer. Also a great explanation into this resonance glitch in the matrix. I honestly suck at guitar less since watching your videos, thanks and keep up the quality content. Even Kanye would would have to recognize your Gandalf level muting skills.

[@loaked3000]

Holy shit what a game changer this video is.... seriously. This should be pinned at the top of you tube anytime someone searches anything related to How to play electric guitar. This video should be a requisite before you can purchase a guitar lol. Not really but this might be the single best piece of advice I've ever seen when it comes to playing. THANK YOU

[@JorisGriffioen]

"You're djenting now ... losing all definition and resonance from those strings" Yep, sounds about right :D

[@brentwerner6103]

The Chewbacca taking a shit has to be one of my favorite lines. Will have to use that more often

[@rallyRomGuitar]

I've seen a lot of Guitar tutorials and this has been the first time I'm seeing this muting technique. Should have been the very first one I learned before learning all those scales. Thanks man!

[@jamesmurphy7193]

This is one of my pet peeves.. "dampening" means making something wet or diminishing the impact of something (like your enthusiasm for getting a new comment being dampened by its message). The technical term for reducing oscillation in a mechanical system is "damping," like the damper (not dampener) pedal on a piano.

[@BenEller]

James Murphy well..... well damn!

[@bmjames]

What if good muting technique makes me damp?

[@BlakeSpohn]

@@bmjames yes

[@gururajchadaga]

God bless you! I started playing electric guitar about 6 months ago and I've faced all those issues which I didn't face in an acoustic. Over time I had to come up with workarounds and Though I did figure out some of the techniques mentioned above, it wasn't sufficient. This is awesome and MUST be in every guitar course. Thank you so much.

[@smythie08]

thats one of the most useful vids I have ever watched. thanks mate and keep up the great work.

[@1.618-z9y]

Best guitar instructor on KZbin, hands down.

[@ryanwilson5936]

I've been watching your videos off and on for a while now. You're a great guitar teacher and I could have really used a guy like you when I started playing 15 years ago. You address A LOT of the little things that make or break technique. Good job! Oh, and you gained a subscriber 👍🏻

[@petershakesheff8950]

Finally! Someone has shown me why my guitar sounds horrible even if I'm playing right. Thanks Ben- this is a game changer video!!

[@ElDuderino502]

That last "good mute" is very important. Thanks. for that.

[@stephendixon8575]

Well after over 30 years of playing guitar that’s the best and most clear explanation I’ve ever heard on how to cut out string noise! Good job 👍

[@frannyp46]

Stephen Dixon.Been playing 40 years with companion string noise.Now I can file for a divorce

[@dooterscoots2901]

oh my god. I have never expected to see my playing take such a leap in quality in literally 19 and a half minutes. This is why Ben Eller is one of the best guitar KZbinrs. I had written like a riff and got frustrated too why it didn' t sound good AT ALL when I played it so I just wanted to forget about and start my daily practice found this. Applied what I had learnt from this to my riff, and it sounded 100 times better. ever since I started watching Ben Eller I've like tripled how good I am at guitar it's a great feeling.

[@sugarwookiee]

I just wanted to say thank you SO MUCH for these videos. Every issue I have that I don't even know how to describe (like sympathetic vibration!) to ask for help with, you address it so clearly. It's easy to feel like you're just bad at something if you aren't given all of the information you need to accomplish it, but then you come along and fix that for us. Thank you!!

[@Nightshade1881]

Never mute with excess foreskin!! Hurts so bad

[@BenEller]

Pro tip!

[@SCBiscuit13]

Your just soft and not true metal ...:P

[@settratheimperishable4093]

What?!? Works great for me

[@MattMiltonberger]

Been playing guitar very very on and off for 13 years and trying to force myself to get back and learn more-never took lessons and just kind of learned some tabs from random songs over the years. No one ever taught me about left-hand muting or actively muting ALL strings above the string in play with the right hand. I've done it mindlessly at times, but am never actively thinking about it. Thank you for the in-depth and knowledgeable videos! Glad I stumbled upon your channel!

[@RandyFromBBlock]

I have to play the strings that I'm not playing !? **throws guitar in air and gets beer**

[@MrKfree84]

Randy Gast lol!

[@TheCulturedCapy]

doing this not only cleaned up my playing , but it actually helped me with the high e not feeling awkward to pick. thanks ben

[@FreddyonAcid]

“Im Ben Eller and my guitar collection is beyond sick.”

[@BrokeAtBestMusic]

You tell no lies.

[@astrofire68]

I understood the problem of sympathetic vibration but couldn’t find anyone that gave a clear explanation of how to mute it away. Especially the above and below concepts and solutions. Thank you !!!

[@DJHazzr]

After 4 years of playing and sounding like shit, within a couple of days of practicing this my playing sounds 10x tighter and cleaner, Cheers Ben!

[@carlgaebe8699]

Thanks so much man...understanding the fact that it's not just a random misplaced finger causing the strings to ring out all the time is helpful...going to implement these techniques with a much clearer understanding now..yes!! Left hand-strings above..right index- strings below...left hand can get a lil funky and do above and below during vibrato ...awesome..I'm sure you have a video on it but I'd like to improve my up and down picking speed as well.

[@ThePuertoricanBeastJonathan]

im pretty sure guthrie uses the scrunchy for two hand tapping

[@dariusvilcinskis5753]

Yep

[@azazulsoulmeister7959]

You can still mute unused strings while two hand tapping.

[@Wren6991]

I've also seen him pull the scrunchie on for legato

[@YngtchieMusic]

Correct, and specifically it's two-hand tapping where he's skipping strings and all that jazz. I have a feeling Guthrie would be able to mute those other strings sufficiently, but that it has more to do with him not wanting to take any chances when playing live, thus giving the audience a cleaner listening experience. For more linear soloing, T. J. Helmerich is a great example of someone tapping with all eight fingers with a distorted sound, and not using any muting devices.

[@ethansalazar6744]

The most ive seen Guthrie use it for was for soloing with one hand

[@marknieuweboer8099]

Thanks. Eight months ago I took up the bass. I learned the floating thumb technique quickly, but thus far struggled with muting the lower strings - and them ringing started to annoy me several weeks ago. Your explanation is crystal clear and I now know what to practise. As a former violin/viola player arched fingers feel natural to me.

[@lukerussell4055]

i wring out my G-string every once in a while

[@ikemoon127]

You're going to need to after you dampen it

[@bluesguitarx]

ben... its great to see someone serious about guitar but is still able to see the lighter side of teaching and learning. Thank you immensely!

[@johnsguitarmusicanddemos]

Damn.... that's my struggle... muting 🤘🤘🤘🤘 I hear them often when I play certain notes.... other notes being hit on accident 😥😥😥😥😥🤬🤬🤬 But thank you for this upload!

[@crazyade9556]

I have always been reminded that I should mute better, people explained that the strings ring out, but this shows that it's the corrisponding note, cheers

[@bluey4605]

"Now my G-string Is ringing out, it's a real mess."

[@tommywho924]

I always wondered why my other strings would randomly start ringing out. I just thought it was my cheapo guitar. Look! I learned something! Thanks Uncle Ben!

[@aland4440]

You said Metallic in your vid. I'd expect a call from Lars wanting money. : )

[@johnbraucher1499]

Or a call from an entitled piece of shit that steals other peoples property and thinks its okay. Go to a dock in alaska and steal the fisherman's fish they caught, I'm sure theyll be calling you for money too.

[@wezleyjackson9918]

Or you can get all bent out of shape about people playing your tunes on Napster and be a complete ass-hat about it.. Send those coins whenever you busk a cover on a street corner.. Lets get all proprietary about it.. Send some money to all the estates of all the musicians the artists "stole" ideas from.. like notes, chords, etc, etc.. sheesh

[@jamespell1138]

@@johnbraucher1499 it's not really comparable. More comparable to sneaking in the cinema without paying.

[@mudkiptm1951]

Turns out my guitar teacher put this into my playing without me knowing, because I usually do this without thinking. Great video dude!

[@seymur312]

"Sounds like Chewbacca taking shit", I had to pause the video lol...

[@erico8738]

Just saw this, and almost woke up my toddler from laughing out loud!

[@eddiecancelmusic]

I saw Francis Bubbletrouser live with "The Spicy Weiners" in Toronto '91

[@juhaniseppala]

That Kanye bit cracked me up.

[@seanmetal4138]

You're the only instructor who's ever pointed this stuff out, and I've watched a ton of online and taken lessons in person.

[@ThEgAmErLoVeR182]

"Sounds like Chewbacca takin' a shit" XD

[@f67739]

or korn lol

[@dylansalcedo2797]

Hahahahahaha made me laugh while wife trying to sleep Hahahaha

[@ngdguitar5081]

"It sounds like Chewbacca taking a shit." - that one got me laughing good. Well played sir. 🤘🎶

[@barisnigga4903]

OMG I WAS ALWAYS SAYING TO MYSELF "I DIDN'T HIT THAT E STRING WHY IS IT PLAYING WTF" I LOVE YOU BEN

[@aladams684]

Terrific lesson. As a guitarist of 30 yrs., as well as a teacher, it's very easy to forget how awkward some of these techniques are at first for beginners. This addresses it so clearly. Sometimes these techniques come naturally, and sometimes they don't. You're right. A hair scrunchy is not fixing it, and makes you look like you girlfriend dresses you for gigs. Ditch it and learn the technique. Back in the 80s when I was playing in metal bands, we would have pointed and laughed at a guy using a hair scrunchy on his guitar. Kind of like people do when they see how ridiculous my stage getup looked back then.

[@joshxms2260]

You remind me of an educational Steve terreberry, I love it!

[@nicwilson89]

Yea, without being so cringe-y that it's actually painful, and having to scroll down to the comments section to avoid actually seeing the video if you wanna know what it's about :p

[@travislight9266]

Except not annoying af

[@cameronholbrook170]

Hands-down the most valuable electric guitar lesson I’ve ever seen on KZbin. Complete game changer!!!

[@JonathanSterling86]

I think this is something that any guitarist learns to do naturally as they continue to practice and learn, but they never actually realize they're doing it. Just a habit you'll create as you grow.

[@newshaaa]

Thanks dude. This is the best palm muting video I have watched on youtube (and I am sucking at it and was looking for ~ 1 year) + showing from different angle was extremely helpful as well.

[@swfworld3728]

OK, I don't know what the magna-cam was, but Ben sure used it well in this video to get in close, both right and left hands. Well done!

[@ToddtheExploder]

Dampening is sprinkling water on it, Ben. When we prevent certain strings from producing sound, that is called "damping". Same with shock absorbers and cueing levers: damping, not dampening. You don't call it nuke-ya-ler power, do you?

[@Guitarplayer724]

Along with making wet, Dampening can also mean dull or deaden. Simple definition.

[@SheepWaveMeByeBye]

In danish damping is _dæmpe_ and dampening is _fugte._ You don't wanna _fugte_ your guitar, now do you?

[@pfkmsandiego]

i usually watch your vids bc i enjoy ur humor but i do pick up stuff from u that i haven't learned yet, and i enjoy hearing u talk about other pro players and how they do things- your citations add so much validity to the value of your lessons- it's clear u kno your shit, so thank you for the total package. : ) i have been teaching music for around 15 years and playing a lot longer and am usually underwhelmed by people teaching music on the tubes- even many very popular channels. as uve mentioned, u share stuff that people seem to not talk about and teach and u deserve a lot of credit for that. i am the same with my students and i bank on the fact that they'll appreciate me later in life- hahaha- anyway, kno that u are appreciated NOW! hahaha. keep up the great work, brother. : )

[@patriotcivillian9048]

This is something even a guitar teacher will not teach his classroom student. People learn from their experience. Sincere thanks for sharing what you learnt from experience.

[@joso8801]

quit telling me i suck at guitar for fuck sakes, I don't need to be reminded of it everytime i watch a tutorial, just a country boy trying to make it in the big ol' city

[@photobearcmh]

Dude! I know this clip is old but I had to say thanks. I've looked all over for a good muting lesson and yours really makes sense. I was able to apply it and it made a huge difference. THANKS!

[@ashutoshsrivastava8661]

You’re a god (edit) - not because you can mute but because you can understand our problems

[@sunavila]

Stop calling men gods. There is ONE GOD, and it's The God of Israel.

[@venkatnatarajan3479]

The only video you ever need to learn string muting. Thank you, king

[@auf-dem-Weg]

"dudes" "guys" ....well hello there from one of your female subscribers lol great lesson btw :)

[@rarefactioncurve]

I have watched about 2 dozens KZbin videos about muting, but this upload definitely helps!!!!! Thank you! I will use the "index finger" technique to mute high strings from now on, and it is working!!!!! Thanks again.

[@stalker11421]

best way to learn muting with your palm is to have a step sister like mine( if you know what i mean)

[@raultoks]

abs one of the bestest vids ever. After a decade of amateur playing got a 7 string recently, never had to deliberately practice muting ever on a six string, on the 7 had to almost relearn guitar it felt like, was losing my mind wondering if something is wrong with the guitar and uncle ben just validated that why I suck at guitar instead, especially the left hand muting.

[@545parsa]

why your bends suck?

[@atomicthwippster8799]

Wow! I’ve been using right-hand muting, but have been frustrated by the noisy strings below. This is a game changer! Thank you!

[@satchrules101]

Gold lesson even 5 years later ! I can’t believe I didn’t learn this when it came out ! Thank you Ben .

[@mayiask654]

one of the most valuable tutorials for me as a beginner. Especially the part with the "soft capo" and "not playing with the finger tips". :-)

[@FlyOnTheMoon.]

Thanks, Ben, for explicating the best way to stop unwanted string noise. And "the tops of the fingers" technique you noticed Satriani using answered a question I had about unwanted string noise I've not seen elsewhere.

[@kaushikwavhal3403]

Every time you search muting techniques on youtube, you'll find a plethora of videos on how to 'play' palm muted notes. *facepalm* This is definitely the best video i've seen yet on noise muting/dampening. I took the pain to sing in just to be able to like this video.

[@axeliron165]

"Chewbacca taking a sh*t" - that was a good one :-) Your videos are always extreme helpful - you are really talking about things which all the other guitar tutorials are missing and not showing how things are. Thanks buddy.

[@antisocialblender9505]

Thank you so much. It's weird this stuff feels almost like it should be obvious but at the same time it's completely changed how I'm learning and I couldn't be happier.