Definition: A common
guitar technique used in
metal,
punk, and various other forms of
distorted-guitar oriented
music.
Theory: (some
opinion interjected) The palm muting boosts the
bass and cuts the
treble of the
tone, lending a more crunchy, almost growling sound. This is enhanced when the sound has already been distorted. The usage for this effect ( to create
anger/
tension ) may have something to do with
dominating human males's deeper voices, inspiring some fear and, hand in hand, some
hostility.
Practice: The
palm of the right hand ( if one is playing a right handed guitar ) is placed lightly on the strings just in front of the
bridge. The right hand
strums or
picks notes while lightly pressing down on the strings to produce the desired effect. Voila!