Muting in Ants

[CWMCALL]

Watching Dave play ants on Storytellers it looks like he is strumming on the 4/5 slide parts of the verse....so obviously he is muting the other strings. As much as I try I cannot do this. I have watched Pat's video and still can't seem to play it without ringing some of the wrong strings.

Does anyone have any advice on strumming this part?

[DT]

i really only intentionally mute the string on either side of whatever one is being played. if you are strumming correctly you shouldnt be hitting much more than that. your fretting finger should be flat enough to contact the string above the fretted one, and extended far enough over the string you are fretting so that your fingertip is brushing against the low string next to it. the whole hand gets laid down for the little muting slaps in-between the open chords and the slide.

[Kukini]

Get more accurate is the best I can give, don't strum wildly, strum effectively.

[Ranting Thespian]

It's his strum/pick style

Here's the strings he are hitting besides the fretted ones listed:

Code: Select all

E--------------- -----------------
B--------------- -----------------
G------x-----x-- ------x-----x----
D--x-x-4-x-x-4-- --x-x-5-x-x-5\7--
A--4\5-x-4\5-x-- --4\5-x-4\5-x----
E--x-x---x-x---- --x-x---x-x------

[i like tictacs]

I don't think he hits each one each time. He just guesses where he should strum, and strums that area, and muting everything around that string.

[Kukini]

no, he doesnt guess...

[i like tictacs]

I don't know a better word for it. You know what I mean, I have a solo video of him playing ants and a few other songs where he is playing one string at a time and he doesn't mute the same strings for every note, like Thespo described.

[Kukini]

Yea, I know what you mean, he's just accurate, hell, he's played the songs over a thousand times since HE wrote it, he gotta be pretty good at it.