Guitar Methods Distortion "Blues"

Guitarmethods would like you to try and ignore the hot chick holding the guitar. Go ahead, try.

There is a reason for the latex babe, beyond the obvious that is. ;-) The point is too much distortion distracts you from playing your best, just as too much of that (<) can keep you from making it to the gig on time. (To my female readers I apologize in advance for seeming insensitive.)

Using distortion is a balancing act. To do it right and keep the unnecessary noise from getting out of control you have to use both hands to mute strings that are not being used, as well as having a good control of your volume knob or pedal.

Many guitarists use a noise gate to eliminate sound once it gets below a certain decibel level, but I have always found that noise gates can really affect the expression of my performance. Of course it's a good idea to gate your overall sound- but it's a tricky thing to keep the gate from cutting off your sound at inappropriate times. The best techniques that work for me involves controlling my overall volume myself.

Also it's worth noting that playing a guitar heavily saturated with distortion is not always necessary to get the effect you require. Try adjusting the level of distortion to balance out what is needed to provide you with appropriate sustain and leave it at that. Too many cats love to drench their sound in "grease" and distortion and the end result is just noise pollution and frustration. It also can quickly become a crutch that leads to a negative effect on the quality of your technique.

factoid: Too much is never good, in guitars and in life.

Use discretion to your benefit, and learn how to mute your neck with the fingers of your left hand, as well as using generous amounts of the fleshy part of your right hand on the guitar bridge. Experimenting is really the best method to figure out what works for you.

For a good exercise however, try the following:

• Take a chunky 8th note phrase, perhaps using a 1+5th or 1+5th+8th power chord combination, and just play it for a few minutes, adjusting your muting and noticing the differences. When you find something that soothes your ears you are in the right place.
  
• Starting with your low E string, complete an F# 5th + 8th chord for 4 bars (3 notes, 3 strings),
  
• Move up to the A string and do a B 5th + 8th chord (again for 4 bars) while muting the low E string with the fleshy part of your right hand. Then try muting the low E string with the middle finger of your left hand.
  
• Continue all the way to the G string, muting as you see fit.
  
• When you reach the G string position, (should be an A chord) move up 2 frets and do the same thing in reverse until you end on an A flat 5th+8th chord, on the low E string.
• When you figure out what is more comfortable for you, keep at it until you have "clean" distortion, and chunky power chords that rival any guitar god.

When all of this is over, rinse and repeat until your mind is numb and your neighbors call the police. Once you've made bail go ahead and learn "Back in Black" by AC DC if you don't already know it. (If you don't know this song by now I am either getting too old or you should be playing the fiddle.)

I chose Back in Black because it's perfect for learning how to control over-saturated distortion using your volume knob (or pedal). The trick is to practice the rhythm track of this song, and every time there is no notes (a wonderful musical concept we call "rests") reach down and turn off the volume on your guitar with your right hand. If you don't know why this is important, just crank up the distortion box until you get nothing but feedback when you are not striking notes. You will find that the noise drives you crazy enough to reach down and turn down your volume instinctively. This is another technique for learning to control the distorted sound and it has the added effect of teaching you to become a human noise gate. That is not a bad quality to have as a guitarist.

It is important to keep distortion to the minimum requirements for your desired sound goals, but it is also good to practice a bit with distortion/overdrive at overly exaggerated levels, as this will drive you to learn what muting techniques work to stop the distortion "blues". :-)