How to palm mute notes on a guitar is a standard lesson that every guitarist should go through. Ever since guitar songs were composed of loud introductions, softer verses, and then loud choruses, palm muted riffs were stuck in the mix there somewhere.

You can't listen to most pop rock bands these days without hearing some sort of palm-muting going on. Fortunately, learning how to palm mute on a guitar is easy and won't take a lot of time to master.

• What is guitar palm-muting?

Guitar palm-muting is when the palm of the guitarist's strumming hand is used to prevent the strings from fully vibrating. This creates a very stagnant and staccato sound.

This skill is mostly used with electric guitars since without full vibration it's hard to hear without an amplifier. However, acoustic guitar palm-muting is very popular when used for basic percussive purposes.

• Where should you use this skill?

Palm muting is used almost everywhere. It's great for when you need to think of how to lead your verse into the chorus, or just want to give your song a little mellower section to balance with a powerful coda.

Palm-muting is used in a variety of genres as well. I'm sure you could turn on the radio and hear this skill used in country, metal, rock, pop, blues, and hardcore in only a matter of minutes.

Of course, there's not a set place in a song where palm-muting is used best. When thinking of how you're going to add a palm-muted section, just think of the parts that need a little more "down time." Usually these sections are verses and bridges.

• How do you do palm-muting?

How to palm mute on a guitar isn't difficult at all really. Simply place your strumming hand, while holding your guitar pick, near the pickups onto the strings you wish to mute. Then, strum the strings while keeping your hand stationary.

You should hear a very rigid and short vibration. However, lots of guitarists like to experiment with the vibrations they can create with palm-muting by increasing or decreasing their pressure on the strings.

Learning how to palm mute should be a very fast process. You can learn in only a matter of minutes, but you'll most likely use this skill everywhere then on. Try to slip it into music in tasteful places. Only then, will you really have learned how to palm mute correctly.