Palm mute

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The palm mute is a technique for guitar and bass guitar known for its muted sound. It is performed by placing the side of the picking hand across the guitar's strings, very close to the bridge, while picking. The name is a misnomer as the muting is not performed using the player's palm.^[1]

Palm muting is a standard technique used by both classical and electric guitarists. It is widely used in heavy metal and rock music but it is often found in any style of music that features electric guitars with distortion. It is responsible for the characteristic "chugging" and "crunch" sound of distorted guitar music. Palm muting can also be used in conjunction with a wah pedal to produce the distinctive scratching sound often heard in disco music.

Palm muting is also used by electric bassists in order to obtain a warm, "thumpy" tone that is sometimes similar to that of a finger-picked double bass (as noted above). The strings may be plucked with the thumb or with a pick, which gives a more percussive tone.