David's Tip of the Day: Hand Muting for Dynamic Effect - Part 1, Acoustic

When I speak of dynamics I'm commonly just referring to volume change. Another way to achieve volume change PLUS tonal change is to use your hands.

When playing acoustic (non-amplified), simply put, when your hands are open, you're the loudest and most bright in tone. When your hands are closed, you're softest and most muted in tone.

Experiment with variations of how open or closed you are... you'll be surprised how much a small movement of the hands, or even just fingers... or ONE finger! will make in your sound.

Make these changes dynamically as you play. VIDEO RECORD yourself so you can see and hear the effects you're achieving.

Tomorrow we discuss playing amplified...