In this video
20th Century Boy is a string muting workout!
It's really important to be able to:
Get the rhythm correct in conjunction with the muting to make the riff sound authentic
Then lightly mute all other strings (with first finger) to reduce unwanted string noise
This is all to do with muting but firstly to make the riff sound right (rhythm) and to make the guitar sound good (technique)
Main Learning points:
Riff notes just Open string to 3rd fret
Make sure you can 'tap' the rhythm out - don't think about counting!
First finger constantly mutes strings 5-1 while the second finger plays fret 3
Verse section: A power chord (or single A note) palm muted
Chorus Progression: Fret 5 and fret 7 on string 6 (A and B notes)
Optional: play power chords if you know them! (A5, B5)
Amp Settings:
Keep the overdrive moderate - about 5/10 on the 'Brown Sound'. This is a 70s glam rock tune, so excessive gain can sound out of place!
Need more help? Try this one finger power chords and muting lesson, which includes a visual jam track to jam along to with chords and tab on screen - this is from level 1 of my more comprehensive Beginner Electric course here
Watch this free video from my comprehensive Beginner Electric course, which shows how to use common settings like gain, eq and effects to dial in all common guitar tones - no matter what gear you have! Watch this free video here


