Chugging on the Electric Guitar: Using Palm Muting with a Looper

In my previous post, I go into the differences of "chugging," or palm muting, with both the left and right hand on the electric guitar. In this article, I am going to show you how you can combine both techniques with a looper to create a rockin' jam! Read on for more!

Chugging, chugging, and more chugging!

With the help of a Looper Pedal, we are able to record ourselves in real time and hear the same loop played over and over again. Using chugging on both left and right hand respectively, we will be able to create both a rhythm and a melody that we can then jam along to and solo over. (Think about practicing those pentatonic scales!)

Chugging and looping with the left hand: rhythm

First I am going to lay down a percussive beat focusing on my left hand palm muting. In the video, notice the different sound I create by strumming up and down the neck of the guitar with my right hand.

Okay! We have a simple percussive beat going and its on repeat on the looper. Our next step is to add our second layer: something from chugging with the right hand! Let's continue.

chugging and looping with the right hand: melody

​And there you have it! We were able to create a background beat and loop over it with a nice, muted riff. Notice how when I’m palm muting with the right hand, you can see my rest my wrists slightly against the body and the strings of the guitar.