10 Ways to Improve the Subtlety of Your Guitar Playing

Bobby Kittleberger

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Make it a point to move your hands and fingers as little as possible.

#1

If you have to move, your fingers should be the first to do so.

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Most of the movement that happens should be handled

by your fingers. Thus it’s advisable to move your

hands as little as possible...

This creates smoother fretboard movement.

Keep volume low enough so that you can still attack the strings with confidence.

#2

An amp that’s too loud will cause you to shrink back and avoid heavy contact. Keep your amp at a volume where you can attack the strings

without being too overpowering.

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Low volume isn’t always a bad thing.

Find a balance where you’re loud enough, but not so loud that you distract from the

music or that makes it hard to hit the strings confidently.

With more volume comes a greater risk of overplaying, so there’s no

need to have your amp unnecessarily loud.

Know that you don’t have to strum or pick every beat.

#3

The guitar doesn’t have to play every beat and accent of the rhythm. If you count off

“1, 2, 3, 4” try playing on just the “1.”

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That first count is often referred to as the “one

count” or the “down beat.”

Strumming chords or picking notes just on the down beat (or less) makes each note

count for more.

It’s the best way to implement the “less is more” approach, which helps your consistency.

Relax your hands.

#4

It’s simple, but the tighter you grip and the more nervous you are, the more likely you’ll

be to over (and under) play.

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Pressing the frets is important, but you shouldn’t be gripping the pick or the

back of the fretboard.

The more you do, the more likely you are to play

nervous.

Not good for subtlety.

Use delay, reverb or a modulation/timing effect.

#5

Timing and modulation effects muddy your sound enough to give some subtlety and will make

inconsistency a little less noticeable.

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Be careful not to oversaturate your sound with effects. There’s a balance to be struck between using effects and overusing them.

But in the right amount and right place, they can allow you to play less, but still

contribute.

Ease up on your distortion.

#6

Distortion doesn’t automatically mean you’re too loud or obnoxious, but you need to know how to use it.

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Use distortion when songs feel like they need to be big.

Otherwise, you’re better off without it, if and when

subtle playing is your goal.

Cut the mid and treble on your amp while adding some bass.

#7

A little more low end and less high frequency sounds will help smooth out your guitar’s tone.

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Try something like this:

Bass: 8Mid: 4

Treble: 5Reverb: 2

Study up on The Edge’s (David Evans) playing style.

#8

He practically wrote the book on subtle guitar playing.

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Edge makes a lot of noise with few notes. A lot of musicians have looked to him as a

standard bearer of modern guitar technique.

Learn to fit your guitar playing into the music.

#9

Use your guitar as a complimentary accessory to the music. When understood as a decorative sound, the

temptation to overplay decreases.

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Bass, Drums and Vocals are typically responsible for the foundation of a song; namely rhythm and melody.

Your guitar’s role is to compliment those pieces and in some cases,

provide extra melody.

Thus guitar players are prone to overplay because of stepping out of

their roles.

Make your guitar fit the music around you. Don’t fight it for attention.

Focus on creating melody.

#10

Your role as a guitarist is to either create or compliment melody. It doesn’t take many notes to do that.

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