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→Chugging
== Chugging ==
Djent typically prefers a larger power chord for chugs than Thrash or other styles. This takes the following form on a standard tuned 8-string:
A--4--7--
E--2--5--
B--2--5--
F#-0--3--
p p
Or in a drop-D style tuning (7 string tuned to drop A below - A E A D G B E):
D--2--5--
A--0--3--
E--0--3--
A--0--3--
p p
The additional note(s) above the standard 2 or 3 note power chord really allow the "djent" sound to come through. But you have to be sure you pick each note with the same strength. This is more difficult than it sounds - holding your palm against the strings makes it more difficult to perform a large strumming motion. One way to assist in this regard is to angle your picking hand so that it is more parallel with the strings, as though you are getting ready for a heavy downstroke. This may require shortening your strap length so your guitar is slung higher (closer to your chest/head).
Another thing to keep in mind is where you are muting the strings with your palm. Traditionally, artists didn't use fully saturated distortion and mutes were actually muted notes - less prominent than unmuted notes. In metal and Djent in particular, mutes are their own thing, with equal or even greater prominence than unmuted notes. Traditional palm muting technique dictates to mute the string very close to the bridge; however, with more extreme distortion, the mute is audible even as you move your palm away from the bridge and towards the nut. This changes the tone, with the mute featuring less resonant bass and becoming more percussive, but still retaining that metallic djent sound. This is particularly the case with baritone guitars or any guitars that have an extended scale on the lower strings. Combined with the thicker strings of 7 and 8 strings, such palm mutes still have pitch rather than sounding more like a muted strum, which is entirely transients and purely percussive. Try chugging on a muted power chord and moving your palm slowly away and back towards the bridge while you are playing to hear how it sounds different.
== Riffing in Extended Ranges ==