Palm mute notation

The abbreviation printed under a passage that tells the player to rest the palm on the strings and damp them.

Palm muting is marked in tab with the letters P and M, usually with a dotted line showing how far the instruction extends, and sometimes with a cancellation mark where the muting stops. Because the effect changes the entire character of a riff, the marking is one of the most consequential in guitar notation: the same fret numbers read as chugs or as ringing notes depending on it. Players should treat the end of the dotted line as carefully as the beginning.

Example: A metal riff with the letters P.M. under a line of low-string notes is to be played with the palm resting lightly on the strings.

Palm mute notation

See also