So how'd I play this?

[chrispy108]

I can't really work out how to play the octaves in this with the missing string, ie (the 12/14, 10/12),without playing the string in between?

I'm presuming I should be muting with my left hand, but I can't get it to be inaudible?

Apologies if this music theory is wrong here, but I don't really know how to google this (as I don't know what I'm talking about)

[thereformant]

I play these with first and little finger muting the middle note with my third finger. If you use 2 fingers for power chord shapes its just like a normal power chord but with a little less pressure on one finger. You can minimise the noise of the mute by playing heavier on the bottom string of the octave and kind of glancing the top note.

[Basher]

You use the fleshy "pad" part of your index finger to mute the in-between string.

This explains it better. Relevant part starts at about 4 minutes in:

[RolandG]

Three ways, depending on the style of music:
1. Finger picking
2. Pick and fingers. Pick plays the bass note, and second and third fingers of the right hand pick strings 3 and 5
3. Left hand muting. First and third fingers of the left hand fret the fifth and third strings. Third finger is flat across the fret board, and the tip of the third finger touches and mutes the fourth string.

[erictheweary]

the muted string inbetween will sound out to some extent, but then that is part of the characteristic sound ( eg octaves played a la Hendrix). If I play octaves I tend to use pick and a finger just because I play a lot of stuff that way, feels more 'certain' to me and it is a bit cleaner sounding as there is no muted middle note ( not a big issue but, for example, in a country style run where you want quite clean picking that would be better and gives you the option to add a bit of snap to the higher string).

[thereformant]

the muted string inbetween will sound out to some extent, but then that is part of the characteristic sound ( eg octaves played a la Hendrix). If I play octaves I tend to use pick and a finger just because I play a lot of stuff that way, feels more 'certain' to me and it is a bit cleaner sounding as there is no muted middle note ( not a big issue but, for example, in a country style run where you want quite clean picking that would be better and gives you the option to add a bit of snap to the higher string).

I only tend to play it like that if I'm finger picking a clean part, the majority of time it comes up in my playing it's too fast to hybrid pick.

[Danny1969]

Basically the fretted notes sound cos your pressing down on em, the D string won't cos your hands muting it in as much as nothings fretting it. With a little practice you could rake across all 6 strings and only the 2 fretted notes would come out. Like anything it's just technique

[erictheweary]

I only tend to play it like that if I'm finger picking a clean part, the majority of time it comes up in my playing it's too fast to hybrid pick.

I'm blessed with a particularly slow style.

[sambostar]

I'd would just dead mute the middle D string by overlapping my first finger, which is already fretting the A string note, on to it and fret the G string with my third finger.

I don't think you can really hear it. Besides Jimi, Blink 182..loads of bands guitar players do this, you never hear the dead notes I think and I'd just play it with a upstrum or downstrum like a chord. Again wrap your first finger as a loose barre to mute the other unwanted notes as well. All depends how it is supposed to sound. If it's supposed to be like Dire Straits Money for Nothing or something, as opposed to Crosby's doublestops in Ratt, then, sure I would finger pluck it, otherwise just upstroke it for more aggression or down for a more relaxed, chordy feel or whatever fits with your right hand between the open E pedal tone.

[chrispy108]

Thanks chaps, I'll give the muting a go, it's metally so it's not finger picked,

This is why I prefer bass, none of this "two notes at a time" to confuse me