16th comping grid + muted cutting

The first day of Week 7. All week you'll build a laid-back 16th comping. Today you learn its foundation: the 16th grid and muted cutting ("chick"). The key isn't "strum-then-rest" — it's filling the gaps between stabs densely with pitchless cutting.

The signature is one chord, Dm9. Root it on the 5th string fret 5 (R=D) and stack b3 (F)·b7 (C)·9 (E) on top. These four notes are the dyed color of Dm9. Cut the stabs short, and in the gaps loosen your left hand slightly to add a "chick" with muted cutting.

Muted cutting has no pitch. Don't press the string — just lay over it lightly so the pick brushing it makes a "chick", a ghost-like strike. When stabs (chords) and cuts (chicks) alternate, the 16th grid fills up and a groove is born. First, learn the Dm9 hand shape by eye.

▶ The Dm9 comping grip: 5th string fret 5 (R) with b3·b7·9 stacked on top.

Now look at the 16th comping grid. Dm9 stabs and muted cutting ("chick") interlock densely. Stabs clear, cuts short like a "chick" — this contrast is the heart of the groove.

▶ BPM 72. Dm9 stabs and muted cutting ("chick") interlock densely in 16ths. Cut the stabs short; loosen and brush the cuts.

0–10 min · Warm-up At BPM 60, play only the Dm9 stabs cleanly. Don't add cutting yet — first check the chord sound is clean. Hear first whether the four notes ring at once.

10–20 min · Brain training (cutting slowly) Now slot a muted cut between stabs, one at a time. Loosen the left hand just a little to make the "chick". Learn the move with the slow grid below.

▶ BPM 60. Stab → cut → cut → stab, slowly. Learn the feel of loosening the left hand on the cut.

20–40 min · Real cutting grid (BPM 72) Loop the 16th grid above. When stabs and cuts roll without a break, the cutting groove comes alive. Unhurried, keep stirring the 16ths with your wrist.

40–50 min · Recording / self-feedback (recommended) Record and listen back. Check the cut lives as a "chick" and the stabs don't smear.

Done when: You can alternate Dm9 stabs and muted cutting in 16ths at BPM 72 and roll the cutting groove without a break.

Just the mistakes that show up most on the cutting grid.

▶ Feel the stab (chord) and cut (chick) alternate, one beat each, in slow motion.

• The cut isn't heard. Don't lift the left hand fully; keep it resting lightly on the strings and brush with the pick.
• The stab smears. Cut the four notes short together, then loosen at once to prepare the next cut.
• The 16ths drag. Don't stop stirring the wrist; keep stroking even on the cut spots.
• You raise speed first. Drop to BPM 60 and make the stab/cut contrast clear first.