When did you learn right hand muting techniques?

kiwlm · #1 03-16-2004, 07:48 PM

Right Hand Muting techniques -
muting with right thumb, ring or pinky while playing higher (pitch) strings to mute the lower (pitch) strings.

I am wondering how many of you actually learn right hand muting since the beginning, or later after you are quite proficient with all the left hand techniques and the fingerboards and stuffs.

I think the right hand muting technique is rarely discussed in beginner's bass books, for the 4-5 that I have looked thru...

Goldsac · #2 03-16-2004, 09:36 PM

I'm a pretty big fan of the floating thumb. Its not too much to adjust to, and also improves fingerstyle speed because all you do is move your whole hand. Without having to adjust your fingers to cross strings, they stay in the same position relative to your thumb, and therefore playing any string feels the same.
Of course I can't do any of this...but I've been working on it. I rest my thumb on the E, sometimes the A. They're the ones that need it the most in my playing. As of now I just find it to be a pain in the ass moving my hand around all the time, (especially for quick runs) and my left hand muting is already ship-shape for the D & G.

Eyescream · #3 03-16-2004, 11:35 PM

You know what's funny? I learned all the playing techniques like muting, slap, two and three finger plucking, tapping and stuff at first.

But I never took the time to learn scales or how to play in key or arpeggios or any of that. I'm trying to play catch up with all that now.

What a ******.

kiwlm · #4 03-16-2004, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eyescream

You know what's funny? I learned all the playing techniques like muting, slap, two and three finger plucking, tapping and stuff at first.

But I never took the time to learn scales or how to play in key or arpeggios or any of that. I'm trying to play catch up with all that now.

Don't think that's funny at all! I guess most of the self taught people will actually learn to play some of the songs, and learn some of the techniques used first.

Then they will come to learn scales and stuffs, to get their hands in shape, or to learn to improvise. I started out learning Accoustic guitars without learning scales and the fingerboard.

Well, though all the piano teachers will teach you scales first.

Eyescream · #5 03-17-2004, 12:05 AM

Oh, I didn't mean funny "ha-ha". I meant more funny "gee, that's ****ed up."

kiwlm · #6 03-17-2004, 12:09 AM

hehe, my previous reply could mean that's not ****ed up at all!

Eyescream · #7 03-17-2004, 12:24 AM

It's ****ed up that I knew better. You're probably right that it's not all that uncommon, though. I haven't really compared notes with other players that are self-taught, but I bet a lot of them did the same thing I did; or approached learning with some sort of plan with regard to how they were going to go about learning to play.

wulf · #8 03-17-2004, 04:42 AM

What about the "can't remember" option? All I can say is "somewhere in the last 17 years" and it was probably fairly early on...

Wulf

dTune · #9 03-17-2004, 06:38 AM

It kinda came automatically for me. I used to "anchor" my hand with the thumb on the pickup, ring finger on E string and pinky on the B string (A and E with a 4-string) when possible.
Now i'm trying to unlearn it, and use floating thumb and other fingers whenever possible, control the muting better, not to do that when it's not necessary.

nicoli · #10 03-17-2004, 07:49 AM

Not something I'm really too concerned about so it's nothing I've ever put effort into learning, I've never had any problems with strings ringing. I do shift my right thumb to rest on the 'E' when I'm plucking on the 'G' but that's more for convenience than for muting.

tplyons · #11 03-17-2004, 04:00 PM

It just came natural to me. After not being able to differentiate notes on my first CRATE BX-15, I devised a way to do it. Still do it to this day.

Rumblejohn · #12 03-17-2004, 06:42 PM

I really never gave it much thought, but I just noticed recently that muting strings just came naturally without a lot of conscious effort, it just happened.

John

FlawLaw · #13 03-24-2004, 06:54 AM

This is how I have been learning to play bass...The band says: "Hey drummer, learn to play bass." So I get up from the drum set and start working on the bass. I think I have been learning to play bass like a drummer would. I would play by ear, trying to follow along that way. Coordination was not as much a problem, but getting my pinky to do anything was and still is a huge problem. Muting was something I worked on immediately because it was always a concern when I was playing the drums. Playing chords was not a priority. I could read music, but learned tab and practiced alot. Now, I am going to a teacher and learning the technique that I missed early on.