Slap bass- a question about left-hand and thumb muting?

[Fassa Albrecht]

I'm so confused! I've recently got into slap and I've hit a bit of a problem. I can't tell the difference between the left-hand and thumb mutes and the book I'm using is minimal in explaining.

Can someone please explain really clearly how to do both of these muting techniques??

[ryco]

If by "thumb mute" you mean dead notes? Like barely holding down the strings on the fretboard with the left hand so they don't vibrate and thumping with your right hand thumb?

Left hand muting is where you actually slap down your left hand firmly across the fretboard with all your fingers creating a clack. Don't let the strings vibrate - you just want the clack.