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Muting the A string when playing the G string?

C

Cutter

Guest
Jan 8, 2018
21
3
France
#1
Hi there!
I practice bass for 1 year and currently try to "kill" parasite noises when I'm playing.

As I own a 4-strings bass, I read many tutorials which advise to mute the A string with the right hand (thumb or 3rd or 4th finger) while playing the G string to prevent the A string to vibrate and produce a parasite noise. I'm fine with that and already try to do it.

But

I watched many videos of Jaco Pastorius and Marcus Miller playing live, and they seem not to take care about that. When they play the G string, their thumb remains on the microphone or the E string, and their 3rd/4th fingers don't take care about the A string.

Hence my question: why don't they take care about muting the A string when playing the G string? Are their bass or strings setted not to make parasite noises? Is their playing finger style so perfect that they don't make the A string vibrate? Or this advice is just something that is taught to beginners but can be forgotten by advanced players?

Thank you for your experience and advices!

Franck
 
#3
Welcome to the forums, Franck!

I think the short answer is that the technique you are describing ("floating thumb" or "movable anchor") became popular in the 1990s, whereas Jaco and Marcus learned to play in the 1970s. Technique changes over time, and there are generational differences between musicians from different decades.

Muting can be done with either hand. So if you are muting less with your right hand, then you need to mute more with your left hand (or vice versa).
 
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#4
shawshank72 said:
It's not taught to beginners and forgotten by advanced players, it's simply bad technique by beginners overcome by becoming an advanced player.
Although many still use it just like any other technique is.
Click to expand...

Do you mean that by becoming an advanced player, we learn to make less parasite noices so we don't need to use this technique anymore?

Mushroo said:
I think the short answer is that the technique you are describing ("floating thumb" or "movable anchor") became popular in the 1990s, whereas Jaco and Marcus learned to play in the 1970s. Technique changes over time, and there are generational differences between musicians from different decades.
Click to expand...

Actually Jaco speaks about preventing A string to vibrate with 3rd/4th fingers in his "Modern Electric Bass" video, but as I said I didn't see him do it on stage.

My question is: do I need to *always* put my 3rd finger on the A string when I'm playing the G string (even if it's only 1 or 2 notes)?
Like this:
---------7--------
-------6--6-------
--9-7-------------
-------------------

Or it's necessary only when I play much more notes on the G string?

Thanks for the welcoming! I think I found the right place!
 
#6
You can mute in any way that is comfortable for you. Depending on the passage, I might mute with my right hand thumb, my 3rd or 4th finger, or any of my available fingers on my left hand.

I don't know what the pros do, or what is considered good technique but after years of practice, I can play pretty quickly and cleanly... The key is practice.
 
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#7
As we grow our muting skills become second nature. For example another subject -- I learned the four fret - four finger method of sounding the notes, however, as my skill level grew I now find that my fingers decide what finger gets the note. I no longer have to think about what finger does what.

Pick a muting way for now and in a few years you may out-grow that method. Not talking about being sloppy -- what the guys that have been making a living playing bass and what I do may not be the same.
 
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#10
Play, play, play, and it will come to you naturally. It's like when I learned piano by ear and how to use the sustain/dampening pedal with my foot. I don't know how I do it. If I try to take notice of what I do it messes up my playing. Some things you just "grow into," I guess, intuitively.
 
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#11
I usually move my thump from pickup to E or even A string as I get higher, especially when playing long phrases, not just occasional notes. When the thump rests on a string, it kind of lies on lower ones and mutes them. Also, I tend to touch the lower string with my fretting index finger when I have too much noise on it. That said, clear picking technique is also important as it's been already said above. As you practice, you get less noise. If I were you I'd cut myself some slack by muting strings "explicitly" while practicing to make plucking hand technique clearer.
 
#12
dreamadream99 said:
I believe the most natural method is this:

1. Mute the lower strings with the trailing third and fourth fingertips of the plucking hand.
2. Mute the higher strings with the interior finger segments of the fretting hand.
Click to expand...

Oleg BassPlayer said:
I usually move my thump from pickup to E or even A string as I get higher, especially when playing long phrases, not just occasional notes. When the thump rests on a string, it kind of lies on lower ones and mutes them. Also, I tend to touch the lower string with my fretting index finger when I have too much noise on it. That said, clear picking technique is also important as it's been already said above. As you practice, you get less noise. If I were you I'd cut myself some slack by muting strings "explicitly" while practicing to make plucking hand technique clearer.
Click to expand...

I currently alternate between these 2 techniques depending of what I play.

But I still wonder how Jaco or Marcus Miller can achieve to play without any noise althought they don't care about muting not played strings??
 
#14
As others have said it is something that comes naturally in time. If you really analyze what is going on, you are always having to mute strings. With the left hand .. right hand... fingertips, palm... it is always occurring. So don't really over think it. Just keep playing and when you make some extra noises you don't like, figure out how to not make them, and move on without worry. That is part of the process. In time it will all become instinctive.
 
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#15
When Marcus plays finger style, he keeps his thumb on the pickup or E string and doesn't use his 3rd and 4th finger. And when he slaps, he doesn't care about preventing A string to resonate.



Same for Jaco :



Or don't I see well?

Oleg: nice to see someone from Ukraine, I'll visit it next summer :)
 
#16
Cutter said:
But I still wonder how Jaco hor Marcus Miller can achieve to play without any noise althought they don't care about muting not played strings??
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say these players "don't care"! Rather, I would say that, they use a combination of left hand and right hand muting that is typical of players who learned in the 1970s. For example, notice how Miller's left hand thumb sometimes wraps around the neck to mute the E string. This might not be the exact technique your teacher recommends in the year 2018, but it is how a lot of people (including top pros) played back then.

Also, let's be honest: Jaco had mental health and substance abuse issues. Some of his live performances have sloppy technique. I love Jaco, but I wouldn't try to learn to play bass by watching his concert videos. The best way to study Jaco in my opinion is to learn his music, and play the songs with your own technique.
 
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#18
Cutter said:
I agree with you :)

Besides, is the floating thumb technique (as Gary Willis) the latest innovation about string muting? When was it seen at first?
Click to expand...

None of my teachers in the 1980s taught it. The two most common techniques at that time were either 1) anchor your thumb on the pickup and mute with your left hand, or 2) play with a pick. I first learned "movable anchor" in the 1990s from Michael Manring, who was a student of Jaco's. I'm not sure whether Manring got this technique from Jaco, or if he learned it elsewhere.
 
#19
Cutter said:
When Marcus plays finger style, he keeps his thumb on the pickup or E string and doesn't use his 3rd and 4th finger. And when he slaps, he doesn't care about preventing A string to resonate.



Same for Jaco :



Or don't I see well?

Oleg: nice to see someone from Ukraine, I'll visit it next summer :)
Click to expand...


Jaco definitely rests his thump on the 4th string, does he?

As for Marcus Miller, I can't get how he does it lol

PS I hope you'll enjoy being here :)
 
#20
Mushroo said:
None of my teachers in the 1980s taught it. The two most common techniques at that time were either 1) anchor your thumb on the pickup and mute with your left hand, or 2) play with a pick. I first learned "movable anchor" in the 1990s from Michael Manring, who was a student of Jaco's. I'm not sure whether Manring got this technique from Jaco, or if he learned it elsewhere.
Click to expand...

And what is commonly teached in 2018?
 

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