Muting the A string when playing the G string?

[knumbskull]

I had never thought about it until now but I do most if not all of my muting with my left/fretting hand. It's not something I've consciously learned, it's just happened that way in response to sympathetic vibration and unwanted noise.

(Since I started using a pick again in one of my bands, I realised left-hand muting also helps with over-enthusiastic picking technique. Some of the songs are very lively so this is a bonus!)

 

[Mushroo]

And what is commonly teached in 2018?

Honestly it's been a while since I took a lesson. The important thing is, what does YOUR teacher recommend?

 

[Cutter]

Actually I don't have any teacher. I learned by myself by watching videos and reading lessons. But as there are quite different ways to play, I'd like to know which is commonly teached currently to avoid wasting time by learning outdated technique

 

[Cutter]

I worked hard this last month to prevent strings ringing by using the moveable anchor. It works fine, but if I push up the volume, I can hear a quiet "scratchy" noise of my thumb moving from a string to another, which is not pleasant. I tried to remove this noise by concentrating on it but currently didn't succeed. Do you have some advice to share with me to move your thumb (anchor) without any noise??

 

[superheavyfunk]

I worked hard this last month to prevent strings ringing by using the moveable anchor. It works fine, but if I push up the volume, I can hear a quiet "scratchy" noise of my thumb moving from a string to another, which is not pleasant. I tried to remove this noise by concentrating on it but currently didn't succeed. Do you have some advice to share with me to move your thumb (anchor) without any noise??

I'm my experience (and I'm certainly not perfect) there will always be some small sounds. Good technique helps to minimize it but can't eliminate it altogether because its just a physical property of the design. Magnets pick up the movement of the metal strings and send that to the amplifier... The life the amp, the louder the sounds will be.

Using a high pass filter will help eliminate the low rumble that you sometimes get. Using flatwound strings will help tame the high end squeak that happens when you move your fingers. Other than that, practise and patience are your best friends, in my opinion.

 

[superheavyfunk]

I worked hard this last month to prevent strings ringing by using the moveable anchor. It works fine, but if I push up the volume, I can hear a quiet "scratchy" noise of my thumb moving from a string to another, which is not pleasant. I tried to remove this noise by concentrating on it but currently didn't succeed. Do you have some advice to share with me to move your thumb (anchor) without any noise??

I'm my experience (and I'm certainly not perfect) there will always be some small sounds. Good technique helps to minimize it but can't eliminate it altogether because its just a physical property of the design. Magnets pick up the movement of the metal strings and send that to the amplifier... The life the amp, the louder the sounds will be.

Using a high pass filter will help eliminate the low rumble that you sometimes get. Using flatwound strings will help tame the high end squeak that happens when you move your fingers. Other than that, practise and patience are your best friends, in my opinion.

 

[superheavyfunk]

I worked hard this last month to prevent strings ringing by using the moveable anchor. It works fine, but if I push up the volume, I can hear a quiet "scratchy" noise of my thumb moving from a string to another, which is not pleasant. I tried to remove this noise by concentrating on it but currently didn't succeed. Do you have some advice to share with me to move your thumb (anchor) without any noise??

I'm my experience (and I'm certainly not perfect) there will always be some small sounds. Good technique helps to minimize it but can't eliminate it altogether because its just a physical property of the design. Magnets pick up the movement of the metal strings and send that to the amplifier... The louder the amp, the louder the sounds will be.

Using a high pass filter will help eliminate the low rumble that you sometimes get. Using flatwound strings will help tame the high end squeak that happens when you move your fingers. Other than that, practise and patience are your best friends, in my opinion.

 

[Cutter]

The life the amp, the louder the sounds will be.

Thank you for your advices!

I didn't understand "The life the amp, the louder the sounds will be", is a word missing?

 

[superheavyfunk]

Thank you for your advices!

I didn't understand "The life the amp, the louder the sounds will be", is a word missing?

Sorry, that was a typing mistake. It was supposed to say "the louder the amp, the louder those small sounds will be." I've fixed it now.

Also keep in mind that those small sounds are often covered up when there are other instruments playing along, so they become unnoticeable

 

[Lobster11]

I disagree with all those who say don't worry about it, you'll figure it out naturally, and that all you need to do is practice. Practice what? The more you practice bad technique, the better you'll get at bad technique. As they say, it isn't practice that makes perfect -- it is perfect practice that makes perfect. And besides, if you just wait until you "naturally" figure it out, you'll sound terrible until you do, and it might take a while.

There are several well-designed, tried-and-true techniques that have been developed for muting, such as the "movable anchor" and "floating thumb" for the right hand. I think it's a much better idea to invest some time focusing on learning one or more of these, just as you would do to learn any other technique.

Personally, I do my best to emulate this guy's version of the floating thumb:



BTW, some other advantages I've found of using this technique (other than muting) is that I find it makes it easy to keep my right wrist straight and my hand relaxed, which in turn makes it easier for me to pluck softly (and let the amp do the work) when I want to. Of course, YMMV.

 

[Cutter]

There are several well-designed, tried-and-true techniques that have been developed for muting, such as the "movable anchor" and "floating thumb" for the right hand. I think it's a much better idea to invest some time focusing on learning one or more of these, just as you would do to learn any other technique.

I actually already use the moveable anchor (and also tried floating thumb). As I said, it works fine. My problem is when my thumb moves from anchoring on E string to A string. It produces an unpleasant noise when sliding from the E string (making a "crrrrr") and landing on the A string (making a little "poc").

When using the floating thumb technique, the noise is produced by the sliding thumb crossing the strings.

These noises are the most audible when I boost the treble on my bass. If I cut them and boost a bit the bass, I don't hear these noises anymore. But it's not a real solution

Is there a point on technique which can prevent these kind of noises?

 

[comatosedragon]

I'm still not able to mute reliably with my right hand (I play 5's and fingerstyle); so I have spent some time trying to develop my left-hand muting technique. I don't think there is a 'correct' way to do it, whatever works and is comfortable.