Plucking hand question

[Oleg BassPlayer]

Hi everyone, I have a question about right hand technique.

I play 4 strings, and my teacher once told me to rest my thumb on the pickup or the bass body when playing the E string, on the E when playing the A, on the A when playing the D and G strings:

So that the thumb mutes E and A strings.

And I've happily played like this until I thought about 5 string bass. In order to mute the B string when plucking, say, G, I'd have to lay the thumb flat on 3 strings. I tried playing like this:

But this last position feels a little weird and off the general pattern because I have put the hand closer to the strings and turn plucking fingers towards the bridge to make some room for plucking.

Please could you tell if the second technique worth bothering or maybe I'm doing it wrong?

 

[Lobster11]

I think this is what you're looking for:

 

[Element Zero]

So that basically more or less how I play. On my 5s if I'm playing the D and G strings I ALWAYS mute the E and B strings with my ring finger and pinkie respectfully. It's just what made sense and felt like a natural thing to do when I bought my first 5 back in '99. I've been doing it since then and ain't gonna stop now lol.

 

[Watchootognbout]

The floating thumb technique.

 

[Oleg BassPlayer]

The floating thumb technique.
View attachment 4426375

Do you just raise your elbow and move the hand upwards retaining this very orientation when you play on 6th or 5th strings?

 

[Watchootognbout]

Do you just raise your elbow and move the hand upwards retaining this very orientation when you play on 6th or 5th strings?

If you mean the E and B strings,I try to keep my arm straight.
"Try"
I don't really pluck on the very tips of my fingers like you do in your vid.
My nails catch.
I keep my thumb flat all the way across.

 

[Lobster11]

Do you just raise your elbow and move the hand upwards retaining this very orientation when you play on 6th or 5th strings?

I do. I keep my wrist straight and my forearm parallel to the face of the bass -- either not touching the body at all or just gently gliding across the top of the body's face. (I use a wristband to reduce friction if wearing a short-sleeved shirt.) If you bend our wrist and rest your forearm on the top of the body the floating thumb won't work as an effective mute, and will sometimes just produce unwanted harmonics.

BTW, something else I like about floating thumb, which you might or might not also like, is that it encourages me to pluck softly (and let the amp do the work). When my thumb is anchored anywhere I often find myself digging in more than necessary. With the floating thumb -- and "floating arm" -- my hand feels super-relaxed and it feels like I could play forever without getting tired.

 

[Kaa]

The Gary Willis style of plucking would also be appropriate for this, would it not?

 

[mrcbass]

IT's different for everyone. Different shaped hands and different ways of thinking. I would like to employ the floating thumb technique, but my joints are too shapely so it won't easily touch multiple strings. I developed using my pinky and ring finger to kind of hook the E and B strings before I actually learned any "proper" techniques - I was glad to hear it wasn't some sort of freak show, but that others do it as well.

 

[Killing Floor]

I'd add there is not a single correct position or plucking or muting technique. Personally I sometimes anchor and sometimes I don't. Sometimes mute with plucking/picking hand and sometimes with my fretting hand.
Find which one works best for you. But don't hesitate to learn different techniques because if you like what you hear the technique is good. Don't panic.

 

[TheReceder]

Sad thing is, I've been playing for more than 40 years and I don't know what I do.

 

[el murdoque]

Sad thing is, I've been playing for more than 40 years and I don't know what I do.

I've had the same experience. After playing 5 string basses for about twenty years I bought a six.
And suddenly, I've had noise coming off unused and unmuted strings. I was quite baffled. 'My' technique worked well on a 5. I basically used my thumb to mute E and B at the same time and the rest was muted by other means unknown to me. On the six, I always seemed to be one digit short and one of the strings escaped me on certain licks. I use floating thumb in those cases.

 

[DwaynieAD]

If it works for you you're not doing it wrong. Playing notes cleanly is more important than how you get there

 

[TheReceder]

I've had the same experience. After playing 5 string basses for about twenty years I bought a six.
And suddenly, I've had noise coming off unused and unmuted strings. I was quite baffled. 'My' technique worked well on a 5. I basically used my thumb to mute E and B at the same time and the rest was muted by other means unknown to me. On the six, I always seemed to be one digit short and one of the strings escaped me on certain licks. I use floating thumb in those cases.

The big difference; sitting at the keyboard you were able to describe what you do... for all I know if I thought about it long enough I'd probably say I did one thing, then after years of playing I'd be completely lost the next time I picked up a bass..... Kind of like asking someone who bowls do you inhale or exhale when you release the ball.

 

[TOOL460002]

I think there are benefits and sacrifices muting with either/both hands at different times. There are certain things you legit can't exactly do with one versus the other. I prefer mostly left hand muting, but I also use varying right hand techniques as a big part of what I do or am experimenting with. It's one less thing to worry about with that hand and less chance of tiring out.

 

[GreyBeard]

The floating thumb technique.
View attachment 4426375

This is what I've been doing for the past several years. The custom thumb rest I had made for my 95 SR5 doesn't get much use.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Hi everyone, I have a question about right hand technique.

I play 4 strings, and my teacher once told me to rest my thumb on the pickup or the bass body when playing the E string, on the E when playing the A, on the A when playing the D and G strings:
View attachment 4426288
So that the thumb mutes E and A strings.

And I've happily played like this until I thought about 5 string bass. In order to mute the B string when plucking, say, G, I'd have to lay the thumb flat on 3 strings. I tried playing like this:
View attachment 4426287
But this last position feels a little weird and off the general pattern because I have put the hand closer to the strings and turn plucking fingers towards the bridge to make some room for plucking.

Please could you tell if the second technique worth bothering or maybe I'm doing it wrong?

Yes. You do the same thing you've always done. Except you'd now have an extra string that vibrates with sub sonic mud when playing other strings. If your thumb is on any string on a five string, it needs to be on your B.

But yes, you are doing exactly what you need to do in that video.

I liked to use my other fingers as well though. Ring and pinky. Same job, less movement. Just a little awkward at first

 

[Ric5]

Hi everyone, I have a question about right hand technique.

I play 4 strings, and my teacher once told me to rest my thumb on the pickup or the bass body when playing the E string, on the E when playing the A, on the A when playing the D and G strings:
View attachment 4426288
So that the thumb mutes E and A strings.

And I've happily played like this until I thought about 5 string bass. In order to mute the B string when plucking, say, G, I'd have to lay the thumb flat on 3 strings. I tried playing like this:
View attachment 4426287
But this last position feels a little weird and off the general pattern because I have put the hand closer to the strings and turn plucking fingers towards the bridge to make some room for plucking.

Please could you tell if the second technique worth bothering or maybe I'm doing it wrong?

put your thumb where it is comfortable

but you might want to bend your wrist less

 

[Jrussblues]

There is no "correct" way to place your thumb.
For instance, here's gouche destroying a 6 string with an anchored thumb in front of Scott from sbl (the floating thumb preacher).
Both are great bassists but play differently.

 

[el murdoque]

The big difference; sitting at the keyboard you were able to describe what you do... for all I know if I thought about it long enough I'd probably say I did one thing, then after years of playing I'd be completely lost the next time I picked up a bass..... Kind of like asking someone who bowls do you inhale or exhale when you release the ball.

Yeah, but I have had that same issue. Muting just crept in while I learned to play and I was doing it without noticing - only when the 6th string was introduced and my method failed I realized how I was doing it - but only by sitting down and watching out for what it was exactly that I did. Just like a bowler that will mess up the next few throws when you ask about the inhale/exhale thing.

I think there are benefits and sacrifices muting with either/both hands at different times. There are certain things you legit can't exactly do with one versus the other. I prefer mostly left hand muting, but I also use varying right hand techniques as a big part of what I do or am experimenting with. It's one less thing to worry about with that hand and less chance of tiring out.

Proper muting requires both hands. Your fretting hand needs to mute the strings below (as in closer to the ground) the ones you're playing while your plucking hand needs to mute those above. Only the strings you actually play, and therefore have both hands on, can be muted by either hand and you have a choice.