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Time to adjust plucking hand technique

MonTheNicol

MonTheNicol

Guest
Apr 16, 2015
94
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UK
#1
I have found out that for years I have been very, very silly. (and no insult meant to people that can do it)

I have never used my right hand (plucking hand) to mute strings. I have always kept my thumb anchored on a pickup and my hand in a lose fist.

I have used my left hand to attempt to disable the infamous string hum but with great difficulty.

So I am going to get out of this bad habit! Has anyone adjusted their right hand (or left hand, not to insult lefites) technique too? How long do you predict it takes to do it second nature?

EDIT: I am adapting the thumb anchor technique, not the floating thumb, as I dislike the feel of my thumb not being anchored.
 
#2
Obviously the more you practice it, the quicker you will adapt. My guess would be, while including it in a daily two hour practice session...anything from two weeks to a month. It's hard to say for sure. All you can do is keep at it until it is second nature. The left hand fingers can still be used to mute as well.
 
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#3
fearceol said:
Obviously the more you practice it, the quicker you will adapt. My guess would be, while including it in a daily two hour practice session...anything from two weeks to a month. It's hard to say for sure. All you can do is keep at it until it is second nature. The left hand fingers can still be used to mute as well.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, I mute a lot with my left hand now. I'd just like to make the job easier by making it more automatic by second nature.
 
#4
I've had to make adjustments like this. I try to mute with my left as much as I can since it allows more freedom with my right while plucking. However, for parts where I need more movement on my fretting hand I'll basically use various pieces of my palm, side of hand and pinky to mute. I'm actually currently having an issue with my right handing muting too much so I need to back off a bit. The hardest part for me is that I can't find a relaxed position to play in for this style of muting on my current work so I have to remember to keep my hand raised which is annoying.
 
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#5
I never really made much of an effort to mute, but after years of playing and reading about it I was observing my playing and realized I was doing it for the most part anyway. Sometimes I have my thumb touching the E string when I'm not playing it, and my other fingers were more or less touching strings to mute them. My left hand also was muting strings when they weren't actually being utilized. I recently started using a pick and getting used to it, but I was making an effort to observe how I was muting, and along with both left and right hands doing some I was reaching over the top of the neck with my thumb and muting the E string! I have always kept my thumb anchored to the back of the neck, but all of the sudden without thinking about it their it was muting the E string!
Its funny how the body does this without a conscience effort! I guess after years of playing, not having strings ring out when they aren't supposed to the brain takes over and does it on its own!
 
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#7
I still anchor on the pickup when playing the E string, but I started muting with my plucking hand thumb just recently. Seems to work a treat and becomes second nature after a few tunes.
The added benefit for me was that the hand never changes shape (stretching out) when reaching for the D and G strings, as my thumb just glides on top of the E, and A strings.
This isn't the "moving anchor" that some folks use, but rather the "floating thumb" I think it's called.
 
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#8
I only anchor the thumb on plucking hand when I play the E string (on a 4 string). Whenever I move to other string, the thumb goes to anchor on the E string.
Sometime I use ring finger to mute too. I have never used the thumb on fretting hand to mute ever, since it feel quite uncomfortable for the hand.
 
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#9
Try Gary Willis aproach. I recommend it to everybody. Basicly foating thumb with using ur ring finger sometimes. Check it out on youtube. I have 0 string vibration with this technique, just notes i play are being heard.
hoangduong212, try floating thumb. Now to place a thumb you have 2 places (or 3), first would be on pickup, second on A string, and third if you want is on E string.
Tho using floating thumb and Gary Willis aproach, i find my fingers moving just about a centimeter. When I played without that technique, it moved at least the twice. Oh, btw, my index and middle finger ALWAYS hit my thumb, i can give you few pictures if you like
 
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#10
Garun said:
Try Gary Willis aproach. I recommend it to everybody. Basicly foating thumb with using ur ring finger sometimes. Check it out on youtube. I have 0 string vibration with this technique, just notes i play are being heard.
hoangduong212, try floating thumb. Now to place a thumb you have 2 places (or 3), first would be on pickup, second on A string, and third if you want is on E string.
Tho using floating thumb and Gary Willis aproach, i find my fingers moving just about a centimeter. When I played without that technique, it moved at least the twice. Oh, btw, my index and middle finger ALWAYS hit my thumb, i can give you few pictures if you like
Click to expand...

I will try to search for Gary willis. Maybe it will take time to get used to this new thing, but seem floating thumb is better in long term. Please post pic if possible.
 
#11
Well, my approach is kinda floathing thumb but anchoring it on the string.
WIN_20150922_132043.JPG WIN_20150922_132050.JPG here you see that my thumb is pushing on B and E string, while I play A string for example. And you can see angle of my thumb. It's kinda strange to play like this for the first time, it took me a couple of days, but never went back.
WIN_20150922_132057.JPG here is when playing D string
WIN_20150922_132106.JPG WIN_20150922_132113.JPG And when playing G string. My thumb covers B E A and D strings. My index and middle finger always hit my thumb. It is a smaller traveling area so you can play faster. I use my ring finger for octaves and rarely for thirds and fifths, like you see on first picture. Also i play lightly.
Btw, if you read about ramps, for me, I can play great without them. So they are not necessary. Just get the technique down.
Since i got these pickups and new strings (first time in my life that i changed strings :D), i did my own setup great, but the E string is kinda under my thumbs, so my thumb is catching B A and D string, if this happens (but it shouldn't on 4 string), just get some tape or something to get extra few mm on thumb area. I'm still working on catching the E string, maybe i should raise it a bit :)
 
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#15
I play with my first two fingers and usually use my thumb for an anchor, be it on a pickup, pick guard, body, even the side of the neck if I'm playing over the end of the neck for an upright sound. Generally, I use my fourth finger to mute the E string and my third finger to mute the A string. The D and G strings are usually muted with my left hand. It took a while to get comfortable with this, at first I spent a lot of time practicing watching my fingers to get them to go where I wanted them, but once you get that technique down, it becomes second nature.

Bassically, Michael
 

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