Muting

[Chad Thorne]

Now that I'm able to play just a little faster I'm starting to get some random noises, squeaks, thumps, etc. How much of this do you tolerate? And when you're done toleratin', how do you mute to prevent such noises?

[dadgadget]

Muting is something that both hands take responsibility for. In more percussive or short note passages, often your left hand will do the job by un-fretting the note, NOT taking your finger off the string though. Right hand muting is done mostly when crossing strings by keeping your hand in contact with the open strings as you cross.

 

If you play with your fingers this is best accomplished by using your thumb to rest on the string above the one your playing on, instead of always resting on the pickup. A great practice for this technique is playing scales slowly and deliberately watching your right hand closely to make sure that when you cross strings your thumb moves along in time.

 

Another thing to try is to bring your thumb around the top of the neck to take care of the E string, easiest on a jazz bass or if your have large enough hands.

 

In the end, tolerate NONE of the exrta noises you are hearing, if you can only play up to a certain tempo cleanly and efficiently, then so be it, practice scales and arpeggios and all the horrible stuff slowly until you can bring the speed up naturally. Playing speed should be your last concern in learning to play, be patient and practice hard and listen to Jaco !

[Mr. Wise Man]

With the exception of the thumb over the neck and "listen to Jaco" bits, I fully concur with Mr. Dadgadget.

[Chad Thorne]

So basically the same techniques as on guitar, no special "bass-y" tricks?

 

BTW - "instead of always resting on the pickup"? I have never done this, my left (picking - I play lefty) hand always floats free of the top of the instrument. Is there some advantage to resting a thumb on a pickup?

[Mr. Wise Man]

Originally posted by chad:

Is there some advantage to resting a thumb on a pickup?

 

I'm not aware of any -- it's just a very common example of inefficient technique.