Thumb Anchoring and Muting Questions

[MJS888]

I am a bass beginner in the process of deciding what techniques I wish to make habitual. I began finger plucking using "free strokes" with my thumb anchored on the pickup. After watching a few youtube videos, I was quickly persuaded to use rest strokes and a movable thumb anchor to aid in muting tasks and to maintain a relaxed wrist position. However, I am still undecided about where to anchor my thumb.

When I anchor my thumb on the D string (when playing the G string), it is not comfortable for me to mute the E string with my thumb. Therefore, I began anchoring my thumb two strings below the string I was playing, using the pickup when playing the E and A strings. Then I noticed an audible thump and sometimes a moment of fret noise when my finger collided with the E string after plucking the A string. To eliminate this issue, I began anchoring my thumb on the string adjacent to the string being plucked, except when I play the G string, in which case I anchor on the A string. Is this an optimal technique to practice?

One more question.... When playing a fairly rapid series of the same note (same string, same fret) in which you desire a moment of muting between notes, do you achieve this by briefly relaxing your fretting finger between notes? Or do you keep the fret depressed and use your alternate plucking finger to briefly mute the string between notes?

 

[fearceol]

Hi..and welcome to TB.

You are (I assume) starting from scratch, so everything you try is going to feel alien and uncomfortable. The one thing that screams out at me from your post is....be patient. Learning a technique from ground zero can take a lot of time. Another technique you could check out is the "Floating Thumb" (see clip below). Here, you dont rest the thumb on anything. The thumb simply does what it says on the tin....floats.

As for your second question : I would not worry too much about speed at this stage. Concentrate on doing things slowly and deliberately for the time being. You have enough basic stuff to work on for now. Speed will come with constant practice. To answer your question...yes, you could relax the fretting finger between notes, or use the plucking fingers to mute.

Here is a thread on getting started that should be of help. Best of luck.

How to get started?

 

[Lobster11]

Just want to say kudos for putting in the thought and the work to make sure to develop good technique(s) right from the get-go, rather than developing bad habits that will have to be corrected somewhere down the road. And bonus points for being mindful specifically about wrist positions, which are important not only for good technique but for avoiding potential injury.

 

[MJS888]

Hi..and welcome to TB.

You are (I assume) starting from scratch, so everything you try is going to feel alien and uncomfortable. The one thing that screams out at me from your post is....be patient. Learning a technique from ground zero can take a lot of time. Another technique you could check out is the "Floating Thumb" (see clip below). Here, you dont rest the thumb on anything. The thumb simply does what it says on the tin....floats.

As for your second question : I would not worry too much about speed at this stage. Concentrate on doing things slowly and deliberately for the time being. You have enough basic stuff to work on for now. Speed will come with constant practice. To answer your question...yes, you could relax the fretting finger between notes, or use the plucking fingers to mute.

Here is a thread on getting started that should be of help. Best of luck.

How to get started?

Thanks for the advice! I am a keyboard player who is "starting from scratch" with the guitar and bass. In addition to youtube, I am using Bandfuse and Rocksmith to learn. The Rocksmith game constantly pushes beginners to do too much too fast (and is too forgiving of sloppy execution). I use the features that allow me to control the speed and difficulty. With Bandfuse, I try to achieve near perfect execution before attempting the next difficulty level (and I like to add my own improvised notes between the notes it asks me to play).

I began learning guitar (using a pick) a couple weeks before the bass, and was surprised to discover that resting my fretting finger on those thick bass strings was not always sufficient to quiet them. For rapid muting between a series of the same note, using my alternate plucking finger seems easier and more effective.

By the way, I am enjoying the bass the most. I find that I even like playing the bass part to songs I dislike.

 

[fearceol]

Glad you are enjoying the bass. You'll find that by taking things in small bite size chunks that you'll progress faster in the long run.

 

[MJS888]

I think being able to play bass lines on a keyboard (along with lead with some "rhythm" parts thrown in) may make it more difficult to be patient. I'll try to take it slow.

 

[fearceol]

I think being able to play bass lines on a keyboard (along with lead with some "rhythm" parts thrown in) may make it more difficult to be patient. I'll try to take it slow.

The fact that you have experience on both keyboards and lead guitar will no doubt be helpful. However, be aware that the bass plays a completely different part in the band, to these instruments.

IMO it would be prudent to put some of your energy and enthusiasm into practicing your timing and groove. Being able to play fast complex lines is all well and good, but if your timing and groove are not up to par, you'll sound bad. Playing slow..with good timing..is a lot harder to achieve than playing fast.

 

[MJS888]

The fact that you have experience on both keyboards and lead guitar will no doubt be helpful. However, be aware that the bass plays a completely different part in the band, to these instruments.

IMO it would be prudent to put some of your energy and enthusiasm into practicing your timing and groove. Being able to play fast complex lines is all well and good, but if your timing and groove are not up to par, you'll sound bad. Playing slow..with good timing..is a lot harder to achieve than playing fast.

I meant to say I play bass, lead/melody and rhythm parts (chords, arpeggios) on keyboard; I don't have significant guitar experience. My timing/groove is relatively strong. In fact, if I don't care whether I'm hitting the right notes or how crappy it sounds, I can play with excellent timing!

The link you provided in your first response is very helpful. Thanks!

 

[alembicguy]

I don't anchor my thumb and for muting I use this.

 

[MJS888]

I don't anchor my thumb and for muting I use this.

View attachment 758655

Wouldn't that thing need to be moved below the nut to mute strings? It must also affect the tone or volume of notes, but perhaps not a badly. Are such devices more popular among pick users (muting seems tougher to me when using a pick)?

I'll continue to work on muting with my hands for now, but thanks for showing me another tool.

 

[alembicguy]

Wouldn't that thing need to be moved below the nut to mute strings? It must also affect the tone or volume of notes, but perhaps not a badly. Are such devices more popular among pick users (muting seems tougher to me when using a pick)?

I'll continue to work on muting with my hands for now, but thanks for showing me another tool.

Yes it is moveable. I play both pick and finger style.

 

[gregouille23]

I am a bass beginner in the process of deciding what techniques I wish to make habitual. I began finger plucking using "free strokes" with my thumb anchored on the pickup. After watching a few youtube videos, I was quickly persuaded to use rest strokes and a movable thumb anchor to aid in muting tasks and to maintain a relaxed wrist position. However, I am still undecided about where to anchor my thumb.

When I anchor my thumb on the D string (when playing the G string), it is not comfortable for me to mute the E string with my thumb. Therefore, I began anchoring my thumb two strings below the string I was playing, using the pickup when playing the E and A strings. Then I noticed an audible thump and sometimes a moment of fret noise when my finger collided with the E string after plucking the A string. To eliminate this issue, I began anchoring my thumb on the string adjacent to the string being plucked, except when I play the G string, in which case I anchor on the A string. Is this an optimal technique to practice?

Another technique you could check out is the "Floating Thumb" (see clip below). Here, you dont rest the thumb on anything. The thumb simply does what it says on the tin....floats.

Welcome! There are a lot of muting techniques indeed but I also use floating thumb as mentioned by fearceol. It took me sometime to feel comfortable with it as I decided after a few years of playing to re-think my right hand technique and use floating thumb. But it payed off greatly in my opinion. The reason I went towards floating was similar to you: when anchoring on upper string (D mostly) I had issues to keep the E muted. Floating thumb is definitely something you could try. As with any new technique, give it some time and don't give up after a couple of hours because it doesn't feel natural. But what works for some doesn't work for others, and in the end you will have to make the decision of what technique you prefer.

One more question.... When playing a fairly rapid series of the same note (same string, same fret) in which you desire a moment of muting between notes, do you achieve this by briefly relaxing your fretting finger between notes? Or do you keep the fret depressed and use your alternate plucking finger to briefly mute the string between notes?

I am not sure what you mean by "moment of muting". I am assuming you want to stop the last note played and have your bass produce no sound at all for a period of time. If so, I would use my fretting hand for that by relaxing the fretting finger as you said, while still keeping in contact with the string obviously.

Hope it helps! And enjoy that great instrument!

 

[TomB]

Good discussion and advice! I find anchoring a thumb pretty useful on upright, where it provides needed leverage and hand strength to dig in for certain styles. For electric though, I've found it best to involve as many fingers as necessary of both hands in mutitng and achieving the right note length, which is the most important outcome in the end. Resting the thumb or the unused picking finger are both useful, as is employing the fretting hand where needed. If you practice it enough, it will indeed become unconscious over time. With 50 years under my belt, I rarely think about it at all. Good luck!

 

[MJS888]

...I am not sure what you mean by "moment of muting". I am assuming you want to stop the last note played and have your bass produce no sound at all for a period of time. If so, I would use my fretting hand for that by relaxing the fretting finger as you said, while still keeping in contact with the string obviously.

Hope it helps! And enjoy that great instrument!

That's what I meant. When playing a rapid series of the same note, if find it easier to briefly mute with my alternate plucking finger than with my fretting hand.

 

[MJS888]

...Resting the thumb or the unused picking finger are both useful, as is employing the fretting hand where needed. If you practice it enough, it will indeed become unconscious over time. With 50 years under my belt, I rarely think about it at all. Good luck!

Did you mean resting your unused "picking" fingers or plucking fingers? It seems to me that bass players generally curl their unused fingers (fingers 2, 3, and 4) under their palm when using a plectrum (unlike many guitar players). Is it good form to keep those unused fingers extended and resting on the strings when using a pick?

 

[TomB]

Did you mean resting your unused "picking" fingers or plucking fingers? It seems to me that bass players generally curl their unused fingers (fingers 2, 3, and 4) under their palm when using a plectrum (unlike many guitar players). Is it good form to keep those unused fingers extended and resting on the strings when using a pick?

I meant plucking fingers. Though generally 1 & 2 are extended and working together, thumb & 3 scoot around like utility players, muting or plucking as needed. My little finger (on the plucking hand) stays mostly out of the way (though it's a very busy digit on the fretting hand). I don't have enough skill with a pick to answer your second question with any authority. Others here would be much better able to do so.

 

[MJS888]

I meant plucking fingers. Though generally 1 & 2 are extended and working together, thumb & 3 scoot around like utility players, muting or plucking as needed. My little finger (on the plucking hand) stays mostly out of the way (though it's a very busy digit on the fretting hand). I don't have enough skill with a pick to answer your second question with any authority. Others here would be much better able to do so.

Thanks for the clarification. I prefer the sounds I get from my bass with a pick, but have more trouble muting strings when using one. A subject for another thread perhaps.

 

[TomB]

It takes a good long while to develop the kind of consistency with fingers that comes more easily with a pick, but the flexibility and adaptability you get with finger-picking makes it a worthwhile effort, in my opinion. Like any technique, it takes practice and more practice, and then suddenly, it's there, and your focus moves on to other topics!

 

[MJS888]

It takes a good long while to develop the kind of consistency with fingers that comes more easily with a pick, but the flexibility and adaptability you get with finger-picking makes it a worthwhile effort, in my opinion. Like any technique, it takes practice and more practice, and then suddenly, it's there, and your focus moves on to other topics!

I believe my tone is more consistent with fingers. With the pick, my upstrokes sometimes sound weak. And I've noticed that small changes (not always intentional) in the angle of the pick relative to the string can produce relatively big changes in tone. Also, it's easier to change picks for a different sound than to change fingers. I'll keep working on both styles! Thanks.