Plucking on the g string muting

Technique
1

Having a hard time keeping the a string muted while plucking on the g sting.

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I will usually do one of:

  • rest my thumb on it
  • mute with the pinky of my plucking hand
  • palm mute it
  • mute it occasionally with a spare fretting finger

but muting is hard and is a skill sort of developed over time.

Resting your thumb on it is the easiest - getting used to moving your thumbrest for convenience is a good thing to do.

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3

I float my thumb, so it naturally lands on the D string and also mutes the A. E, and B strings when I pluck the G string. Obviously if you anchor your thumb on the pickup at all times (as many bassists do), this would not work, so I guess you’d have to mute the A string with your fretting hand.
How do you currently mute the D string when you play the G string?

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My preferred position is to have my thumb rest two strings lower than the string I’m playing. If I’m playing the G string, I’ll rest my thumb on the A string. My pluck across the G string will land on the D string and mute it. An upper part of my thumb is also muting the E string.

If I have to play the D string from that position I won’t move my thumb just for that.

If I have to play the A string I’ll move my thumb up to the E string or the pickup depending on what else I’m going to play next. I try to pick thumb positions that either minimize moving around or get me through a difficult phrase. I’m OK reaching for the G string if I know I’m going to be back on A anyway and won’t have a muting problem.

It’s a little bit like choosing fretting fingering, presetting positions to allow unwinding the next phrase gracefully.

@howard gets to give you more options than I have in my ability. I don’t have the other techniques mastered yet so I’m still making this one work the best I can.

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+1 here!

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You might want to check out this video to see what @howard and @DaveT are talking about:

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7

My best advice for getting better at additional muting techniques: play with a pick :slight_smile:

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If it’s a quick move to the g, i’ll rest my thumb on the a to mute both the e and a. If i’ll be playing on the g for more than a few notes, i’ll probably use floating thumb muting.

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