How to Mute Strings on Bass

Play one note high on the G string, let it ring, and listen underneath it. On most basses you will hear a low hum from the E or A string, a string you never touched. Nothing is wrong with the instrument. A bass string keeps sounding until something stops it, and stopping the strings you are not playing is half of a clean technique. It is the half nobody sees, so it often goes untaught.

This article talks about the fretting hand and the plucking hand. For a right-handed player those are the left and the right.

Why open strings ring

Three things set off a string you did not pluck.

• Sympathetic vibration. A free string starts to vibrate by itself when a related note sounds nearby. Play the A at the 7th fret of the D string and the open A string will begin to hum along with it.
• Lifting off. When a fretting finger leaves a string quickly, it can flick the string on the way and sound the open note, like a small accidental pull-off.
• Brushing. A plucking finger on its way to another string, or a fretting finger that lands a little wide, bumps a neighbor.

The low strings cause the most trouble. They ring for a long time, and their rumble blurs the note you meant to play. So the aim is simple to say: at any moment, only the string you are playing is free to move, and every other string has something resting on it.

Fretting-hand muting

Your fretting hand looks after the strings that are thinner than the one you are playing. It also decides when each note ends.

Let your fingers lie a little flat. Fret with the pad of the finger, not the very tip, so the underside of the finger rests lightly against the thinner strings. With your index finger on the 3rd fret of the E string, the underside should touch the A, D and G strings just enough to keep them quiet.

Keep spare fingers down. Fingers that are not fretting can rest on the strings behind the one that is. Use no pressure, only contact.

End a note by relaxing, not lifting. To stop a fretted note, release the pressure but leave the finger touching the string. The note stops dead. If you lift clear of the string you risk sounding it open.

Stop open strings with more than one finger. A single finger laid lightly on a ringing open string can leave a faint, bell-like harmonic behind, especially over the 5th, 7th or 12th fret. Two or three fingers laid across the string stop it completely.

Plucking-hand muting

The plucking hand looks after the strings that are thicker than the one you are playing.

Rest strokes. When you pluck with a finger, let it follow through and come to rest against the next thicker string. Pluck the D string and your finger lands on the A string and mutes it. This is the ordinary fingerstyle stroke, and it does part of the muting for free.

A thumb that moves. Many players start with the thumb parked on a pickup. That works while you play the E string, but once you move to the D or G string, the E string is left open underneath your hand. The first fix is to let the anchor travel. Keep the thumb on the pickup when you play the E string. Rest it on the E string when you play the A string. When you play the D or G string, rest it on the A string and let the side of the thumb lean back against the E string as well.

The floating thumb

The floating thumb takes that one step further. The thumb is not anchored anywhere. Its side lies loosely across the strings below the one you are plucking, and the whole hand moves across the strings as you change from one to another, so the thumb always covers every thicker string. Play the G string and the thumb is lying on the E, A and D strings.

It feels unsteady at first because there is nothing to lean on. Give it some slow practice before you decide whether it suits you. Plenty of players use a moving anchor for their whole playing lives, and either method keeps the low strings quiet.

If you play with a pick, the edge of your palm does the thumb's job. Rest it lightly on the thicker strings, close to the bridge.

Four simple checks

Turn your amp up a little more than usual, or use headphones, so stray noise has nowhere to hide. Play each check slowly.

1. The stop test. Play any note, then stop it and listen for two seconds. Anything still sounding is a string you left free.

2. Open strings, both directions. Play the open strings down and back up, one note per beat. Each string has to stop at the moment the next one starts.

G|0-----------|---------0--|
D|---0--------|------0-----|
A|------0-----|---0--------|
E|---------0--|0-----------|

Going down, the string you just left is thinner than the new one, so your fretting hand has to reach over and touch it. Going up, the string you just left is thicker, so your thumb or the follow-through of your plucking finger catches it.

3. Octaves. Alternate the G at the 3rd fret of the E string with the G at the 5th fret of the D string. The A string sits between them and should stay silent, held quiet by the underside of your index finger.

G|------------|
D|---5-----5--|
A|------------|
E|3-----3-----|

4. High note, low strings. Hold a long E at the 9th fret of the G string and listen for a hum from the E and A strings. If you hear one, your thumb is not covering them yet.

Your ears get used to stray ringing while you play, so record these checks and listen back. Any recorder will do. In Lazy Lopez: Bass you can record a take from a song's page and play it straight back, and the app is free with no account and no ads.

Muting takes attention for a while. Keep running the checks at the start of a session, and it turns into something your hands do without being asked.