palm muting  |
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In the last few years I've found myself using muted notes more and more often. Instead of muting the notes with my fingers, I use the side of my palm to control the sound and duration of the notes. Since I like to play music that develops and grows, starting out a section of music with a muted sound allows me to transition to a more full sounding "fingers" tone later on, which helps the tone of the bass as well as the character of the music develop over time. What you can do is place your palm just over the saddles on the bridge. You might need to file the bottom of the saddle screws down if they sit up too high, unless you enjoy the pain. I mostly use my thumb, index and middle finger to play the notes. You can vary the amount of pitch versus "thump" you get out of the note by experimenting with the pressure and location of your palm on the saddles. |
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Try playing along with the title track of my "No Sweat" CD. (bass & drums only)    |
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| The tune's in 6/8 so you that might take a minute to get used to. Notice that the 8th notes sound a little more muted than the 1/4 notes. Use less pressure on the 1/4 notes and you can get them to ring for the full duration of the beat without losing the muted effect. You can use this bass line as an exercise to practice getting control of the muted sound from your right hand. Once you locate your palm in the right position on the saddles you should be able to change the sound of the notes from very short and percussive to a long full sound by just varying the pressure from your palm. One of the advantages to muting with your palm is that the notes aren't as bright as regular notes and help you "stay out of the way" of other instruments when needed. Since the pitches aren't as defined as your regular notes, the activity of the bass lines works more like another percussion instrument. |
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