Your Bass Muting Technique Sounds Like S**t (How to Fix It)

[@BassBuzz]

What muting technique are you struggling with the most? 👍👆✋🎸

[@pickbassguitar2802]

2 weeks, but this came out like 2 days ago...

[@60degreelobwedge82]

This was great but please do one about muting when playing with a pick. Thanks!

[@JohnDoe-xf8ew]

The sneaky finger is the one I struggle with the most

[@TubeScrewed]

Just started, so all of them.

[@dtrocks05]

Now I've been incorporating all these teqniuques in my playing for a while . My band noticed a huge improvement in my playing especially when it comes to the string sitter which took me a little while to perfect, but once I became comfortable with it the tunes I play have more clarity and attack ! Outstanding work Josh and keep up the excellent work !

[@bii_gii]

still can't believe this kind of energy and enthusiasm in a lesson is free...

[@Fonkemman]

Sssshhhh

[@nigelberrenstein8748]

Gotta say he's the best bass teacher i'f seen so far

[@808Mark]

🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫!!!

[@jamiemcdonald4279]

Shush!!!

[@mini_mozzer]

beginner mistake thinking energy and enthusiasm is how you teach someone..

[@jackorobertson7597]

I started playing bass literally 12 days ago and you’ve helped me so much

[@DatBoi-mo9vc]

Instruments arent jobs. They arent learned in a couple months and done from there. You learn the instrument forever.

[@dontmindme3032]

@@Johnny-zt6tq i've been olaying base for 2 days now too, got mine on tuesday, fretting and moving notes is also hard for me, im sure a lot of practice will make this muscle memory after a while. Just keep practicing i guess

[@edgar1906]

Johnny Simon sameee. And when I try to do it, it hurts my finger a lot 😂. I guess people get used to that. And it’s hard to fret as well. At least I can slap all 4 strings without missing after 4 days of practice.

[@dontmindme3032]

@@edgar1906 i have been playing bass for about 2 weeks now and fretting has become easier! Still not easy but i'm sure if you just practice you'll get used to it

[@fazeshrek2979]

How's it going now man, U slappin yet?

[@lightfootmusick]

I told my bassist about your channel. I can tell he not watching.

[@BassBuzz]

Just copy-paste this into a text for them: HEY CHECK OUT THIS COOL NEW VIDEO ABOUT BASS MUTING TECHNIQUE, JUST THOUGHT YOU MIGHT FIND IT INTERESTING 😉😉😉

[@silversurfer8719]

Bwhahahahahaha LoL

[@Fonkemman]

HAHAHAHAHA Damn. Just forward a video to him.

[@diphylleia8577]

This ice cold tea right here 💀💀

[@Receipt]

Cold. Blooded.

[@MediHusky]

>Play highly technical riff: Impeccable muting >play 4 whole notes in sequence: the ringing of the bells of all the churches in england resonate upon all of mine strings...

[@kuroageha1096]

I lost my index, middle and ring finger on my left hand at a long time ago. So when I started to play the bass, I had to modify my bass for lefty, put a 2kg weight to make a preferred body balance to play, and then pluck the strings with my thumb mainly. I cannot even say that I can play the bass yet, but the tips on this channel really help me. Thank you so much. I will advance with your help.

[@mversantvoort]

It’s awesome that you’re learning to play the bass in your own way, good luck and enjoy!

[@shadowchu419]

Dude good luck on your bass journey

[@rudalph529]

Sucks that 99% of instruments need fingers, the handpan doesn't, check that out?

[@sethbrown8912]

Kudos

[@Gorlung]

This lesson is an absolute gem for beginners. Don't underestimate it! So many people on KZbin posting videos how they play their favorite songs' covers, when in fact they play it shitty (even after years of practice). I am not a Bon Jovi fan, but the track is a perfect choice for the exercise. And one more advice for beginners. If you think, that you play the exercise good enough, try to play with a metronome (you will definitely find something to improve) . Thank you, Josh! (planning to order your online course, 'cause your efforts worth the support).

[@Gorlung]

Promised to purchase your course. I have finally completed after three weeks of intensive practice

[@danielatherton1631]

You're very good at imitating bad technique. Something often overlooked with content creators but you're able to make examples of how it sounds when it's done wrong and I think that's really useful.

[@SammyRebbo]

Vibrations can be sympathetic?! A lot of people can't even do that!!

[@markbass354]

Josh at first I was a mess with rumbling strings , the mute secrets came with time , not to mention the flying little finger , very good video kind sir.

[@BassBuzz]

Thanks Mark!

[@markbass354]

I'm not sure who the other Mark B is do you have a link , Ive played bass for 45 years now

[@marimeiku2515]

I’ve been wanting to learn bass for well over a decade and I finally made a 365 practice commitment. I found your channel about a week into it and here I am 2 months later still at it. Your tutorials give me the instruction and motivation I need to keep going. I love your attitude and your explanations are so clear. Thanks for being a great teacher!

[@spicymangooo]

My book said something about a “tip” that this was where it was good to start practicing muting. As a self-teaching newbie I rely on the book, so I was flipping back and forth, and they don’t even mention anything about muting techniques! But I’m glad you’ve posted one!

[@SteveWeltman]

Josh, such a valuable lesson and all about what not to let ring. Your technique advice is outstanding and your humor is just a touch below that but still fun and keeps it interesting for us noobs. Thank you again for posting all that you do!

[@BassBuzz]

Thanks Steve!

[@Kazumakix]

Been playing bass for a little more than a year, i thought that my muting techniques were pretty decent but actually there's plenty of room for improvement, thank you for the video :)

[@andygeers]

This is exactly the video I've been searching for - as a novice bassist this has been my number 1 problem, the video is so helpful. Thank you Josh! Personally I think it would have helped me find it quicker if the title of the video described the problem a bit more (I didn't know "muting technique" was the solution to my problem, I certainly wasn't searching for a video on "muting", I was searching for a video on ringing strings)

[@rinqik]

0:38 scott pilgrim vs the world clip, awesome. also thanks for the video, i actually learned something

[@heymanniceshot4023]

I'm literally devouring your videos. Probably the best bass lessons, short, clear, essential tips and a lot of fun and humor. Each video I discover or re-discover useful tips. Thanks for this great work. I hope we will have lessons like this for 5 or maybe 6 Strings ( muting is more challenging) of course less beginners oriented, maybe it's not what you want for your channel.

[@dkless101]

Coming from a guitar background, muting on a bass was one of my first questions. You have to use the flat finger technique for power chords on guitar so this was fantastic for me. Thanks!

[@IronDio698]

Just finished Josh’s Beginner to Badass paid course. Worth every penny. Sorely wishing he had a part two I could jump into right now!

[@gdunctank]

I started playing bass this year, and these videos are the most illuminating and helpful I've found. Thank you for your work.

[@BassBuzz]

Thank you!

[@peachgrave9728]

This is one of the most helpful videos on your channel! I learned bad technique years ago and now trying to unlearn it lol … after just watching I’m struggling with accidentally hitting strings when I’m trying to mute but already understand more and see improvement. Thank you!!

[@isaackim6662]

UNDERRATED~~! i mean cmon u deserve way more subs

[@BassBuzz]

Thanks Isaac!

[@Nektopoulo]

You know what I've taken away from this, it's good to be the king, "The Pull-Across King"

[@BassBuzz]

Ask Jessica, ask Amanda, ask Tania, ask Alice, ask Corinn, ask any of my ex's! I'm the Pull-Across King!

[@Metalfreak777]

@@BassBuzz 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@tyrfree5733]

@@BassBuzz you're a real musician...cuz you go through a lot of chicks..

[@SonicXRage]

This is a good video because it goes into more detail on muting than most videos ("jUsT mOvE yOuR rIgHt HaNd AnD lEfT hAnD dOwN aT tHe SaMe TiMe"), *_BUT,_* like most videos, you missed an *_extremely important_* muting tip: plucking hand thumb placement. Let's say I'm trying to play an old school R&B song. I decided to pluck the strings somewhere close to the neck for that classic fat sound. I'm going my merry way, but I quickly notice a faint ringing sound coming from the strings _underneath my plucking hand's thumb._ I'm doing _everything_ Josh said, yet it's as if the laws of physics just don't work properly for me! Fortunately, the weird muting problems aren't actually caused by a glitch in real life: This strange phenomenon is just caused by my thumb touching a harmonic node (or whatever you music geeks call it). Fixing this issue is simple: I just need to move my plucking hand closer to either the neck or the bridge until there's no more faint, high-pitched ringing coming from the strings my thumb is muting. But since where you pluck also changes your tone, I'll have to try moving my plucking hand both ways to find a spot with a good tone and no annoying "thumb harmonics." So I try moving even closer to the neck--- sounds a little too fat for me. What if I try moving slightly away from the neck? ...That sounds pretty good! Not too fat, not too tight! And no more rebellious singing coming from underneath my thumb! Note: Remember that, while I decided to avoid going very close to the neck, you might like the sound of playing very close, or even on top of, the neck. How you shape your tone is entirely up to you. This tip both saved my sanity and improved my tone. Also, I find that moving to avoid "thumb harmonics" usually gives me a better tone as a byproduct.

[@BassBuzz]

Good point! You can end up with harmonics issues any time you're using a single point of contact for muting, which is why I usually use multiple muting strategies at once. Avoiding nodes helps too!

[@gingerale1591]

ive been trying to figure out why this was for a while, this should be pinned imo

[@Itsjustjess352]

This was the lesson I so desperately needed, after 2 years of part time fiddling around on the bass. It’s way past time for me to fix some of my bad habits. 🤦🏽‍♀️ thanks Josh, you’re awesome!! 👏🏼

[@TarantulaJonez]

Yay new video! I just finished the bass to badass course and it's AMAZING the difference it made. Thank you for making this instrument so accessible and unintimidating!!

[@BassBuzz]

Congrats on finishing the course Chelsea! Glad it was helpful.

[@nickmeyer1030]

Man, this is just what I needed. I'm constantly tortured by ringing notes, and now I realize it's the left hand that needs to do some catching up. Thanks!

[@Weavaloid]

Honestly this is such a great tutorial, once I've been playing with an amp I thought there was something wrong with my guitar cause my other cheap ass bass guitar didn't make those ringing sounds and stuff. Thanks for the great help!

[@valeriamoreno8317]

Hi! here Val, from Santiago, Chile. I just wanted to tell you that I started to learn bass a couple of months ago (at 39 yo...I know!) and your videos are BRILLIANT. As an amateur guitar and ukelele player that mostly play with chords, my plucking sucks, and your videos had helped my HEAPS. Thank you so much for the content. Also, you are hilarious.

[@BassBuzz]

Thanks Val!

[@mattfield3371]

I just started playing bass and I feel this is such an important thing that will really help my sound...I get so much unwanted unintended ring right now and what you said about sympathetic ringing is spot on, I noticed I'm getting that as well even when I'm sure I'm only hitting strings I want to be hitting. I'm going to work on getting much cleaner sound as well as getting better at plucking and muting in general so I'm sure layering several of these things will help my sound immensely much sooner in my bass guitar journey.

[@0711RC]

Learning the basics needs a good teacher that explains the basics correctly. You do that!! Bless your soul for helping so many of us.

[@rohitdeshpande6978]

I started playing bass little over a month now. I have learnt amazing techniques from each and every video of yours. Your exercises are great and fun to learn. I always wanted to see a video of eliminating the unwanted sounds - Thanks this helps a lot :)

[@nathanmantle377]

Your videos are great, love your approach to not just the teaching itself, but the editing and even the "branding" (e.g. the orange theme). A great model for what I'd like my own teaching channel to be like eventually!

[@spezifisch4468]

Ive been playing bass for 4 years now and my teacher (actually a guitarist) who i had for the first two years never teached me muting. I kinda managed with my own bad technique, but this reaaally helps!

[@andredepaulagomes]

This channel has too little subscribers for it's content. Your videos are really helpful, keep up with that great content :)

[@BassBuzz]

Thanks André!

[@ajdayton101]

Such great stuff Josh. I believe my muting skills are decent, but I will check my technique for sure.

[@usynin463]

Please keep making these, I love these videos so much. Your communication is so bright and engaging, easy to follow but not condescending or baby talky. I NEED these keep it up!!

[@BassBuzz]

Thanks Maria!

[@dmitriydolgopolov5212]

It's not only bass muting technique. It's the base muting technique! Thanx!

[@layaldergham3824]

5 minutes in learning the practice bass lines when I realized .... this guy has my exact bass! I love it. Subscribed

[@WaldoWalker]

The In Rainbows T-shirt tho.

[@pleromicpastry5445]

Great album.

[@NurseDaveBSMSON]

Switched from guitar to bass and bought your course.

[@BassBuzz]

Nice, enjoy the course Dave!

[@aria62ineh8]

I have been so frustrated about the sounds and thanks to you i finally know what to practice in the future so thank you

[@Its_Nobody1x2]

Man I just started playing bass and I excited to learn. But I'm glad that this video is here because I can progress to being a better bassist. Keep up the awesome work!

[@madmusic8447]

Im a really new bassist / music instrument player and this is the kind of technique i've been searching for. I've been doing the thumb, pull across and the flat hand most of the time. This video really help me a lot. thanks.

[@nivbet3957]

Hey! i got my first bass three days ago, and im feeling so lucky that i came across this channel. you rock dude! thank you so much!

[@likenicesinging]

Dam flat hand is superior tip, especially for music school-graduated guitarists, thank you so much! Playing got so much clearer

[@puregoll]

This is great! I have picked up a Bass a few months ago after starting to learn 20 years ago! Now im at the stage where I think im doing so well when I can play something like Black Eye Peas, Lets get it started but when I crank the amp up I realise my muting is shite lol Its hard to not just want to learn songs and to avoid practising this stuff!

[@YeowooBBCVIP]

Thank you very much! I've been getting frustrated by my strings ringing at every move. I'm only beginning, coming from cello so I'm not used to it at all. It's going to be very useful for me

[@austinwilkerson8485]

This is just what I needed. Been having trouble with buzzing and ringing. You the man Josh!

[@birdmoney]

Wow. I was doing the "string-sitter" technique all along. I always try to be aware of how long a note is ringing out because it sets the mood of what I'm playing. Coincidently, I let my little sister noodle on my bass for the first time and she did the same thing. I didn't tell her to mute any strings, but she just did it anyway. She's a natural

[@lsmith604]

THANK YOU for explaining why I felt like I was going crazy. I KNEW I didn’t touch those strings and they were still vibrating, leading me to be confused why it was happening.

[@davidbanwell7728]

Now that’s i call good technique now I need to get this done. I’ve just started to play my six string bass that’s all an mutation.

[@kuroimusic]

I'm glad I watched this video because I incorporated all of these techniques by myself through the course of a loooong time. It's reaffirming to me. But I'm also glad kids (I'm so old that I quarreled with my high school pals over this topic: if Nirvana's Unplugged was going to be great or a failure [I won, that was awesome]) now can access to this PRACTICAL musical education for free, provided by great (and funny) teachers like you.

[@Whitechai]

Thank you for your lessons seriously. My bass knowledge is mainly just you and my dad. Really improved my playing!

[@felipedecar]

Great video! Could you talk about how to pick up faster songs and the gist of speeding up with harder techniques?

[@ampharosgames7526]

Practice to a metronome set to a very slow speed and speed it up on a day to day basis! I didnt wanna do it in the beginning aswell, but after doing it, i can say that its really effective.

[@BassBuzz]

In the words of Mark King: "Start slow... and get faster" Navy Seals: "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast" Local drum legend Kendrick Freeman: "Practice slowly, improve quickly. Practice quickly, improve slowly." :)

[@brksozzy]

Adam Neely has a great video called “The Trick to Playing Bass Fast (according to sports psychology)” where he talks about playing quick but slowly, think this would fit exactly what you’re trying to learn!

[@felipedecar]

Thanks y'all for the great advice!! I'll try to put these tips in action, I really appreciate the time you took to answer.

[@JayAyers]

Great lesson. The muting test at the end 9:00 was a revelation for me. It explained a lot and reinforces the technique. I like this style of lesson. Reminds me of a PBS show.

[@BassBuzz]

Glad it helped Jay! Next up - Reading Rainbow.

[@carloschitiva9315]

Amazing lesson! I didn't realize how important these small (yet HUGE) details are. But I'll work to improve my sound. Many thanks!

[@Awesomewonder]

Thank you, sir. Youre a really good teacher. Ive always wanted to play bass (cooly and freely) but your way of teaching makes me REALLY MOTIVATED.

[@nicolasgodfraind4287]

That was pretty cool. I didn't know the pull across and I always used my thumb. I guess it's time to practice that. The plucking sounds different because I can (and have to) dig a lot more. I like it ^^.

[@Magic2Seb]

Great job, as usual. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm! Do you have any recomendation for muting while using a pick? Thanks!

[@roymylchreest5628]

Josh (as usual) gives me the right information, stuff I can understand and use, when all the videos by other channels just have a load of waffle in them.

[@sethmarshall4270]

Anesthesia at the beginning. Awesome!

[@bilbobaginutopi2284]

It was so hard to play some of the things without the muting xD once you get into the habit of muting, you will be set for life. What would be another good video on the topic of muting would be how to mute strings while playing slap because that is something I am having trouble with.

[@BassBuzz]

Slap muting is all about fixes #4 and #5, since you can't do any of the normal plucking hand muting techniques. It's hard!

[@philclip23]

Just started bass last month, and this video was extremely helpful! Also, that's a great album on your shirt. 10/10

[@JALNIN66]

This would be the first video I would show to any new bass player. Perfect. I Love the lyrics at the end. That was great! 🤣🤣 Most seasoned bass players forget to mention this because we haven't though about it in decades. It's automatic to us, like walking.

[@Sketchylemons]

glad this channel is getting the attention it deserves

[@bullfrogboss8008]

Electric bass guitar was my first instrument and I actually pretty smoothly learned both left and right hand muting, therefore I can confidently say I can play bass "correctly". However It's the regular guitar that ended up being my main instrument and my experience with muting was very helpful during learning guitar

[@solidwire6359]

When you do parody versions of songs it's incredibly entertaining. You're like the Weird Al of bass!

[@pleromicpastry5445]

Agreed. His sense of humor is most excellent.

[@gamersvr6379]

I bought a bass and it arrived today and honestly as a complete beginner, these muting techniques are the hardest part in my opinion.

[@BassBuzz]

Congrats on your bass! Don't expect to get muting on day 1, it's hard! Just focusing on fretting and plucking at first, and dial the muting in over time. Here's a better starter lesson - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZLRd6h6jbtloJo

[@marcelotrujillo5338]

"you give BASS a bad name!" sometimes those funny/unexpected endings are just too good. AMAZING VIDEOS and thanks for the great lessons

[@D3adblush]

You’re the best bass KZbinr bru I’ve learned sm just watching your videos! can’t believe ts free tysm

[@NichiTeca]

Probably one of the best bass focused channel on yt! Thank you for all these awesome lessons :)

[@owenlim4625]

I dont use an amp while practicing, so i just notice this is really important. Thnx josh

[@spiketaterman5181]

LOL! Love the Weird Al Bass version in the end....seriously thanks, am starting out, never thought muting those damn misbehaving strings would be such a problem...I really want to develop the habit of playing cleanly, even if it's just simple quarter notes...this helps!

[@sharpeidad1055]

You do a phenomenal job of making this fun, Josh. Please keep these great videos rolling

[@omorganstudios]

Great video! Never knew what to call this...thx I can apply some of this to guitar too....

[@alanrocky182]

Absolutely brilliant lesson, thanks a lot. I began playing the bass a month ago now and this helped me tremendously.

[@BassBuzz]

Glad it was helpful Alan!

[@taliesinmusic]

Things I need to work on: 1) thumb mute - keep thumb two strings away from plucked string, unless on pickup. 2) Rest stroke - make sure I'm plucking THROUGH/ACROSS the string not UP. LH muting is practically there.

[@schooled9617]

By far the greatest teacher on the planet

[@hansapils4889]

i just started playing more learning and i absolutely love your humor with this attitude learning an instrument makes so much more fun! Thankyou!

[@_TheDeanMachine]

🤣🤣🤣 The ending had me in stitches. Just started playing a few days ago and your channel has been great help. One of the things im struggling with is to get my index finger nail to not grab string, I've cut as short as I can and it still gets the string sometime.

[@l.jturner6617]

Very excited, I bought my first bass guitar set yesterday!!!

[@vanessa.nguyen]

Super entertaining! This video was perfect in teaching all the bass muting techniques. Thank you!

[@quietstorm7826]

Great video.. love the work you're doing.. much appreciated 🙏.. so many would love to pay for the course but can't afford to.. these videos are a great help... 👍

[@BassBuzz]

Glad I can help! Plenty more free vids coming. :)

[@Bass.Player]

I've been playing so long that I'm complete unaware of what muting technique I using, it is just second nature.

[@xenonstudios888]

How on earth are you soo good at teaching you totally beat Scott's bass lessons.

[@TheOnlyBoon]

Love the shirt, and great video as always! Keep it up!

[@SkipperGeffen]

Teaching with hands-on playing is just great! (why more channels aren't doing this?)

[@BootedSquirrel]

Been loving your videos lately! Keep them coming! :D

[@tinfoilhat1417]

Adding on to the pull across: it is very important to learn the pull across muting technique because certain songs such as teen town (weather report) require that you anchor off the e string for the first part of the phrase (unless you use a floating thumb technique).

[@lizah3707]

I’m feeling a bit burned out when practicing bass because of this exact reason. Thanks josh (:

[@dulaldas7650]

Faced every problem he mentioned. Thanks for the techniques.

[@M4rKnoT]

Awesome!! This is another great one!! I’m improving a lot with these videos...!! Thanks josh!!

[@clussell7938]

Thank you, this was fantastic! I'm a beginner and found this very helpful. Especially the breakdown of which muting strategy to use with which note in the Bon Jovi song.

[@frankgerace5997]

Beginner that I am, I’m definitely giving bass a bad name right now, but I’m working on it!!

[@tomlitterick560]

Hey man. I really like your videos and like the info and the way you deliver it. Comedy is definitely the best way to learn. I am an intermediate player and would like a bit of content based around that skill level in the way of exercises and drills. The most helpful video for me was where you broke down an exercise into 5 levels. If you could do more of them that would be awesome. Cheers

[@floouk]

Great channel. Very entertaining lessons. You're a fine player and an even finer teacher. Congratulations and more power to your elbow.

[@alonso9812]

Thanks for the vid, I've been struggling against this problem since I got my first bass lol Keep the good work! 👍

[@jacobjesus2776]

How do you mute while slapping? Your right hand cant no longer mute the lower strings while slapping

[@CarlosPerdomo]

oh my goodness Josh... just what I needed. I'm considering getting your DVD's.