In this bass guitar lesson we will discuss the Floating Thumb, a technique that one must master to become a proficient player of the instrument. This technique serves two purposes. First it gives our right hand a neutral starting posture meaning we are not over extending the thumb joints. The second it provides a built in mute for our E and A strings. The more you play the bass the more you will realize that half the battle is making sure unwanted strings are not sympathetically vibrating.
In it’s basic form it simply involves anchoring the Right Hand Thumb on the E string of the bass. The typical starting point is on top the pickup closest to the neck of the instrument. When one wants to play on the E string simply rest your finger about a centimeter away from the string on the pickup itself. Conversely if you are only playing a note or two on the E string you can hover the thumb in the air for a brief moment before returning to the original muting position. Experiment with both ways of playing the E string to the point where both options becomes second nature.
Once one becomes comfortable with resting the thumb on the E string of the bass, our next progression is to rest the thumb in between the E & A String touching(muting) both strings. With the tip of the thumb muting the A string and the side of the knuckle of the thumb muting the E string. I personally do not advocate use of the thumb to mute the D or G strings. In doing so you typically leave the E & A string open to unwanted vibrations. Use your left hand as your first source for muting the G&D strings. One can also mute the D and A strings using your right hand fingers. The act of pulling through the G&D strings into the next adjacent strings will act as yet another source of muting pleasure.
I hope this gives you some insight into the Floating Thumb if you have any questions please feel free to send me a message via my contact page. Good Luck and Happy Playing.
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