Fret hand mutes bass guitar

[Koushik Ayame]

I don't understand the difference between the fret hand mutes that are shown on frets and the ones that are a line as in an open note. The fret ones you place your finger on the on the string over that fret without pushing down, correct? So, how do you play the other one that looks like an open note? I don't get it.

[BobbyDylan69]

you just play the open string as normal you can palm mute some people use the thumb to stop it ringing out so much , you dont get any extra points for this in score attack so its just to get the sound like it was in the original recording.

[Paladin]

there is a difference between a palm hand mute and a single string mute. a string mute is where you lightly put you fretting finger on the string to blunt the note. Think of the mute as trying to ring out a harmonic only you don't remove your finger after striking the string.

This is a bit more note less tump of a palm mute. I hope this helps.

[Koushik Ayame]

But the fret hand mute symbol is a smaller X with white in it. Palm mutes are an X all across the note color block and darker. Such as in the song, "Girls not Grey" playing bass guitar, there are notes and open notes with the fret hand mute symbol. I just don't understand.

[Eseman]

If the notes are like [ x ] they are frethand mutes.
If the notes are like ----x---- they are palm mutes.
With fret mutes you mute at the fret and palm mutes you mute with your palm of your picking hand.

[Cataleya22 (⁠ᵔ⁠ᴥ⁠ᵔ)]

I believe OP means even an Open note has the Fret Hand Mute symbol, so I guess this one is strummed (without fretting), and then needs to be lightly touched to mute it?

[Koushik Ayame]

That's what I'm trying to say. I know how to play the mutes, I've just seen open notes with the [ x ] and don't know how your're supposed to play that. How do you fret hand mute on an open note, because you already do that pretty much normally with putting your fretting hand over a fret. Makes no sense to me.

[alexcustos]

Publicado originalmente por Koushik Ayame:

How do you fret hand mute on an open note

Fret hand muting is used for producing percussive sound, not a specific note as a palm mute technique. So it doesn't matter above what fret the string was muted. RS suggests the most convenient fret, based on minimum hand movement, and it shows open string if it doesn't matter at all. In other words, you free to pick one fret or place your entire palm over the marked strings.

[Koushik Ayame]

Now there's an answer that makes a whole lot more sense if that's really how RS suggests them to be played.