Hi, I’m Toru Hoshino, a bass teacher.
In this article, I (living in a one-room apartment in Tokyo at the time, in 2017) tested whether practicing upright bass at home with a double bass mute would actually get me complaints from neighbors.
This article is for:
· Anyone curious about trying a double bass mute
· Anyone worried that practicing upright bass might bother their neighbors
If that’s you, I hope this is useful — read on.
To give you the conclusion up front: no, I didn’t get any complaints.
Contents
The Double Bass Mute
You attach the mute to the tip of the bridge like this.
Even just this mutes the sound quite a bit. It might be hard to tell from a description alone, so I recorded myself bowing an open string with and without the mute.
Before muting:
After muting:
These were recorded with an iPhone placed about 30 cm (roughly a foot) from the instrument, using the default voice memo app.
In the end, whether you’ll get complaints or not really comes down to your specific living situation. Even with a mute on, the bass still puts out a noticeable amount of sound, so it’s not the case that “if you use a mute, you’ll never get a complaint, guaranteed.” That said, as someone who practices daily in a Tokyo apartment while staying mindful of my neighbors, here’s what I keep in mind.
I hope this gives you a useful reference point if you’re thinking about practicing upright bass at home.
What I Keep in Mind When Practicing With a Mute
Practice When Neighbors Are Likely Out
My neighbors seem to be out at work on weekdays, so I practice during weekday daytime hours.
No Playing at Night
I try to wrap up by around 7 PM, since I’d rather not draw attention to myself.
Treat It as Short-Session Practice Only
When I have a free 30 minutes or so, I’ll work on intonation or repeat a phrase a few times.
When I can carve out two or three hours, I head to a rehearsal space where I can actually play at full volume.
Does a Mute Fully Eliminate the Sound?
No, not completely. For reference, the unplugged acoustic sound of a Yamaha SLB series silent bass is far quieter than a muted acoustic upright.
If your neighbors are particularly sensitive to noise, they may still complain.
That said, a lot of people who buy a mute end up saying “huh, it’s not as quiet as I expected,” so I’d recommend trying one out at a music shop before buying.
Want Personalized Feedback on Your Playing?
This is exactly the kind of thing that’s hard to fix alone — and where having a teacher makes all the difference.
At Line on Bass, I offer an online lesson service where you send me a video of your playing, and I give you specific, detailed feedback — every single day if you want.
Students from around the world are using this to fix exactly these kinds of issues and steadily improve their jazz bass skills.