I recently got my first mandola and it has raised an issue regarding both dola and mandolin technique (I'm a beginner with both instruments). When playing dola I keep hearing unwanted string noises that weren't there when playing a mandolin (not quite so audible atleast). What I mean is those tiny vibrations of strings that happen when another string is plucked. I know that guitarists try to avoid this problem by muting/damping the strings they don't want to ring out at any given moment. They do this by palm muting the lower strings and using the index finger to lightly touch the higher strings.
Now I'm wondering whether this is something that players of mandolin family instruments do or should do as well. Or perhaps the players of certain mandolin family instruments. As I said, I don't hear as much string noise with the mandolin as I do with the mandola, possibly because the higher string tension of the mandolin more effectively resists the unwanted vibrations of strings.
So, do you have the habit of muting the strings that are not supposed to ring or do you just live with the string noise? I would like to hear both from mandolin and mandola players. I'm dreading the possibility of having to anchor my palm on the strings, however lightly, because I can only imagine the technical destruction it would cause to my right hand playing. I'm so used to letting my wrist move freely above the strings.
A little clarification: I am here talking about muting while playing melody, not playing chords which would be a topic of its own.
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