Muting

ahhhhh....... muting. there's an art

the best way to leran about muting is to watch someone do it. perhaps others can post some links 

but there are two basic techniques - right hand muting and left hand muting

starting with right hand muting (if you are right handed) - hope I've got this right -  yep just checked my guitar

youre playing barre chords or single notes. so instead of pushing down hard on the fret just press down until you get a slightly dull noise and voila a muted sound

but that would get a bit boring so the trick is to press down and release slightly. sometimes depending on the music and certainly if you want funky  this might be happening every second. now that is going to be hard until you've put in lost of practice and strenghened the finger muscles good. hope it doesn't hurt too much !

now left hand muting. basically you just touch the strings near the bridge to stop them ringing

sometimes just gentle resting on the strings but don't be afarid to give them a pecussive thump if youre doing a reggae or ska number