# Mute (Italian: sordino)

Source: https://arcosounds.com/glossary/mute
Also known as: sordino, con sordino, senza sordino

**A mute is a small clamp fitted to the bridge of a string instrument that damps its vibration, producing a veiled, quieter tone; con sordino asks for it and senza sordino removes it.**

The mute changes colour more than volume. By adding mass to the bridge it suppresses the higher overtones, so the sound goes soft-edged and distant rather than simply quiet, which is why a muted section can still be heard clearly under a solo. Composers reach for it when they want a change of light, not merely a diminuendo.

Practice mutes are a different object: heavy metal or rubber clamps that reduce volume drastically for playing in a flat at midnight, and which make the instrument sound bad on purpose. Orchestral mutes are light wood, rubber, or plastic and are designed to sound good.

Parts often mark con sordino several bars early, because fitting a mute takes both hands and a moment of silence. A player who has not noticed the marking in advance will be late, which is why circling mute changes is standard orchestral practice.

Canonical source: https://arcosounds.com/glossary/mute