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Mute (music)
Encyclopedia
A mute is a device fitted to a musical instrument
to alter the sound produced: by affecting the timbre
, reducing the volume, or most commonly both.
by the direction con sordino (often abbreviated con sord, sord, sordino). (Sordina, with plural sordine, is the strictly correct Italian term for mute as used on string instruments; but the forms con sordino, senza sordino, sordino via, etc., are much more commonly used as terms in music than the forms con sordina, senza sordine, etc.) The mute should be removed with the senza sordino (or senza sord, senza sordina, etc.) direction.
When written in English the directions, "mute" and "open" (for brass instruments) or "unmute" (for stringed instruments) are used.
The equivalent German terms for "with mute" ("mute on") are mit Dämpfer (Dämpfer auf), and for "without mute" ("mute off") are ohne Dämpfer (Dämpfer ab/weg).
In French music, the word for the mute is sourdine.
In the case of strings, mute-on and mute-off indications are often written into their parts by players in the form of signs. These are used as extra visual aids, and for when the printed notation may not be adequately salient. An example is Mahler's Symphony No. 4
in which mutes have to be put on and taken off frequently, and the printed directions are in German.
On string instrument
s of the violin
family, the mute takes the form of a device attached to the bridge of the instrument, dampening vibrations and resulting in a "softer" sound. Usually this takes the form of a small three-prong implement which is attached to the top of the bridge with one prong between each pair of strings, although anything which stops the bridge vibrating will suffice, and sprung clothes pegs, for example, have been used. The late Karl Haas
told a story (supposedly true) about a violinist in an orchestra having a confectioner make him a mute entirely from candy, so that he could surprise his desk partner by eating the mute after finishing with it.
A famous use of string mutes is in the introduction of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet
. All the strings are muted (con sordini) so the sound appears to grow out of the initial discord, as if appearing from nothing. The sound is softer and more lyrical and flowing.
A more modern invention is a mute which sits on the strings between the bridge and tailpiece of the instrument. This is slid into place right next to the bridge to produce the same effect as the detachable three-pronged mutes.
and Gérard Grisey
.
, a wolf mute is often attached to the G-string between the bridge and the tailpiece. This does not change the timbre of the instrument on the whole, but helps to eliminate the wolf tone
which is found on many cellos around a sixth
or seventh above the open G-string. When used to eliminate wolf tones on a double bass
, it is often attached on the A-string.
in 1636. One of the earliest examples in the use of muted string instruments is found in Act II of Jean-Baptiste Lully
's Armide
, when the entire string section sporadically plays with mutes. However, the use of mutes did not become widespread in classical music until the 19th century when romantic
composers sought new timbres from the orchestra
. By the 20th century, the use of mutes was common.
, a player may palm mute
their guitar. To palm mute, the player uses the side of their hand, or the edge of their palm, closest to the bridge to cover the strings. This shortens the sustain significantly causing a muting effect. This is a very common technique in rock guitar.
A variety of mutes have been used on brass instrument
s, all of which either squeeze inside the bell of the instrument, or are hung or clipped to the outside of the bell. These mutes are typically made out of aluminum, brass
, or copper
metal, but more economical plaster
, cardboard, and plastic
versions exist. Each material produces a distinctive sound.
Mutes will usually make the instrument play sharp. High quality mutes try to reduce intonation issues while maintaining the characteristic sound. Even so, it is often necessary for the musician to accommodate by adjusting the tuning slide.
attached to the end that squeeze against the inside of the bell and hold the mute in place. Straight mutes are available for all brass instruments, including the tuba
.
's trombone solo in "Song of India", recorded January 1, 1937.
s were attached to the instrument. This mute creates a very unusual and recognizable sound, but is quite difficult to play, and is extremely rare in performance. In the early 1920s, Joe "King" Oliver was known to hold a kazoo in the bell of his cornet to achieve the buzz effect. Commercial versions of this type of mute soon followed. The earliest version of this was the "Humes Jazzer" patented by Guy B. Humes in the mid 1920s.
Miles Davis
often played through a Harmon mute without the stem. This greatly shaped the character of his sound, and greatly influenced the jazz community in such classic tracks as "All Blues
". A famous example of Harmon mute coupled with hand muting on trombone are the adults' voices in the animated Peanuts
cartoons.
from the 1920s when King Oliver played and others wrote for them. These mutes were originally actual bowler hat
s. In the 1920s, with the advent of aluminum as an art metal, derby mutes were stamped out of metal by companies such as Meta-Lite, Elton, and Harmon. These replaced the use of the actual bowler derbies. From the 1950s to the present derby mutes were made of fibre (a resin impregnated cardboard). They are still available from the Humes & Berg Company.
Derby mutes are typically mounted on stands in front of the trumpet and trombone players, to permit quick movement of the bell in and out of the hat quickly, although they can be opened and closed over the bell of the instrument by hand. These mutes have fallen somewhat out of favor in recent years, as bucket mutes or playing in to the music stand can give a somewhat similar sound.
. The term hand-stopping involves the hornist inserting his/her hand into the bell of the instrument, completely cutting off the airflow. A buzzing sound results, and the tone is raised a semitone
from the shortening of the effective length of the instrument. At lower intervals, application of this technique is very demanding. At the pedal
level, it is nearly impossible (as in the final movement of Tchaikovsky
's Symphony No. 6
). To remedy this, a small mute made of brass, with a small branch and tiny brass bell, is substituted for the hand. It still takes an enormous amount of air to achieve the "stopped" sound, but is certainly possible for an experienced player. Stop mutes have traditionally transposed
the muted notes, but a line of non-transposing stop mutes have recently been developed in Japan.
Plunger mutes are simply unused rubber sink or toilet plunger
s with the wooden handle removed (but can be purchased from certain mute companies). Some musicians cut holes in the rubber to alter the sound produced. Plungers are often used in a manner similar to the hat mute, where the musician manipulates the plunger in front of the bell while playing with their other hand. A "closed" plunger gives a tone similar to a tightly inserted cup mute, and a skilled plunger technician can often produce sounds similar to the human voice
.
In Duke Ellington
's orchestra, trombonist Tricky Sam Nanton
was noted for his work with the "plumber's friend". The Glenn Miller
band made a wooden red and white plunger popularly called the "Tuxedo Plunger" (used in the band's hit tune "Tuxedo Junction
"). For a combination of straight mute sound with the readily manipulated plunger, Pixie mutes are used. More recently, some players use a plunger made from a dog toy called the "Jolly Ball Tug-n'-Toss" cut in half.
The trumpet playing community has embraced a method for making an inexpensive practice mute out of a conical plastic "Renuzit" brand gel air freshener container filled with tissue or fabric. The mute is held in the bell with weatherstripping
. The self-assembly allows each player to custom-fit the mute to the bell of their trumpet, or alter the sound quality and muffling effect.
, euphonium
, horn, trombone
/bass trombone, alto trombone/flugelhorn
, trumpet
/cornet
, and piccolo trumpet
. It consists of a practice mute with a built-in microphone and 8th inch jack, which connects to a pocket amplifier with volume control and headphone output. It is sometimes used in combination with effects pedals or other devices to completely change the sound of the instrument.
s is very uncommon, and in the case of the flute
is almost completely unheard of. In the 18th century purpose-built mutes existed for the oboe
and clarinet
, but in the rare cases when one of these instruments is muted today a handkerchief is usually stuffed up the bell resulting in a muffled sound. Some bassoon
ists still use purpose built mutes, generally as a way of regulating volume at extremes of the instrument's register.
There exist saxophone
mutes which are usually made of a soft material (such as velvet
, silk
or chenille) woven around a hard inner ring (usually brass or plastic). This mute is placed in the bell, most commonly perpendicularly to the body of the saxophone. This softens the tones of the saxophone somewhat, and can be useful in classical settings as it also dampens the sound a bit. They are not in common use, but they are not rare either. They are usually only made for the alto saxophone, although bigger and smaller ones can be made and used for higher and lower registers of saxophone. Some companies currently produce mutes that cover the entirety of the instrument (such as the E-Sax Whisper mute and the Silent Sax case), thus dramatically diminishing the volume of sound produced. To date their overall effectiveness is still in question.
, for example, is muted by simply gripping the instrument with the hand, stopping it from vibrating so much. Drum
s require muting if they "ring" too much. They can be muted by laying a small piece of cloth (or even, in a pinch, a credit card) over their skin resulting in a muffled sound, but there are also specialized adhesive cloth mutes that stick to the head of the drum. Timpani
players will run their fingers across the surface of the drum-head to control unwanted resonance.
For the snare drum, the tenor drums, or even most of the drum (trap) set, a "pad" is available for practice purposes. This is a piece of rubber that is laid on top of the drum head, which mutes the drum for a volume better suited to indoor or home practice.
Traditionally, a military band playing for a funeral
would cover the drums with cloth, producing a muffled tone suitable to the solemn occasion.
of the piano
can be seen as having the effect of a mute. In a grand piano, depressing the soft pedal shifts the action
slightly to one side, making the hammers hit only two of the three strings for each note (or one of the two at lower registers). This results in a quieter and "thinner" sound. In some upright pianos, the soft pedal instead moves the hammers slightly closer to the strings, shortening the blow distance and weakening the strike. The effect is then markedly smaller than in the grand piano, and is a matter of volume but not timbre.
Indication that the soft pedal should be used is the instruction una corda or sometimes due corde, with tre corde or sometimes tutte le corde cancelling it. On early pianos it was possible by use of the soft pedal to play only one, two, or all three strings, making the distinction between una corda (one string) and due corde (two strings) meaningful; but this is no longer the case.
It used to be common for pianos to be fitted with another kind of mute — a piece of felt or similar material which would sit between the hammers and the strings. This results in a very muffled and much quieter sound. It was not used in any serious context, but was useful for reducing the volume of the instrument when practicing and was often termed a "Practice Pedal". Few pianos, apart from some uprights, have this device today.
To confuse matters, the instruction senza sordino (or some variant) is sometimes used to indicate continuous application of the sustain pedal
on a piano, throughout a long section or an entire movement (as opposed to the standard use of , or alternatively a brace mark, written below the staff, for short applications of the pedal). The sordino of this notation refers to the felt damper
s, each of which stops the sound of a note's strings when the note is not being played. When all the dampers are lifted by the sustain pedal (senza sordino), all the strings of the piano are allowed to sound, resulting in a complex sound when all strings are free to sound sympathetically with other strings. (See Moonlight Sonata for a classic example of senza sordino.)
A piano tuner will use another kind of mute with a piano; a rubber or felt wedge, which is inserted between strings to make sure only the desired string in a "unison" (that is, in the strings for one note) is sounding. A felt strip can also be inserted and "braided" between strings, to mute several strings at once.
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
to alter the sound produced: by affecting the timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
, reducing the volume, or most commonly both.
Musical directions for muting
The use of a mute is usually indicated in musical notationMusical notation
Music notation or musical notation is any system that represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols.-History:...
by the direction con sordino (often abbreviated con sord, sord, sordino). (Sordina, with plural sordine, is the strictly correct Italian term for mute as used on string instruments; but the forms con sordino, senza sordino, sordino via, etc., are much more commonly used as terms in music than the forms con sordina, senza sordine, etc.) The mute should be removed with the senza sordino (or senza sord, senza sordina, etc.) direction.
When written in English the directions, "mute" and "open" (for brass instruments) or "unmute" (for stringed instruments) are used.
The equivalent German terms for "with mute" ("mute on") are mit Dämpfer (Dämpfer auf), and for "without mute" ("mute off") are ohne Dämpfer (Dämpfer ab/weg).
In French music, the word for the mute is sourdine.
Symphony No. 4 (Mahler)
The Symphony No. 4 by Gustav Mahler was written between 1899 and 1901, though it incorporates a song originally written in 1892. The song, "Das himmlische Leben", presents a child's vision of Heaven. It is sung by a soprano in the work's fourth and last movement...
in which mutes have to be put on and taken off frequently, and the printed directions are in German.
String
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
s of the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
family, the mute takes the form of a device attached to the bridge of the instrument, dampening vibrations and resulting in a "softer" sound. Usually this takes the form of a small three-prong implement which is attached to the top of the bridge with one prong between each pair of strings, although anything which stops the bridge vibrating will suffice, and sprung clothes pegs, for example, have been used. The late Karl Haas
Karl Haas
Karl Haas was a German-American classical music radio host, whose distinctively sonorous voice and humanistic approach to making music appreciation contagious made him well-received by many...
told a story (supposedly true) about a violinist in an orchestra having a confectioner make him a mute entirely from candy, so that he could surprise his desk partner by eating the mute after finishing with it.
A famous use of string mutes is in the introduction of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)
Romeo and Juliet is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It is one of the most enduringly popular ballets...
. All the strings are muted (con sordini) so the sound appears to grow out of the initial discord, as if appearing from nothing. The sound is softer and more lyrical and flowing.
Practice (i.e. hotel)
Heavy practice mutes or hotel mutes are available for string instruments. These also fix onto the bridge of the instrument and reduce its loudness. Recently, practice mutes have been used in contemporary music for a special color, appearing in works as diverse as those by John CoriglianoJohn Corigliano
John Corigliano is an American composer of classical music and a teacher of music. He is a distinguished professor of music at Lehman College in the City University of New York.-Biography:...
and Gérard Grisey
Gérard Grisey
Gérard Grisey was a French composer of contemporary music.-Biography:Gérard Grisey was born in Belfort, France on 17 June 1946. He studied at the Trossingen Conservatory in Germany from 1963 to 1965 before entering the Conservatoire de Paris...
.
Wolf
On the celloCello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, a wolf mute is often attached to the G-string between the bridge and the tailpiece. This does not change the timbre of the instrument on the whole, but helps to eliminate the wolf tone
Wolf tone
A wolf tone, or simply a "wolf", is produced when a played note matches the natural resonating frequency of the body of a musical instrument, producing a sustaining sympathetic artificial overtone that amplifies and expands the frequencies of the original note, frequently accompanied by an...
which is found on many cellos around a sixth
Interval (music)
In music theory, an interval is a combination of two notes, or the ratio between their frequencies. Two-note combinations are also called dyads...
or seventh above the open G-string. When used to eliminate wolf tones on a double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, it is often attached on the A-string.
Violin
The violin mute was first described by Marin MersenneMarin Mersenne
Marin Mersenne, Marin Mersennus or le Père Mersenne was a French theologian, philosopher, mathematician and music theorist, often referred to as the "father of acoustics"...
in 1636. One of the earliest examples in the use of muted string instruments is found in Act II of Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...
's Armide
Armide (Lully)
Armide is an opera by Jean-Baptiste Lully. The libretto was written by Philippe Quinault, based on Torquato Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata .Critics in the 18th century regarded Armide as Lully's masterpiece...
, when the entire string section sporadically plays with mutes. However, the use of mutes did not become widespread in classical music until the 19th century when romantic
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
composers sought new timbres from the orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
. By the 20th century, the use of mutes was common.
Palm
On the guitarGuitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, a player may palm mute
Palm mute
The palm mute is a playing technique for guitar and bass guitar executed by placing the side of the picking hand below the little finger across all of the strings very close to the bridge and then plucking the strings with the fingers while the damping is in effect. This produces a muted sound...
their guitar. To palm mute, the player uses the side of their hand, or the edge of their palm, closest to the bridge to cover the strings. This shortens the sustain significantly causing a muting effect. This is a very common technique in rock guitar.
Brass
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
s, all of which either squeeze inside the bell of the instrument, or are hung or clipped to the outside of the bell. These mutes are typically made out of aluminum, brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
, or copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
metal, but more economical plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
, cardboard, and plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
versions exist. Each material produces a distinctive sound.
Mutes will usually make the instrument play sharp. High quality mutes try to reduce intonation issues while maintaining the characteristic sound. Even so, it is often necessary for the musician to accommodate by adjusting the tuning slide.
Straight
The most common type is the straight mute, a hollow, cone-shaped mute that fits into the bell of the instrument. This results in a more metallic, sometimes nasal sound, and when played at loud volumes can result in a very piercing note. Straight mutes have small pieces of corkCork (material)
Cork is an impermeable, buoyant material, a prime-subset of bark tissue that is harvested for commercial use primarily from Quercus suber , which is endemic to southwest Europe and northwest Africa...
attached to the end that squeeze against the inside of the bell and hold the mute in place. Straight mutes are available for all brass instruments, including the tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
.
Cup
The second most common brass mute is the cup mute. Cup mutes are similar to straight mutes, but attached to the end of the mute's cone is a large lip that forms a cup over the bell. The result is removal of the upper and lower frequencies and a rounder, more muffled tone.Solo-tone
The solo-tone mute (labeled by the Humes and Berg Corporation as the "Clear-Tone" mute) is shaped like a long straight mute, and includes sound baffles inside the mute that accentuate treble frequencies. It is rarely written for today but was common in jazz ensemble music written between 1930 and 1950. The most trademark use of the solo-tone mute was in Tommy DorseyTommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
's trombone solo in "Song of India", recorded January 1, 1937.
Buzz-wah
The buzz-wah mute is shaped like a cup but is designed with vibrating membranes on the mute, as if several kazooKazoo
The kazoo is a wind instrument which adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton, which is a membranophone, a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane."Kazoo" was the name given by...
s were attached to the instrument. This mute creates a very unusual and recognizable sound, but is quite difficult to play, and is extremely rare in performance. In the early 1920s, Joe "King" Oliver was known to hold a kazoo in the bell of his cornet to achieve the buzz effect. Commercial versions of this type of mute soon followed. The earliest version of this was the "Humes Jazzer" patented by Guy B. Humes in the mid 1920s.
Wah-wah (Harmon)
The Wah-wah mute (also known by the brand name Harmon) is a hollow, bulbous mute in two parts. Unlike the more common straight or cup mutes, the Harmon mute has a solid ring of cork that completely blocks all of the air leaving the bell, and forces all of the instrument's air column into the mute. In a hole on the front of the mute, there is a cup on a tube that can be slid in or out, or removed completely, depending on the composer's direction or the player's preference. The mute produces a sound perhaps best described as a highish-pitched 'buzz'. Harmon mutes are available for many brass instruments, but are only commonly used by trumpets and trombones.Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
often played through a Harmon mute without the stem. This greatly shaped the character of his sound, and greatly influenced the jazz community in such classic tracks as "All Blues
All Blues
"All Blues" is a jazz composition by Miles Davis first appearing on the influential 1959 album Kind of Blue.It is a 12 bar blues in 6/4; the chord sequence is that of a basic blues and made up entirely of 7th chords, with a ♭VI in the turnaround instead of just the usual V chord...
". A famous example of Harmon mute coupled with hand muting on trombone are the adults' voices in the animated Peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
cartoons.
Bucket
Bucket mutes attach to the rim of the bell with springs and contain cotton, foam or a similar substance. The effect is removal of high frequencies and a soft, muffled tone. Some modern bucket mutes (by JoRal for example) are designed as over sized straight mutes filled with batting, with large holes in along the side. These are held in the bell of the instrument with strips of cork, like straight and cup mutes. Players often find a trade-off between spring-style mutes, which can prevent quick transitions and cone-shaped mutes that squeeze into the bell, which can cause back-pressure. Modernized flexible spring-style clips on bucket mutes (by Soulo Mute for example) make transitioning fast and also eliminate back-pressure.Derby (hat)
Derby Mutes or hat mutes (also known as Bowler Hats, and also confusingly called Wah-wah mutes) were common in jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
from the 1920s when King Oliver played and others wrote for them. These mutes were originally actual bowler hat
Bowler hat
The bowler hat, also known as a coke hat, derby , billycock or bombin, is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown originally created in 1849 for the English soldier and politician Edward Coke, the younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester...
s. In the 1920s, with the advent of aluminum as an art metal, derby mutes were stamped out of metal by companies such as Meta-Lite, Elton, and Harmon. These replaced the use of the actual bowler derbies. From the 1950s to the present derby mutes were made of fibre (a resin impregnated cardboard). They are still available from the Humes & Berg Company.
Derby mutes are typically mounted on stands in front of the trumpet and trombone players, to permit quick movement of the bell in and out of the hat quickly, although they can be opened and closed over the bell of the instrument by hand. These mutes have fallen somewhat out of favor in recent years, as bucket mutes or playing in to the music stand can give a somewhat similar sound.
Stop (stopping)
Stop or Stopping mutes are unique to the French hornHorn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
. The term hand-stopping involves the hornist inserting his/her hand into the bell of the instrument, completely cutting off the airflow. A buzzing sound results, and the tone is raised a semitone
Semitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically....
from the shortening of the effective length of the instrument. At lower intervals, application of this technique is very demanding. At the pedal
Pedal tone
Pedal tones are special notes in the harmonic series of cylindrical-bore brass instruments. A pedal tone has the pitch of its harmonic series' fundamental tone. Its name comes from the pedals of a pipe-organ. Cylindrical brasses do not naturally vibrate at this frequency.A closed cylinder...
level, it is nearly impossible (as in the final movement of Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's Symphony No. 6
Symphony No. 6 (Tchaikovsky)
The Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, Pathétique is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's final completed symphony, written between February and the end of August 1893. The composer led the first performance in Saint Petersburg on 16/28 October of that year, nine days before his death...
). To remedy this, a small mute made of brass, with a small branch and tiny brass bell, is substituted for the hand. It still takes an enormous amount of air to achieve the "stopped" sound, but is certainly possible for an experienced player. Stop mutes have traditionally transposed
Transposition (music)
In music transposition refers to the process, or operation, of moving a collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval.For example, one might transpose an entire piece of music into another key...
the muted notes, but a line of non-transposing stop mutes have recently been developed in Japan.
Plunger
Plunger
A plunger is a common device that is used to release stoppages in plumbing. The tool consists of a rubber cup with an attached stick "shaft", usually made of wood or bronze. Before use, any objects such as hair in the plug grate should be removed and, if possible the overflow hole should be...
s with the wooden handle removed (but can be purchased from certain mute companies). Some musicians cut holes in the rubber to alter the sound produced. Plungers are often used in a manner similar to the hat mute, where the musician manipulates the plunger in front of the bell while playing with their other hand. A "closed" plunger gives a tone similar to a tightly inserted cup mute, and a skilled plunger technician can often produce sounds similar to the human voice
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
.
In Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
's orchestra, trombonist Tricky Sam Nanton
Tricky Sam Nanton
Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton was a famous trombonist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra.-Early life:Nanton was born in New York City and began playing professionally in Washington with bands led by Cliff Jackson and Elmer Snowden. He joined Ellington in 1926.From 1923 to 1924, he worked with Frazier's...
was noted for his work with the "plumber's friend". The Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
band made a wooden red and white plunger popularly called the "Tuxedo Plunger" (used in the band's hit tune "Tuxedo Junction
Tuxedo Junction
"Tuxedo Junction" is a song co-written by Birmingham, Alabama composer Erskine Hawkins and saxophonist and arranger Bill Johnson. Julian Dash is also credited for the music. The song was introduced by Hawkins's orchestra. Lyrics were by Buddy Feyne...
"). For a combination of straight mute sound with the readily manipulated plunger, Pixie mutes are used. More recently, some players use a plunger made from a dog toy called the "Jolly Ball Tug-n'-Toss" cut in half.
Practice (Whispa, whisper, or hotel)
Practice mutes, also known as Whispa, whisper, or hotel mutes, are similar to straight mutes in appearance, but have a solid ring of cork that prevents air from escaping from the bell like a Harmon mute. There are sound baffles inside the mute, and tiny holes in the sides of the mute that allow air to escape silently. These mutes are extremely quiet and are rarely used in performance. They are usually used for privacy and to avoid disturbing bystanders during practice sessions.The trumpet playing community has embraced a method for making an inexpensive practice mute out of a conical plastic "Renuzit" brand gel air freshener container filled with tissue or fabric. The mute is held in the bell with weatherstripping
Weatherstripping
Weatherstripping is the process of sealing openings such as doors, windows, and trunks from the elements, or the materials used to carry out such sealing process. The goal of weatherstripping is to prevent rain and water from entering by either blocking it outright or by blocking most of it and...
. The self-assembly allows each player to custom-fit the mute to the bell of their trumpet, or alter the sound quality and muffling effect.
Electronic
Yamaha produces an electronic practice mute system known as Silent Brass, with models for tubaTuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, euphonium
Euphonium
The euphonium is a conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced"...
, horn, trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
/bass trombone, alto trombone/flugelhorn
Flugelhorn
The flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
, trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
/cornet
Cornet
The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
, and piccolo trumpet
Piccolo trumpet
The smallest of the trumpet family is the piccolo trumpet, pitched one octave higher than the standard B trumpet. Most piccolo trumpets are built to play in either B or A, using a separate leadpipe for each key. The tubing in the B piccolo trumpet is one-half the length of that in a standard B...
. It consists of a practice mute with a built-in microphone and 8th inch jack, which connects to a pocket amplifier with volume control and headphone output. It is sometimes used in combination with effects pedals or other devices to completely change the sound of the instrument.
Woodwind
Sound from woodwinds emanates mainly from the holes in the instrument's body. Muting woodwind instrumentWoodwind instrument
A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
s is very uncommon, and in the case of the flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
is almost completely unheard of. In the 18th century purpose-built mutes existed for the oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
and clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, but in the rare cases when one of these instruments is muted today a handkerchief is usually stuffed up the bell resulting in a muffled sound. Some bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
ists still use purpose built mutes, generally as a way of regulating volume at extremes of the instrument's register.
There exist saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
mutes which are usually made of a soft material (such as velvet
Velvet
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed,with a short dense pile, giving it a distinctive feel.The word 'velvety' is used as an adjective to mean -"smooth like velvet".-Composition:...
, silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
or chenille) woven around a hard inner ring (usually brass or plastic). This mute is placed in the bell, most commonly perpendicularly to the body of the saxophone. This softens the tones of the saxophone somewhat, and can be useful in classical settings as it also dampens the sound a bit. They are not in common use, but they are not rare either. They are usually only made for the alto saxophone, although bigger and smaller ones can be made and used for higher and lower registers of saxophone. Some companies currently produce mutes that cover the entirety of the instrument (such as the E-Sax Whisper mute and the Silent Sax case), thus dramatically diminishing the volume of sound produced. To date their overall effectiveness is still in question.
Percussion
Percussion instruments often require no specialist mutes. The triangleTriangle (instrument)
The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve...
, for example, is muted by simply gripping the instrument with the hand, stopping it from vibrating so much. Drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s require muting if they "ring" too much. They can be muted by laying a small piece of cloth (or even, in a pinch, a credit card) over their skin resulting in a muffled sound, but there are also specialized adhesive cloth mutes that stick to the head of the drum. Timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
players will run their fingers across the surface of the drum-head to control unwanted resonance.
For the snare drum, the tenor drums, or even most of the drum (trap) set, a "pad" is available for practice purposes. This is a piece of rubber that is laid on top of the drum head, which mutes the drum for a volume better suited to indoor or home practice.
Traditionally, a military band playing for a funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
would cover the drums with cloth, producing a muffled tone suitable to the solemn occasion.
Piano
The soft pedalSoft pedal
The soft pedal is one of the standard pedals on a piano, generally placed leftmost among the pedals. On a grand piano this pedal shifts the whole action including the keyboard slightly to the right, so that hammers which normally strike all three of the strings for a note strike only two of them....
of the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
can be seen as having the effect of a mute. In a grand piano, depressing the soft pedal shifts the action
Action (piano)
The piano action mechanism, or the key action mechanism, or simply the action of a piano or other musical keyboards, is the mechanical assembly which translates the depression of the keys into rapid motion of a hammer, which creates sound by striking the strings. Action can be referred to a pianos...
slightly to one side, making the hammers hit only two of the three strings for each note (or one of the two at lower registers). This results in a quieter and "thinner" sound. In some upright pianos, the soft pedal instead moves the hammers slightly closer to the strings, shortening the blow distance and weakening the strike. The effect is then markedly smaller than in the grand piano, and is a matter of volume but not timbre.
Indication that the soft pedal should be used is the instruction una corda or sometimes due corde, with tre corde or sometimes tutte le corde cancelling it. On early pianos it was possible by use of the soft pedal to play only one, two, or all three strings, making the distinction between una corda (one string) and due corde (two strings) meaningful; but this is no longer the case.
It used to be common for pianos to be fitted with another kind of mute — a piece of felt or similar material which would sit between the hammers and the strings. This results in a very muffled and much quieter sound. It was not used in any serious context, but was useful for reducing the volume of the instrument when practicing and was often termed a "Practice Pedal". Few pianos, apart from some uprights, have this device today.
To confuse matters, the instruction senza sordino (or some variant) is sometimes used to indicate continuous application of the sustain pedal
Sustain pedal
A sustain pedal or sustaining pedal is the most commonly used pedal in a modern piano. It is typically the rightmost of two or three pedals. When pressed, the sustain pedal "sustains" all the damped strings on the piano by moving all the dampers away from the strings and allowing them to vibrate...
on a piano, throughout a long section or an entire movement (as opposed to the standard use of , or alternatively a brace mark, written below the staff, for short applications of the pedal). The sordino of this notation refers to the felt damper
Sustain pedal
A sustain pedal or sustaining pedal is the most commonly used pedal in a modern piano. It is typically the rightmost of two or three pedals. When pressed, the sustain pedal "sustains" all the damped strings on the piano by moving all the dampers away from the strings and allowing them to vibrate...
s, each of which stops the sound of a note's strings when the note is not being played. When all the dampers are lifted by the sustain pedal (senza sordino), all the strings of the piano are allowed to sound, resulting in a complex sound when all strings are free to sound sympathetically with other strings. (See Moonlight Sonata for a classic example of senza sordino.)
A piano tuner will use another kind of mute with a piano; a rubber or felt wedge, which is inserted between strings to make sure only the desired string in a "unison" (that is, in the strings for one note) is sounding. A felt strip can also be inserted and "braided" between strings, to mute several strings at once.
External links
- Vintage Mutes: VintageMutes.com - Mute Information, History, & Virtual Museum of historical Wind Mutes