Mute
A small device on the instrument — less volume, another colour
Related
A mute is a small device fitted to an instrument: strings clamp rubber or wood to the bridge, brass players insert one into the bell, and winds have their own kinds. Its job is not only to reduce volume but to change colour — strings thinner and more distant, brass darker or more biting.
Brass has the richest family: straight, cup and harmon mutes each have a character. "Muted" does not mean "quiet": a harmon mute can be loud while squeezing the sound into a thin line. The point of a mute is colour, not volume.
Read deeper → Timbre
Sources
- 各类弱音器的构造与音色效果，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Mute"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.