con sordino effect

techniqueskon sor-DEE-nohfrom Italian

An instruction to use a mute on a string or brass instrument, producing a softer, more veiled tone q‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‌uality by dampening vibrations.

In Depth

Con sordino (Italian: "with mute") instructs string players to clip a small device onto the bridge, which reduces the bridge's vibrations and produces a silvery, ethereal tone quality.‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‌ For brass instruments, a mute is inserted into the bell. The opposite instruction, senza sordino ("without mute"), tells the player to remove the mute and return to normal playing. The change between muted and unmuted sound is one of the most effective timbral contrasts available to orchestral composers. Beethoven famously marked the entire first movement of his "Moonlight" Sonata with "senza sordino" — referring to the piano's damper pedal (sordino originally meant the piano damper mechanism). This instruction to keep the damper pedal down throughout creates the movement's characteristic wash of sound. In orchestral string writing, con sordino passages create an intimate, distant quality — Debussy and Ravel used muted strings extensively to achieve their characteristic gossamer orchestral textures.

Did you know?

Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata marking "senza sordino" (without dampers) actually meant "sustain pedal down throughout" — the terminology has caused confusion for two centuries because piano mechanisms changed after his era.

Related Terms

con sordino mute senza timbre

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