Con sordino
“Con sordino” (Italian “with mute”) is a playing direction: the instrument plays with the mute in place, and the sound becomes quieter and changes its colour. On strings the mute sits on the bridge. “Senza sordino” cancels the direction.
- Meaning
- played with a mute
- Abbreviation
- con sord.
- Cancelled by
- senza sordino
- The device
- Mute
- Applies mainly to
- string instruments and brass
The mute on the bridge
The mute is a device that weakens the sound of an instrument. On string instruments it is a small device, usually of wood, ivory or metal, that is clipped onto the bridge and damps its vibrations. The sound becomes quieter and takes on a different colour: more veiled, more intimate, sometimes a little nasal. “Con sordino” is the direction to put it on; “senza sordino” releases it again.
With mute, then without
An example of our own for a viola in the alto clef: “con sord.” applies from the first note, and “senza sord.” before the last one takes the mute off again. Playback has no mute and sounds the same throughout; how the sound changes is stated only in the score.
The direction is written at the point from which the playing is muted, and it applies to the part concerned until “senza sordino” cancels it. Putting a mute on and taking it off takes time, which the score has to leave the players.
Where it appears in the score
Strings and piano compared: the same word does not always mean the same device.
| Instrument | What “sordino” means here | Typical direction |
|---|---|---|
| Strings | mute on the bridge | con sordino, senza sordino |
| Brass | mute in the bell | con sordino |
| Piano | the dampers of the strings; “senza sordini” usually means: keep the sustain pedal held down | senza sordini |
Orchestra
-
Symphony No. 9 in E minor, 2nd movement: Largo Antonín Dvořák · score · 18 pages
On page 1, “con sordino” is above the entry of each string part, each with ppp: for violin I, violin II and double bass in bar 1, for viola and cello in bar 5. The movement begins with “Largo” and ♩ = 52 in 4/4 time, and the key signature has five flats.
-
Der Frühling: Danza Pastorale Antonio Vivaldi · score · 23 pages
On page 14, “Allegro con Sordine” is under the lines of Violino Primo and Violino Secondo, while Violino Principale, Viola and Organo e Violoncello carry only “Allegro”. The movement is in 12/8 time, and the key signature has four sharps.
Piano
-
Mondscheinsonate, 1. Satz Ludwig van Beethoven · piano · 5 pages
Above the upper staff is an Italian direction for the whole piece, in which “senza sordini” occurs, and above the lower one “sempre pianissimo e senza sordini”. Here it is about the piano, not about strings.
In Dvořák the direction is given for each part separately at its entry. Vivaldi writes it for only two of five lines; for the solo violin, the viola and the line of organ and cello it is missing. On the piano sheet it is the other way round: there the direction is “senza sordini”, that is, “without dampers”. On the piano this usually means keeping the sustain pedal down, because it lifts the dampers off the strings.
Sordino or sordina
The Italian word for the mute is today “sordina”; “sordino” is the older form. In scores “con sordino” nevertheless often appears, including on the sheets here; Vivaldi has “con Sordine”.
Common mistakes
- Confusing mute and pedal: On the piano “senza sordini” usually means that the dampers are lifted off the strings, that is, the sustain pedal is down.
- Forgetting the end: “con sordino” applies until “senza sordino” comes; that can be many bars later.
- Just playing more quietly: The mute also changes the tone colour. A note played quietly without a mute sounds different.
Continue on Maikstrings
Related terms
Senza sordinoMuteStringsPizzicatoArcoSul ponticelloDouble bassDynamics
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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