MUTE (Lat. tnutus, dumb)

This article appears in Volume V19, Page 99 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: MOS-NAN

MUTE (Lat. tnutus, dumb) , silent or incapable of speech. For the human physical incapacity see DEAF AND DUMB. In

phonetics

PHONETICS (Gr. Davit, voice)

(q.v.) a "mute"

letter

LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

is one which (like p or g) represents no individual sound. The name of "mutes" is given, for obvious reasons, to the undertaker's assistants at a funeral. In music a "mute" (Ital. sordino, from Lat. surdus, deaf) is a device for deadening the sound in an

instrument

INSTRUMENT (Lat. instrumentum, from insincere, to build up, furnish, arrange, prepare)

by checking its vibrations. Its use is marked by the sign c.s. (con sordino), and its cessation by s.s. (senza sordino). In the case of the violin and other stringed

instruments

INSTRUMENTS

this object is attained by the use of a piece of brass,

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WOOD, ANTHONY A2 (1632-1695)
WOOD, JOHN GEORGE (1827—1889)
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or ivory, so shaped as to fit on the bridge without touching the strings and hold it so tightly as to deaden or muffle the vibrations. In the case of brass wind

instruments

INSTRUMENTS

a leather, wooden or papier mache pad in the shape of a pear with a hole through it is placed in the bell of the

instrument

INSTRUMENT (Lat. instrumentum, from insincere, to build up, furnish, arrange, prepare)

, by which the passage of the sound is impeded. The interference with the pitch of the instruments has led to the invention of elaborately constructed mutes. Players on the horn and trumpet frequently use the left hand as a mute. Drums are muted or "muffled" either by the pressure of the hand on the head, or by covering with cloth. In the side drum this is effected by the insertion of pieces of cloth between the membrane and the "snares," or by loosening the "snares." The muting of a pianoforte is obtained by the use of the soft-pedal.

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