mute (my
t), in music, device designed to diminish uniformly the loudness of a musical instrument. For example, a trumpet mute is cone-shaped and fits into the instrument's bell, and a violin mute is a wooden or rubber clamp that can be attached to the bridge.
mute1
mute2 Archaic
Mute
t), in music, device designed to diminish uniformly the loudness of a musical instrument. For example, a trumpet mute is cone-shaped and fits into the instrument's bell, and a violin mute is a wooden or rubber clamp that can be attached to the bridge.mute1
1. unable to speak; dumb
2. Law (of a person arraigned on indictment) refusing to answer a charge
3. a person who is unable to speak
4. Law a person who refuses to plead when arraigned on indictment for an offence
5. any of various devices used to soften the tone of stringed or brass instruments
6. an actor in a dumb show
mute2 Archaic
birds' faeces
mute
A mortised rubber silencer for a door.
Mute
a device on musical instruments that muffles the sound and partially alters the timbre. Mutes are used principally with bowed stringed instruments, horns, and trumpets. In bowed stringed instruments, they consist of a clamp made of hard wood, metal, or plastic placed over the top of the bridge. In trumpets and horns, they are a pear-shaped vessel, usually made of aluminum with a layer of cork around the edges, which fits into the bell of the instrument. In the piano, the function of the mute is fulfilled by the left (soft) pedal.
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