If you are one of those who did not have the opportunity to learn to play the violin in your childhood and now you are starting to instruct you as an adult, or simply and simply looking to instruct you a little more about this instrument and its accessories, you should know that the mutes For violin they are a very useful and even necessary accessory.
The mutes are intended to reduce the sound of the violin, even to completely suppress it. The mute’s ability to mitigate the sound of your instrument will depend on a variety of factors, including the type of violin mute and therefore the purpose of the device.
Intermediate Weight Mutes
This first type of mutes are usually made of hardwood, such as boxwood or ebony, and are mainly used to play the violin as a soloist.
These manage to reduce the sound, but not completely mitigate it, resulting in a melody with a lower volume and ideal to achieve intimate atmospheres with the instrument. The sound, although lower, is not difficult to hear when using an intermediate weight mute.
Light mutes
This is the most versatile and practical type of mute. The most common materials used in its elaboration are rubber and plastic.
This allows the loss of the timbral quality of the violin to be minimal, and also, thanks to its lightness, they can remain hooked on the strings of the violin. This allows them to be used simply, sliding it on the strings towards the bridge of the instrument when the mitigation effect is necessary, and separating them with equal ease. These mutes are ideal especially for use in orchestras.
The heaviest mutes
Popularly known as mutes hotel, aim to prevent most of the vibration on the bridge of the violin and thus minimize the sound volume. They are usually metallic and are used primarily to practice in inappropriate places and times, without disturbing anyone (for this the name of hotel mutes ). They are considerably more bulky than their lighter counterparts.
Although this is the simplest way to classify the violin mutes, factors such as the shape also affect the performance of the mute.