Dämpfer ab

As Printed on a Score

Printed over the part, often with an exclamation mark (“Dämpfer ab!”), where mutes come off after a muted passage; it cancels mit Dämpfer and matches senza sordino or ohne Dämpfer.

Also spelled: Dampfer ab

How Composers Use It

Removing a mute takes time — a couple of seconds for strings, longer for brass — so place Dämpfer ab in a rest long enough to do it quietly. The returning open sound is brighter and louder, which can work as a reveal. In a section, staggering the removal (half the players first) keeps the line going.

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 5, first movement, Sechs Hörner in F., m. 401: “Dämpfer ab!”, eight bars after “mit Dämpfer.” (m. 393); the horns play pp in the next bar.

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