Dämpfer absetzen

As Printed on a Score

Printed in a string or brass part at the point where the mutes come off, ideally in a rest before the next entry; what follows plays open. It cancels an earlier mit Dämpfer or immer mit Dämpfer, as Dämpfer ab and senza sordino do.

Also spelled: Dampfer absetzen

How Composers Use It

Absetzen (‘take off’) is the fuller form of Dämpfer ab. The practical question is time: string players need a few seconds, brass a little more, so print it where the part has rests long enough, not on the downbeat of the open entry. If only some players should remove their mutes, say which, and mark the instruction in every part concerned.

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 5, second movement, trumpet, m. 364: “Dämpfer absetzen”, two bars after “immer mit Dämpfer”.

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