Étouffez

As Printed on a Score

Printed above a harp, timpani, cymbal or piano part at the moment the sound must stop — étouffez (imperative) or étouffé (damped) — sometimes with a damping sign. It applies to the notes or chord marked; laissez vibrer is the contrary instruction.

Also spelled: etouffez, étouffé, étouffer

How Composers Use It

Étouffez asks the player to stop the vibration: on harp and timpani with the hand, on cymbals by drawing them against the body, at the piano by releasing key and pedal. Write it exactly where the silence should fall — on a rest or after a precisely notated duration — so the cut-off becomes part of the rhythm. Mark its opposite, laissez vibrer, just as clearly.

Example

Boulanger, D’un matin de printemps, harp, m. 25: “étouffez” — the harp’s ringing strings to be damped at that point.

Related Terms