Sans sourdine

As Printed on a Score

Printed at the first note to be played unmuted, often shortened to sans sourd., sometimes after an ôtez la sourdine warning a few bars earlier. It cancels avec sourdine and holds until a new mute instruction; over a piano part it releases the soft pedal.

Abbreviations: sans sourd.

Also spelled: sans sourdines

How Composers Use It

Sans sourdine restores the open sound after a muted passage, or confirms that a part entering among muted instruments is not muted. Removing a mute takes time — a few seconds for strings, more for brass — so place the instruction after rests and, for a quick change, warn the player earlier with ôtez la sourdine. In piano music the same words lift the soft pedal.

Example

Boulanger, D’un matin de printemps, third horn, m. 165: “sans sourdine”, a bar before an sf; earlier in the same part the short form “sans sourd.” does the same job.

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