Via sordini

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the staff as via sordini or via sord. where mutes are to be taken off, usually a little before the unmuted passage to allow time. It cancels con sordini and lasts until mutes are called for again.

Abbreviations: via sord.

Also spelled: via sordina

How Composers Use It

Literally “away with the mutes”: an instruction to remove them, equivalent to senza sordini. Because it reads as an action, composers often place it during a rest before the passage that needs the open sound, giving players time. Choose one form — via sord. or senza sord. — and use it consistently through a score.

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