Dampening, also damping, refers to the musical technique of muting an instrument while playing it, or soon after, before it has lost its sustain (stopped ringing). It can be used on a wide variety of string and percussion instruments. Dampening may be accomplished with a mute.
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Guitar
On guitar, dampening (also referred to as choking) is a technique where, shortly after playing the strings, the sound is reduced by pressing the right hand palm against the strings, right hand dampening (including Palm muting), or relaxing the left hand fingers' pressure on the strings, left hand dampening (or Left-hand muting). Scratching is where the strings are played while dampened, ie, the strings are dampened before playing (Bolton 2001, p.6). The term presumably refers to the clunky sound produced. In funk music this is often done over a sixteenth note pattern with occasional sixteenths undampened (ibid). Floating is the technique where a chord is sustained past a sixteenth note rather than that note being scratched, the term referring to the manner in which the right hand "floats" over the strings rather than continuing to scratch (ibid, p.10). Skanking is where a note is isolated by left hand dampening of the two strings adjacent to the fully fretted string producing the desired note, ie the adjacent strings are scratched (ibid, p.24). See also: Bang/Skank/Cheka. The technique is extremely popular among Reggae guitarists, who uses it with virtually every riddim they play on. It is a classical element of this style of music.
Piano
On a piano, dampening is controlled by the damper pedal, with the strings being dampened unless the pedal is pressed.
Gamelan
Dampening is also important in most percussion instruments in the gamelan, especially the sarons and gendérs. On instruments that are played with a single mallet, the left hand is used to dampen the previously hit note when a new note is played. On the gendér, which is played with mallets in both hands, the keys must be dampened by the same hand, and it requires practice to master the technique.
Source
- Bolton, Ross (2001). Funk Guitar: The Essential Guide. ISBN 0-634-01168-5.
