Not sure what abafando means? You are not alone. It is a musical word that is not familiar to most musicians.
This obscure musical term appears occasionally in instrumental music scores. If you play a brass instrument, you might read this sheet music word periodically.
Whenever you run across this music term, here is the meaning to guide you.
Abafando Musical Term Definition
Abafando is a musical term in Portuguese that means muffled or muted. This refers to sound occurring as dampened, suppressed, or stifled.
If you play the trumpet, cornet, or trombone, this means to perform the music passage using a mute. This softens the sound, allowing it to blend better with other instruments. It can also help balance an ensemble or achieve a desired sound effect.
By the way, if you need a soft mute to play a musical phrase or an entire section as abafando, this mute for trumpet or cornet and this mute for tenor trombone are very versatile.
Musical Terms Dictionary
A good musical terms dictionary is always useful to keep on your bookshelf at all times. You just never know when you will find a strange music direction term like this and need to look it up. My absolute favorite is The A to Z of Foreign Musical Terms by Christine Ammer. I highly recommend this resource for all serious musicians as a quick reference book.
Wikipedia also has a glossary of music terminology as well. This is a nice option to use when you are on the go. However, you may need to check it with a scholarly source to make sure the meaning is accurate.
Abafando Music Term
The abafando music term is lesser known by most musicians because it is in Portuguese. Words to do with music are more commonly found in French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
This musical vocabulary word simply means to reduce the sound by playing music notes quieter. Playing with a diminished sound is much easier for brass players using a mute.
Now, the next time you see this mysterious musical term appear in your music, you will know what it means. What is another unusual musical word? Please share in the comments below.
