Con sordino

ConConWith — connects a musical direction to its qualifying elementView full entry → sordino instructs string or brass players to attach a muteMuteA device attached to an instrument to soften its volume and alter its tone colour.View full entry →, which reduces volume and changes the tone colour — creating a veiled, distant, or silvery quality. The opposite is "senza sordinoSenza sordinoWithout mute — removing the mute or, on piano, using the sustain pedal freelyView full entry →." For pianoPianoSoft, quietView full entry →, the term historically meant with the dampers engaged (i.e., do NOT use the sustain pedal), though this usage has caused centuries of confusion.