Muting means stopping a sound, or damping its resonance. On instruments you damp the string, head or tube with a hand or a device; in a DAW it is the function that temporarily stops a track’s output.
The basic idea
Muting in performance is an expression that changes tone and duration. Muting in a DAW is an operation that silences a track for editing and checking. Tell the two apart from the context.
Playing and programming with it
On guitar and bass, touching the strings damps the ring and tightens the rhythm. In a DAW, mute parts to find out which sounds an arrangement really needs.
How it differs from related terms
Muting stops a sound that is ringing, while a rest is time in which no note is played to begin with.
Stopping and damping sounds, not just adding them, is an important part of creating rhythm and tone.
