Two levels of muting seem to meet my needs. The small round rubber mute that attaches to the D and A strings makes the instrument significantly quieter, but audible in the next room. When I add a clothespin it is indeed very quiet. Both are inexpensive, easy to use, and unlikely to cause damage. Unlike the heavy metal mute, they do not change the weight or balance of the instrument.

I shortened the clothes pin and keep it attached to the D string tuning peg where it is handy and out of the way. Some serious violinists have reacted poorly when they see my clothes pin, but my fellow old-time fiddlers don’t seem to care.