FWIW, I think "capo tastro" is a mere misspelling of "capo tasto," caused by confusing and combining it with "capo d'astro." I believe that, as I think Margaret Hood pointed out in an earlier post, capo tasto is the "correct" term, with a real linguistic pedigree that actually means something. I believe "capo d'astro" is just a mistake someone (perhaps a Steinway family member" made, which caught on. Sounded like the right word, and it was Italian anyway, so who knew? Never heard of a "tasto" but "astro" is a familiar word. That's how I figure it came about. Our industry is rife with such variants of spelling and of application. What does "duplex" mean as opposed to "aliquot?" Is it wippen or whippen? What's a baby grand as opposed to a parlor grand, as opposed to just a grand? Where is the line between console and spinet? Going back a couple centuries, what's a spinet as opposed to a virginal? The best answer is that "usage varies." Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexico --On Saturday, February 14, 2004 10:49 PM -0500 David Skolnik <davidskolnik@optonline.net> wrote: > There seems to be some confusion regarding the term capo d'astro and capo > tastro. I hadn't previously come across capo tastro, and, in any case, > the element seems most often simply referred to as "capo bar".
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC