What does capotasto mean?
A capotasto is a spring-loaded or screw-tightened clamp fastened across the fingerboard of a fretted stringed instrument — most often a guitar, but also mandolins, banjos, and ukuleles — at any desired fret. By pressing all six strings down behind one fret, it effectively lengthens or rather shortens their vibrating portion, raising every open string by the same interval. This lets a player keep familiar open-chord shapes while sounding in a higher key, which is why it is beloved by folk singers who must match a song to their voice without relearning chords. The word is the full Italian term — literally 'head of the fret' — from which the everyday musician's shorthand 'capo' derives, and the variant spelling 'capodastro' is equally common. Though indispensable in folk, pop, and singer-songwriter traditions, classical guitarists seldom use one.
nounA movable clamp fitted across the fingerboard of a guitar or similar stringed instrument to raise the pitch of all the open strings uniformly; the full Italian term for what is commonly shortened to 'capo'.
- A mechanical clamp placed across the strings of a guitar, mandolin, or similar instrument at a chosen fret to raise the overall pitch while preserving open-string chord shapes.
"She clamped the capotasto at the third fret so the guitarist could play in F without changing chord shapes."
"The folk singer attached the capotasto to the fifth fret to match her vocal range."
"Classical players rarely use a capotasto, preferring to transpose by hand."
Follows the Italian pluralisation; in English writing the plural is rare since most writers refer to individual devices or use the shortened form 'capos'.
"The shop displayed several capotasti of different widths for nylon- and steel-string guitars."
That little clip guitarists call a 'capo' is short for capotasto — literally the Italian for 'head of the fret'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of capotasto
The capotasto comes from Italian: 'capo' meaning head or top, and 'tasto' meaning fret or key (ultimately from Latin 'tangere', to touch). It entered English usage as musicians adopted Italian musical terminology, alongside its close relative 'capodastro', which combines 'capo' with 'dastro', a variant of 'tasto'. Both terms survive today, though both have largely been eclipsed in common speech by the clipped form 'capo'.
Related word forms
How capotasto is actually used
Musical register. The word is almost always shortened to 'capo' in everyday speech and writing among players; 'capotasto' or 'capodastro' appears mainly in formal, instructional, or etymological contexts.
Easily confused with capotasto
Capodastro is simply an alternative (and more common) spelling of the same device; both are the full form of the everyday word 'capo', with no difference in meaning.