''Tasto solo'' is an Italian term used in music scores, usually on the continuo part, to indicate that a note or section should be played on its own, without

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

. The term ''tasto'' is Italian for ''key'' (as Italian "tastiera" is for ''fingerboard''), so the part is to be played solo by the fingerboard instrument (e.g. cello) and not by the harmony instrument (e.g. harpsichord) where a basso continuo line is played by more than one instrument. The phrase first appeared in

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

books in the eighteenth century, but was used by composers such as Arcangelo Corelli before this time.

C.P.E. Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and sec ...

commented that, in practice, Italians did not play tasto solo.

References

Musical terminology Italian words and phrases {{music-theory-stub