Sos--Sus

Tom Cole tcole@cruzio.com
Fri, 26 Sep 1997 16:40:00 -0700


JIMRPT@aol.com wrote:
> 
> List;
>  just one of those imponderable questions, i.e.; if the pedal/rod mechanism
> that 'sustains' individual notes is called a 'sostenuto', why don't we say
> that individual notes are 'sostained' ?  After all we don't say that using
> the 'shift' pedal has 'shafted' the notes/hammers, or do we ? >:-)
>   No wonder Andre gets confused occasionally !
> Just a thought.
>  Jim Bryant (FL)
> .-

Jim,

Accordion to my lexicon, sostenuto comes to us from the Italian while
the word "sustain" comes from "sustinere" which is Latin so you will
need to speak to the Italians about why they made the change.

As for your second point, this is English we're talking about. Who ever
said it was logical?

I like the term "chaperone" for the middle pedal. That would seem
fitting inasmuch as it was basically a French idea. And we wouldn't want
those pedals to get too prolific!

Tom
-- 
Thomas A. Cole RPT
Santa Cruz, CA




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