how to use a CAPO ??

[rapsidy]

Is there a lesson on using a capo and the theory behind it and how and when to use one??

thanks

Brad

[mcfingers]

Hi, It's really pretty simple. Capo's are used to change the key of a song. When the chords of a song make it difficult for you to sing, a capo can move the key so that it is easier to reach the notes. Using the capo is pretty straight forward too. Just clip it right behind the fret in the key you want. I often capo up two frets so that I can sing the song in a more comfortable range. When I play hallelujah, I play it in G, I capo it up to the 4th fret. I just like the voicing it gives the chords and that's really all the capo is about.

Cheers, Steve

To answer your original question, I don't know if there is a specific lesson on capos.

[rapsidy]

okay i need to word question better, i should then ask how do i learn about keys etc...

[willem]

BUT,BUT,,you can use the capo also to play easer chords and stay in the same key,,hope i can explain,,oke we have the Bchord,,that aint a easy one,so we transpose two half steps down so we get the ACHORD,,thats a easy one,,now when you capo up also two half steps(two frets) and play he Achord it sounded like the Bchord...so you can transpose to easer chords and play in the same key..

[neverfoundthetime]

Hi Brad. If you have a capo handy you can try the following:
Play Bad Moon Rising (your last Video) using the same chords D A G (key of D) but put the capo at fret 2 so now the sound you get is E B A (key of E).
So you went up 2 half steps (each fret on the guitar is a half step) from Key of D to Key of E but now sing lower and you will find it easier on your voice which is now 10 half steps down from where you were singing in your video.
If that's too low for the singing just capo up one or two fret as you also take the voice up one or two steps and you'll land somewhere which is comfortable to sing. It's a good way of finding out which key is better for you to sing in. Another aspect of using the capo to change the key is that you can capo to a place where you can play easier chords. Here, for example, you can keep to the D A G shape of the chords in which is easier than the E B A and sounds better too. Make sense?

[rapsidy]

thanks for your help guys


i obviously need to learn more about keys and things... but for now

so chris lets see if i have this right i will try your suggestion tomorrow .. say the key is D for bad moon and i move it up the fret board does the fingering change or stay the same???

[willem]

neverfoundthetime wrote:

Hi Brad. If you have a capo handy you can try the following:
Play Bad Moon Rising (your last Video) using the same chords D A G (key of D) but put the capo at fret 2 so now the sound you get is E B A (key of E).
So you went up 2 half steps (each fret on the guitar is a half step) from Key of D to Key of E but now sing lower and you will find it easier on your voice which is now 10 half steps down from where you were singing in your video.
If that's too low for the singing just capo up one or two fret as you also take the voice up one or two steps and you'll land somewhere which is comfortable to sing. It's a good way of finding out which key is better for you to sing in. Another aspect of using the capo to change the key is that you can capo to a place where you can play easier chords. Here, for example, you can keep to the D A G shape of the chords in which is easier than the E B A and sounds better too. Make sense?

Chris told you how to use the capo when you want to fit the song to your voice,,and you can use the same chords(shapes D-A-G),,,IN the song I''ll have to say i love you in a song'' Jim Croce(target lesson) Neil goes in to the capo for the second guitar part,,capo up to the 7 fret,,play diffrent chords and stay in the key as the song is..

[neverfoundthetime]

Fingering stays the same Brad. That's the idea of the capo. Stay with the same chords and fingering but move up the key a half step with every fret up the board (towards the hole). PM me and let me know how its going!
Chris

[suziko]

Like others have said, a capo is a convenient way to change the key of the song without transposing the chords themselves. For example, say I'm playing a song in G, and the lowest note in the melody is a low D (4th string) and the highest note is a high C (2nd string)- for me that low D might be hard to hit, but I might know that if I take it up a step, I can maybe do it. SO, I could transpose the entire song into A, where all the chords in the song move up one step (G => A, C=> D, etc) but that's a lot of work and if I already know the "pattern" of the song in the key of G, I might not want to relearn the pattern. Plus, sometimes if a song has bass runs and such, changing the key makes recreating some of that difficult. So, the easier method is to just stick a capo on the 2nd fret, and suddenly something that was in the key of G is now in the key of A. the low D becomes an E, which I might find easier to hit, and the high C becomes a D, which is still in my range. I don't change my fingering at all.

[rapsidy]

Thanks everyone

Okay so i just move the capo where ever i want, keep the same chord shapes and if it sounds good run with it

phew!!! I thought i had to have a deep understanding of music theory before i could use it :blink: I want to learn it just not the main priority at the moment, making nice tunes much more fun dont you think?

appreciate the help :woohoo: