What is the purpose of a capo?
Capo explained
A capo is a small device that fits in the palm of your hand and is designed to clamp down on all strings across the guitar fretboard (this is why you might sometimes see a capo called a guitar clamp). This makes the area you can play on shorter and raises the pitch of your guitar.
As you move the capo up the neck, all the strings ring out higher – so moving the capo up makes the song higher. As you move the capo up each fret, the key goes up one half step.
The Capo Changes Key
This is because the root notes (and all other notes) have moved. For example, if we play the chord that looks like A major with a capo on the 3rd fret, that chord is really a C major, because the lowest note in that chord has moved to C, not A, as it would be in root position.
The capo is also a useful tool for singers, because it can be moved around to change the key. So if you're not comfortable singing a particular song, for example, in the key of C, simply move the capo around until you find a key that you're comfortable with.
The main advantage of using a capo is that it lets a guitarist play a song in different keys while still using first-position open-string chord forms, which have a more droning and fully resonant tone than, for example, many bar chords.
The capo can help make playing guitar easier. It is clamping down on the strings, which improves the action. It takes less force to squeeze out the notes of your chords when a clamp is already doing some of the work for you.
Then as these become familiar, transposing is as simple as moving the capo up or down the right number of frets. Here's some common ones to get you started: Key of A: capo 2 and play in G, capo 7 and play in D, or capo 9 and play in C.
The capo on the fourth fret moves the pitch up four half steps. From our original G chord, that would be G#/Ab, A, Bb, B. Our G, C and D chords now sound like B, E and F#. This C chord with the capo on the fourth fret sounds like an E chord.
Many professional guitarists use a capo, especially for their acoustic guitars. However, for professionals, using a capo can be a personal preference, and some artists might not use it, especially those who play lead guitar. Multiple professional guitarists use a capo for composing and recording their music.
How do you know when to use a capo?
Why Use A Capo? There are a number of great reasons to use a capo. One of those is for raising or lowering the key of a song if you're working with a singer. If a song is a little too high, or too low for the singer, you can simply use the capo to adjust the key of the song to fit their voice.
First, let's get something out of the way – capos are not just for beginners! :) Some players seem to think they're made only for beginners - but that's not true. They're a useful tool even for more advanced players.
Guitar capos can be useful, but relying on them too much will severely limit your understanding and knowledge of the fretboard. You can play any song on the guitar without a capo, in its original key, and you should know how to play any song in any key without a capo.
The capo raises the pitch of the strings ½ step each time it is moved up one fret. Placing the capo in the first fret makes everything ½ step higher. For example, if you place the capo in the first fret and finger a G chord, you are actually playing a G# or Ab chord.
Each of the chords you play in open position can be played using a capo, but if you do that, the name of the chord changes; it goes up one semitone for every fret the capo is moved up. So an open G chord with a capo on the 1st fret will become a G# chord.
Show activity on this post. A cheap capo might seem just as good at first... Give it a year or so of regular use and you'll realise why you pay extra for a good quality capo, they're more durable and maintain their tension so the strings will be held tightly. Cheap capos lose tension and need replacing.
Trigger capos are the most popular capos out of all of the designs that are on today's market. Trigger capos use a spring-loaded clamp in order to hold their tension. Trigger capos are popular because they allow players to quickly and easily adjust and reposition the capo only using one hand.
Capos are awesome. They can make learning the guitar easier for beginners, and for more advanced players, they can offer greater depth and variety. They really are a tool for all seasons.
Capos are used to dampen and press the strings down on guitars. They can cause damage to the fretboard and frets, as well as the strings, neck, and fretboard. Excessive tension on the guitar strings, particularly if they are stressed, can cause damage over time.
Do not leave the capo on the instrument when not playing it. The capo, when clamped on the neck, holds the strings down on the fretboard and creates extra tension on the neck and the top of the guitar. All acoustic guitars are destined, at some point in time, to have problems due to the tension of the strings.
What capo is C to G?
| Key | Capo Fret Number | |
|---|---|---|
| C | C#(Db) | G |
| C#(Db) | D | G#(Ab) |
| D | D#(Eb) | A |
| D#(Eb) | E | A#(Bb) |
As mentioned, capo on the 3rd and the E chords will be in the key of G. Capo on the 5th and the D chords will be in the key of G. On the 7th the C chords will be in the key of G.
To determine what key you will be playing in based on a given capo position, take the key corresponding to the chord shapes you want to play and then add a semitone or half step for each fret position. Note that there is only a half step or one semi-tone between E and F and between B and C.
If you play a song with a capo on the 2nd fret chords like G, C and D will sound like A major. If you play a song with a capo on the 4th fret with chords like C, F and G will sound like E major.
The easiest way to figure out the key of a song is by using its key signature. The number of sharps/flats in the key signature tell you the key of the song. A key signature with no sharps or flats is the key of C (or A minor).
If you want to play it in D and you put your capo on the 1st fret, you'll need to actually play the song one half-step lower than D to make up for the fact that the capo makes your guitar one half-step higher.
Capo 5 is a tuning where the fifth fret is used as the nut. This means that all strings are played two frets higher than they would be in standard tuning. This can be beneficial for a number of reasons. For one, it can make it easier to play in certain keys.
One of Hendrix's greatest contributions to the rock guitar vocabulary stemmed from his eschewal of standard six-string barre chord shapes, for which the index finger (1) serves as a movable capo clamped across the strings.
Putting a capo on and off the guitar neck can knock the strings out of tune. Clamping it on pulls the strings down to the fretboard, while it also can tweak them when sliding it up and down the fretboard.
The difference in timbre (that is, the tone color or the quality of the sound) between the two instruments creates a striking effect.\n \n A capo allows you to move, to any key, certain open-string/fretted-string combinations that exist in only one key.\nSome people refer to capos as \"cheaters.\" They think that if ...
How many types of capo are there?
| Price (approx.) | Ease-of-use | |
|---|---|---|
| Screw | $15 | Normal |
| Shubb | $20 | Easy |
| Toggle | $4 | Normal |
| G7th | $50 | Easy |
Luckily, capos are not super-expensive, and since they rarely wear out or break, many of us end up with our own mini-collection. There isn't a single “best” capo that does everything perfectly for every player, and your favorite go-to capo will likely change a number of times over your life.
Yes, you can play any song without a capo and nothing bad will happen. However, if you do not add the capo, you will be changing the key. That means that all of the notes will be lower.
- Let Her Go – Passenger (Original Tuning Of Em)
- Good 4 U – Olivia Rodrigo (Original Tuning Of F#M)
- Bad Habits – Ed Sheeran (Original Tuning Of Bm)
- Perfect – Ed Sheeran (Tuned Down To G From G#)
- Malibu – Miley Cyrus (Tuned Down To G From G#)
Steps to Make a DIY Capo
Make sure your guitar is in tune. Place the pencil or marker upon the desired fret. Fold the rubber band in half and loop it over both ends of the pencil. Add more bands as needed to achieve the desired tension.
Ed Sheeran uses a Dunlop Trigger Capo for many of his songs.
A different material capo like metal, plastic or wood will not change how a guitar sounds. However, metal capos tend to be heavier, more durable and slightly more damaging if used for long. Whereas wooden capos are lighter, look great but not as durable.
You don't necessarily need to use a capo for lead guitar because you're not playing chords most of the time. Instead, you're playing notes and scales. It cannot be easy to solo while using a capo. A capo can restrict the bends and make it hard to play lead guitar.
Key of F: capo 1 and play in E, capo 3 and play in D, capo 5 and play in C, or capo 8 and play in A. To reach F#/Gb, G, or G#/Ab, move the capo up one, two, or three frets as before. Memorizing these locations allows you to reach all 12 keys with just a basic knowledge of music theory.
- Find the fret where the capo is by looking at the top row of the chart.
- Look down the column to find the chord, in other words, the chord shape that you're playing. ...
- Look at the first column to identify the chord you're actually playing, i.e., the one you're hearing.
What capo is C major?
| Key | Capo Position | Perceived Key |
|---|---|---|
| F Major | 3rd Fret | D Major |
| 5th Fret | C Major | |
| 8th Fret | A Major | |
| Gb Major | 2nd Fret | E Major |
The capo on the fourth fret moves the pitch up four half steps. From our original G chord, that would be G#/Ab, A, Bb, B. Our G, C and D chords now sound like B, E and F#. This C chord with the capo on the fourth fret sounds like an E chord.