Ideas for Using Capo

[Hiker]

Interesting....speaking for the crowd. There's few worthwhile resources for: 'how to use a capo" available online.
Lots of people/sites mention it for a sentence or two. Talking about two guitars jamming, not one guy trying to play tough keys on stage.

If two people are playing guitar an informal jam, and say I'm playing in C (no capo), what can the other guy do (where to capo) to complement/blend. In E, what is the difference, is this magic or what?

Looking for practical examples to use this tool...Yes, I've searched here, and google-still haven't found much discussion or solid suggestions. Ideas using the KISS principle?

[ednew]

Here's a capo chart to help you figure things out:

http://www.guitar-warrior.com/capotransitionchart.pdf

KEY of C

Using your example, Guitar #1 is playing in 1st position C, no capo.

Guitar #2 can capo at 3rd fret and play C, F and G7 chord harmony using open A shape (at 5th fret), D (at 5th fret) and E7 (at 4th fret) shapes.

Guitar #2 could also capo at 5th fret and play C (at 7th fret), F (at 6th fret) and G7 (at 6th fret) chord harmony using open G, C and D7 shapes.

If Guitar #2 really wants to get up into the chipmunk zone, he could also capo at 10th fret and play C (at 12th fret), F (12th fret) and G7 (12th fret) using open D, G and A7 shapes.

KEY of E
Guitar #1 plays 1st position E major, no capo.

Guitar #2 capos 2nd fret and plays E harmony chord using the D shape at 4th fret.

Also could capo 4th fret and play E harmony chord using C shape at 5th fret.

Also could capo 7th fret and play E harmony chord using A shape at 9th fret.

Practice these basic moves with your capo and I'm hopeful you'll get these position forms under your fingers and in your head. Good luck with it!

Ed

[Hiker]

Those are some very helpful tips, thanks!

[Tim Bowen]

Very practical and useful post from Ednew.

Along the lines of using capo for one guitar to broaden the scope of a two guitar arrangement: Also try using some extensions and suspensions and such on one guitar while playing the chord "straight" on the other. Try it opposite ways - capo'ed guitar adds the additional spice while standard guitar plays straight major or minor triads, and vice-versa. Sus2's and sus4's on one guitar with straight triads on the other can yield some dense and interesting clusters. As always, it's a matter of taste and listening as to what is actually pleasing to the ear.

Some other uses for capo that I've found:

* "Poor man's 'high-string' guitar" - For instance, if a song is in the key of E and all chords fall naturally in open position, place a capo at the 12th fret of the second guitar and play exactly the same chords. Obviously, the fingers are occupying a small space within the frets with the capo placed this high up the neck, so some physical adjustments are bound to be made, particularly for sausage-fingered individuals.

* Quick fix for instruments badly in need of fret work - This is not a cure, it's a band-aid. I did this last year for a session which called for a specific instrument that desperately needed a fret crown, but there was no time. Tune the instrument down a half step, place the capo at the first fret, and play your parts. This helps alleviate much of the fret buzz that occurs within often played shapes, particularly the open position cowboy chord stuff. It can get you through until there's time to get the instrument to a tech or luthier for proper fret work.

* Rut-buster for writing and arrangement - if you run into a brick wall for, say, a bridge of a tune, place the capo at a couple of different positions and see what falls within the other shapes within the key at hand . It doesn't matter how many chords and progressions and line cliche's one might know, the capo can often ease the funk of writer's block. This isn't cheating, it's called moving forward. If you get a section, hook, or whatever that works, you can always go back to non-capo'ed guitar and figure out what needs to be done.

* Matching the wacky capo usage of singer-songwriter types at pickup gigs - Let's face it, the typical singer-songwriter isn't always the best communicator on the planet as to song form and musical math, and they often employ fairly unorthodox (or at least unexpected) changes within their compositions. If you have a good ear and know some math, you can transpose on the fly, or you can always just provide fills in a conversational way that doesn't step on the tune at hand. However, if it's apparent that the writer is utilizing tons of curve balls within his or her arrangements, the best thing to do from a visual perspective - at a pickup gig with no prior rehearsals and/or limited direction in advance - is to simply match the capo position and watch what they're doing. You want to support the groove and vibe of the tunes and hopefully elevate the tune on a textural or harmonic level. Developing a brain aneurysm from an over abundance of mental math on the fly is generally not conducive to supporting groove and vibe.


General personal observations about capo usage:


* Optimum performance is typically realized by placing the capo as closely behind the nut as possible. However, the further up the neck the capo is placed and the more the fingers are scrunched, placement compromise is almost inevitable. If I place a capo at 5th fret or higher, I finger a garden variety A chord from low to high with fingers 2-1-3, which is a configuration that I rarely use in open position. Cowboy G chord is one that I've almost given up counting the various ways that I finger it, even in open position. The capo up the neck calls for additional consideration. If the G chord is to contain movement and suspensions in the upper register, I finger the G's on the low and high E strings with the third and fourth fingers, with the third finger also acting as a mute for the A string (there's already a major 3rd on the B string), and I use the first and second fingers to get the embellishments.

* As to intonation, all capos are not created equally. Some are better than others. I've played quite a few brands and models. Manufacturers can make all the claims that they want, but my opinion is that an instrument with a placed capo is an instrument with a displaced nut that needs to be tuned from scratch. Mute the signal, place the capo properly, tune silently and quickly, and play - in that order. Socks first, then shoes. Or as Archie Bunker once said, "Sock and a shoe, sock and a shoe." Don't make the mistake of placing the capo upon the desired fret and expecting excellent intonation from jump street. Always check tuning before you commit to playing the tune.

[warmingtone]

Two unusual ideas/tips...

I think my main one is a Kyser...anyway, a clamp stule like that can be used from below and excluding the low E or even the A and E strings say on the 2nd fret...this will give you dropped tuning kind of effect on the open chords while the rest of the guitar and all the chord shapes remain the same.

The other one is that if you clamp a heavy capo like that to the end of your peghead, it changes the sound of the guitar subtly but noticeably...a little more sustain and smoother as a result of the extra mass on the end of the neck...plus keeps it handy!

[PeterUK]

Originally Posted by Tim Bowen

Very practical and useful post from Ednew.

Agreed. Thanks everyone. Useful and interesting thread.

Peter

[beep.click]

Originally Posted by Tim Bowen

* As to intonation, all capos are not created equally. Some are better than others. I've played quite a few brands and models.

SOMEDAY, SOMEONE will reissue the Sabine capo. Best intonation ever, because it was made to clamp directly ON a fret... not between frets.

Brilliant design. It never threw your guitar sharp.

[FirstBassman]

Ideas for Using Capo

Hiker,
In addition to all the good stuff above I would like to add one very important point. (If this was already mentioned and I missed it, I apologize.) -

After placing the capo on, you must, must, must re-tune your guitar.

Originally Posted by Tim Bowen

Optimum performance is typically realized by placing the capo as closely behind the nut as possible.

I'm no expert but I'd suggest some testing on this.
I think being right up there next to the fret will cause the lower strings to "buckle up" a little bit.
I place my capo somewhere between halfway and right next to the fret ... about a quarter or a third of the way.
YMMV.

[Tim Bowen]

Originally Posted by FirstBassman

I'm no expert but I'd suggest some testing on this.
I think being right up there next to the fret will cause the lower strings to "buckle up" a little bit.
I place my capo somewhere between halfway and right next to the fret ... about a quarter or a third of the way.
YMMV.

We're on the same page. This is my experience as well. Conversely, my tendency to back the capo up is mostly as up the board and in dealing with the physicalities of such.

[cousinpaul]

[quote=warmingtone;2103640]Two unusual ideas/tips...

I think my main one is a Kyser...anyway, a clamp stule like that can be used from below and excluding the low E or even the A and E strings say on the 2nd fret...this will give you dropped tuning kind of effect on the open chords while the rest of the guitar and all the chord shapes remain the same.

Here's another variation. Tune your guitar to dropped D. Clamp a Kyser capo to the 2nd fret, excluding the low E (now D) string. Now play a cowboy C chord. You're still in the key of D, but the "C" voicing offers up a different sound and new possibilities for embellishment. The rest of your chord shapes remain the same as in dropped D. You can move this up the neck by using two capos.

[warmingtone]

Yeah...the capo-ing of some of the strings, leaving others open can be used in lots of ways...good for arranging fingerpicking stuff especially

You could for instance capo at the 4th fret, play a C shape and get an E chord with a lower E below, or any number of variations. Capo the 7th less the A and E strings and you get a very high sounding guitar effect playing say A shaped (now E) and D shaped (now A) chords with a low string bass for body and contrast...you can even make a B chord by playing the E shape but using the first finger or your thumb to fret at the capo fret (7th) as well of course.

You could even do it the other way and leave an open high e and or b strings for some interesting ostinato kinds of things in other keys perhaps.

If you like these kinds of effects, you can get a capo that allows you to select which strings could be open, even use two capos like that (I saw that somewhere)...or make your own from one of those cheap strap on versions by cutting away on some string points...and get fake open G or other tuning effects, again without changing the tuning of the guitar other than the open strings and so all your patterns remain the same.