Deceptive Melodies pt. 1

!±8± Deceptive Melodies pt. 1

Deceptive Melodies pt. 1 by Jonathan W. Martinez © Jonathan W. Martinez www.jonathanwmartinez.wordpress.com jonathanwmartinez@gmail.com

Deceptive Melodies pt. 1

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Choosing a Good Guitar Capo

!±8± Choosing a Good Guitar Capo

So you have decided to learn guitar, and went out and bought an instrument. You know a handful of chords already, and can strum and sing a few easy guitar songs. But all of a sudden you come across a song that's out of your vocal range and therefore requires a capo (pronounced kay-po). What the heck is a capo, how does one use it? Read on to learn how.

A capo is a metal bar that is clamped across the fingerboard of all six guitar strings, which raises the pitch of all the strings uniformly. It functions much like the nut of the guitar, except that it is movable. It essentially lets you use the same chord shapes to play in different keys.

Lets say that you only knew the chords G, C, and D. Play a G chord on the guitar and a G chord on the piano and two will sound fine together. However, what if the piano wants to play the chords, A, D and E. Put a capo on the third fret, and then use the same G, C, and D chord forms. Though it will look like you are playing in the key of G the chords will sound like they are in A because the capo has raised the pitch of the strings due to it being clamped at the third fret. Make sense?

Capos come in a few different configurations, lets take a look at them.

Trigger Capos

Trigger capos are made by companies like Kyser and Dunlop. They maintain clamping pressure by a powerful metal spring mechanism. The tension on these capos is not adjustable; you open the capo, place it where you want, and it clamps down. As a result they will sometimes pull all the strings sharp. They are very fast to use and place on different frets, just squeeze it with one hand, move it, and let go. A lot of guitarists that change capos mid song like them for that reason. They are a bit bulkier than other types, so if you want a slim unobtrusive capo this may not be the one for you.

Adjustable Tension Capos

Adjustable tension capos allow you to vary the amount of tension that is placed on the strings when you clamp the capo down. Units like the Shubb Original and the John Pearse Ol Reliable are examples of adjustable tension capos. They use a screw mechanism on the back to vary the clamping tension. Thus it's very easy to find the exact amount for your particular guitar neck that will keep the strings clamped down, but not pull them out of tune. The John Pearse capo is nice because it can be hung between the fingerboard and the headstock when not in use. This is very useful if you tend to lose capos at a gig.

Hi Tech Capos

Over the past few years there have been a couple capos take a cool high tech approach. The G7 capo is the most notable of these, winning several awards for its design. It is variable in clamping pressure, but uses a hub and spring system instead of a tension screw. You squeeze it down onto the guitar neck and it clamps down with as much pressure as you give it. Pretty neat. Planet Waves makes a capo called the NS, for Ned Steinberger, who helped design it. It is very slim and unobtrusive. Tension adjusted by a small dial in the back. You place it in the desired location, and tighten the dial till it clamps down with enough pressure to keep the strings in tune.

Depending on the style of music you want to play, some capos may work better than others. So head on down to your local music store and check a few out.

Choosing a Good Guitar Capo

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Learning Guitar - How Does a Capo Work?

!±8± Learning Guitar - How Does a Capo Work?

Capos! What strange and mysterious devices! What do they do? How do you use them?

Almost every guitar player has one or two of these creatures tucked away in the bottom draw of their closet. You know what I mean ...it's the same place you keep all those "easy" learn to play guitar books and videos!

Like many things in music when you buy the "item" you are left to "figure it out" for yourself. I've never seen any instructions with any capo. It's the same when you purchase an electric guitar...does anyone know what those controls do?

For those of you who do have a capo and have had "private lessons" - have you ever taken your capo along for "enlightenment" on its use and relevant application? I'll bet you left more confused than when you arrived.

Personally, I recall receiving a 20 minute lecture on the "evils" of this contraption when I brought my capo along to my guitar lesson.

Needless to say, the capo never made a return to the guitar lessons and for a long time it lived in the bottom draw of the closet. (That's how I know where most guitarists put them. I guess most of us have had similar experiences).

It always made me wonder what the capo really did do ...how could this innocent looking piece of metal cause so much trouble?

For a long time I never tried to use the capo ... then after my ten thousandth attempt at working out the introduction of the Beatles "Here Comes The Sun" I noticed that if I could clamp a finger (I think that might be a clue) down behind my other three fingers with a lot of stretching I could just about get the sound I was searching for. The problem was holding all my fingers down and stretching ...the solution...the capo. Immediately my problem of holding down the impossible chord was solved!

From that moment on, I began investigating the possibilities of using a capo on other songs I had difficulties with and sure enough ...the capo was the answer. Immediately a whole new world of exciting possibilities had opened for me.

How do capos work?

Essentially there are two types of chords guitarists use:

(a) open chords - chords that use open strings

(b) bar chords - chords that do not use open strings whereby a single finger (usually the index finger) is used to cover two or more strings.

The capo gives the guitarists the best of both worlds, by enabling the player to get the crisp sound of open chords in keys that would normally require the use of bar chords.

Tip 1: The main problem guitarists encounter is having to re-tune their instrument every-time they use the capo.

I recommend the "Kyser" brand capos, they cost a couple of dollars more than the basic capos, but you will never regret buying one. I've been using one of these capos for over 25 years and it's still going strong!

Tip 2: If you have trouble getting a clear sound from your guitar when you are using a capo check to make sure that you have placed the capo behind the fret ... just like a finger.

Guitarists and guitar books often refer to placing the capo on "X" fret, when in reality the capo is placed behind the fret.

For example, if the song indicated the capo should be placed on the second fret, you would in fact place the capo behind the second fret.

Tip 3: Another point is, you need to make sure that your capo is close to the fret (but not on top of the fret). If you are using a screw style of capo then you have to make sure you have enough pressure on the strings to ensure they do not buzz.

Tip 4: When purchasing a capo be sure to advise the salesperson of the type of guitar you play i.e., a steel strung acoustic guitar requires a "curved capo" as the fretboard on a steel strung guitar is slightly curved. If you play a nylon strung guitar we will need a flat capo as the nylon strung guitar has a flat fretboard.

Tip 5: Once you place a capo on the neck you are essentially making the guitar's neck shorter. Therefore you would treat the capo just like a new "nut" and play your standard chord shapes the way you would normally play them without the capo.

Now you know how they work, try playing some of your favorite songs with the capo, you will be surprised how much difference a capo can make, it's like playing a brand new instrument.

Learning Guitar - How Does a Capo Work?

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