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.
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