


Instead of playing your complex barre chords, just take the capo up some frets and get it done, within a blink! Different Types of Guitar Capos

Sometimes, when you’re playing live, you feel the need to play in a higher key. Changing key without the theoretical homework When you’re recording guitars in the studio or multiple guitarists are playing live, it’s usually ideal to play different versions of the same chords - so you can get a diverse sound and there are no conflicting frequencies.ĭoing this is fairly easy by going up the fingerboard and hitting the required notes by utilizing a capo. If you’ve recently started playing guitar and you haven’t yet built a grip on barre chords and power chords - an excellent solution for you to get a decent tone and be able to play different chords is using a capo.Įven if you only need to play the open chords, you can do so in a higher key with a capo on - it’ll lower the action and help you easily press the strings to the fretboard. Here are three of the top: Ease of playing for new guitarists While not everybody uses a capo and it’s certainly not an essential gadget, there are a couple of benefits of using a guitar capo. If you’ve never bought a capo before or have only owned capos that buzz, scour through our list above and check out this buyer’s guide so you know what to look for when buying one. To a layman, it’s a weird-looking clip that sits on the guitar. Bringing you the finest guitar capos for 2022, as well as a detailed buyer’s guide to help you choose the best!Ī guitar capo is cool - it lets you achieve a couple of playing tactics flawlessly and without any hassle. Two important factors though make sure the capo covers the fretboard radius on your guitar properly and make sure you don't clamp or tighten so much that your guitar goes out of tune. Capos come in different styles, from clamp-on to flip the lever and tighten in place and more! Everyone has their own preference, but musicians everywhere agree that capos are an essential part of music-making. Similarly, when you’re recording, you need tonal diversity, and utilizing capos is excellent for creating that stereo width. It’s just a very fool-proof way for multiple guitarists to come up with a more versatile tone when playing guitars for a track together. By placing the capo up the neck - let’s say on 3rd fret, it allows you to play, say, a G chord at the fifth fret, which changes the key to A. The actual chords of Bb Major, the actual key you are in, are below these.Capos are great for playing typical first position/open chords further up the guitar's neck which then makes the chords sound in different keys. The chords you get as a result of using the capo on your guitar are in the brackets. I have capo’d the guitar at the 1st fret. (see explanation below table of “Perceived Key”)Ĭheck out the example below of a chord progression in Bb Major. If you capo your guitar neck at any of the given positions, you will then be able to use the open chords that come from the perceived key you are in.
#Acoustic guitar capo how to
The table above is designed to help you learn how to best use a guitar capo. The ability to use open chords and the qualities that they bring to a song is one of the main reasons why guitar players use a capo. However one of the uses of a guitar capo is to be able to play in the key, like Bb, while using open chords. These open chord shapes extend from the perceived key you are now in.įor the purpose of this lesson I will use the key of Bb Major which contains the following chords:Īs you can see, the only chord you can play as an open is the Dm. Perceived key relates to the key that the open chord shapes come from when you capo the guitar at that particular fret.The table below will help you understand how to best use a capo for Major keys. The primary use of a guitar capo is to change key without having to change the chord shapes you use. But first, what is it exactly.Ī capo is basically a clamp that you can stick on your guitar at potentially any fret. There are several reasons why you might use a capo on the guitar. How To Use A Capo On The Guitar - Best Uses Of A Guitar Capo.
