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The Capo
You may have run
across sheet music which talks about something called the
Capo. This lesson will briefly discuss the capo, and how it
is used.
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This
is a picture of a Kyser Capo (off of the
Kyser
Website) on the guitar neck. This is an
example of a "Capo 3"
A capo literally clamps
onto the guitar neck and acts as a moveable nut on
your guitar. This particular capo is called the
Quick Change, for obvious reasons.
There are many types of
Capos, but Kyser makes the best. If you purchase a
Kyser, it will probably be the last Capo you'll
ever buy. Its what I use and I have been very
happy with it. You can find this particular model
for
about
$20.
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The Capo acts as a
barre. (see
Barre Chords) When we
do a "Capo 3rd", we are barring the 3rd frets, and
can therefore play a G Major Barre chord simply by fingering
an E Major chord.
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Normal
- G Major Barre Chord
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Capo
3rd - G Major Barre Chord |
E||--3--------||
B||--3--------||
G||--4--------||
D||--5--------||
A||--5--------||
E||--3--------|| |
E||--0--------||
B||--0--------||
G||--1--------||
D||--2--------||
A||--2--------||
E||--0--------|| |
The first chord is a
normal G Major Barre chord. The second chord shows how a G
Major Barre chord is played with a Capo on the 3rd. It looks
like an E major chord, but if you listen to it, its
definitely G Major.
Here is a simple capo
chord chart. The 'No Capo' column refers to the
original chord. 'Capo 1' means a Capo is placed on the first
fret, and so on. The chords in each column tell you what the
original chord will now be, with a capo on that particular
location.
| No
Capo |
Capo
1 |
Capo
2 |
Capo
3 |
Capo
4 |
| A |
Bb |
B |
C |
C#/Db |
| Am |
Bbm |
Bm |
Cm |
C#m |
| B |
C |
C#/Db |
D |
Eb |
| Bm |
Cm |
C#m |
Dm |
Ebm |
| C |
Db |
D |
Eb |
E |
| D |
Eb |
E |
F |
F# |
| Dm |
Ebm |
Em |
Fm |
F#m |
| E |
F |
F# |
G |
Ab |
| Em |
Fm |
F#m |
Gm |
Abm |
| F |
F# |
G |
Ab |
A |
| G |
Ab |
A |
Bb |
B |
For example, we saw above how the E chord played with a
Capo on the 3rd fret is actually a G Major chord. If we look
at E in the 'No Capo' column, and follow it to the 'Capo 3'
column, we see that it is indeed a G chord.
As you have probably
guessed, the capo will change a lot of the rules we have
come to learn about the fretboard. For example, natural
harmonics will now sound better on different frets.
(Checkout the "angelic" harmonics on the 10th fret
using a Capo 3) I would suggest purchasing a good capo
and experimenting with the wonderful sounds you can create.
WRITTEN EXCLUSIVELY FOR
GUITARMX.COM
This copyrighted guitar lesson is free for personal use.
May not be republished without the authors consent.
Copyright by
www.supersonic.net
©
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