So when you make an Am shape chord your fingers will be on the 4th and 3rd fret now as the capo is on the 2nd fret you are playing a Bm chord. Many songwriters use this technique so that they can move around common open string shapes but also write songs in different keys. Barre chords are an essential part of guitar playing. To be able to play a large range of songs you will need to add barre chords to your list of skills.
That being said, have you ever tried to play a barre chord? You will be able to play along with many songs before learning how to play a barre chord with the use of a capo. Playing more guitar will also help to strengthen your fretting hand, which will make barre chords easier in the future. Even if you prefer to play barre chords it is always worth experimenting with the capo to see if the sound of the chords played in this way works better for the song.
They are both ways of adding variety to your guitar playing. You may already know that you can play more than 1 version of a chord on the guitar such as more than one Em chord.
To understand why you can do this you need to learn a small amount of music theory, but you can more than likely hear them just by playing them. All the above 3 chords are Em chords, but different voices of this chord.
Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. What is the benefit of using a Capo versus just playing in a different key without one? In other words, why not just transpose the song and play it in the desired key without the capo? And gives you access to certain voicing not easily achievable in a particular key otherwise. If you are playing with a singer who can only sing in a certain key range, then capos can become invaluable.
They essentially let you shift the key of a song up or down depending on the singer's range without having to relearn the actual chords of the song that you play. An example of this would be in 'The Smiths. Charts such as the one below are also useful, because capos can also be used to provide different voicings to chords, giving the progression a different sound when played, which in some situations is exactly what is needed in a song.
Capos can also be used to replace tough chords with easier ones for beginners. With a capo on the second fret the progression becomes C G Am F which may be easier for a newbie to play. Many guitar purist eschew the use of a capo and frown on it as a device similar to training wheels for beginning cyclists. While you can in fact play any song in any key on a guitar without a capo by transposing there are several ways that a capo can make any guitarist life much easier.
A capo can be used on just about any stringed fretted instrument such as a guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass guitar, and others and is simply a device that clamps over the neck of the instrument and holds the strings down on the fret you place it behind - thereby shortening the scale and changing the pitch of the instrument. It has the effect of raising the pitch by one semitone times the number of the fret the capo is placed behind. Thus if placed behind the first fret capo 1 it raises all the notes and chords one semitone.
All notes would be sharpened by one semitone if fingered using the assumption that the capo is now the nut and the second fret first fret past the capo is now the first fret. Placing the capo behind the 2nd fret capo 2 would raise the pitch by two semitones — and so on.
There are actually many different reasons a guitarist might choose to use a capo. The most obvious reason to use a capo is to easily transpose a song to a different key without having to use different chords or go through the process of transposing the music. The guitarist has two options.
Transpose the song to the key of A and play the corresponding chords with no capo. Or, put a capo behind the second fret and play the same chords indicated on the sheet music for the key of G. Most folks think that a capo is only useful if the singer wants to sing the song higher than the original key.
Since I am basically a baritone, obviously I am not going to sing as high as Jewell. On the record, Jewell sings the song in the key of G. And I do that so I can sing it almost an octave lower than Jewell.
If I played the song in G, I would have to sing a full octave lower than Jewell and that is too low. Another good reason to use a capo is if you want to play a song using chords that are easier to play. Suppose for example you have sheet music showing the chords for the song in Eb.
And you want to perform the song in Eb because it matches the recording probably because the artist tuned their instruments a half step flat and played as if in E. Most guitarist prefer not to play in Eb because some or most of the chord shapes that Eb demands, are rather challenging to say the least. The first step was changing the capo position. You can even take your favourite chord progression and play it with a capo up in different positions for a similar effect.
To see how using a capo can be a really cool songwriting tool, check out this little video I made a while back. Imagine a funny little scenario. He had a deep, rich and very low pitch.
How the hell are you going to sing that with your high pitched voice of yours? If you are taking a song that is in totally the wrong key for a singer, you can put a capo on to make it higher, or if there is already a capo on, move it higher or even move it lower if the song is too high for the singer.
Using a capo will almost always make the chords feel a little easier which will allow you to play more songs and have more fun which will encourage you to practice more. All of which will make you a better player. Feels easier?
Also, because the chord feels easier to play they are often easier to change to and from. I hope you are too. Ok, glad we cleared that up. One of the perks of playing things higher up the neck of the guitar is that for most guitarists it feels a little easier on the fingers.
The amount of pressure needed to fret a note at the 6th fret for instance rather than the 1st fret is usually noticeably less. Using the smallest amount of pressure required to fret a note cleanly will allow you to play for longer and with less soreness.
Both chords you have just played are in fact G Major chords. If you are wondering why, then you may need to understand some of the music theory behind what happens when using a capo. Basically, playing a capo changes everything. The chord shape you play becomes a different chord when a capo is involved. They sound similar but one is deeper and bassier and the other is thinner and janglier.
The two tones complement each other really nicely and create a different flavour which is handy for when two guitars are playing the same parts. I decided to play it without a capo and go through the whole song just playing it with barre chords. Playing the song with barre chords was no problem, but after a couple of minutes into the song I was thinking to myself, my left hand is actually starting to get a little tired as we had been jamming for about 90 minutes already.
I realised how rarely this does happen in the songs I play. Usually a lot of barre chord songs will have moments where your fretting hand will have a breather. A capo functions as a sort of moveable nut, as it can be affixed to any fret below the neck joint and provide the same kind of vibration termination. A capo thus works in addition to the nut, rather than instead of it. This means that the pitch of fretted notes does not change; only the pitch of the open, unfretted strings.
Consequently, not only the pitch but also the timbre of the strings is affected, imparting the tonality of instruments with shorter scales, such as mandolins. Different styles of capos are affixed to a guitar neck just behind the fret wire by one of several different attachment methods.
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