In our first post we discussed the two earliest forms of capos: the C-clamp and the T-Bone. In this article we will discuss the period from 1800–1850 where the six string guitar came to prominence. In this era there were a few capo experiments and we will discuss the two most prominent ones. The next two capos were both connected to important cultural movements. Both capos emerged as part of a particular music history from the early nineteenth century. Both of them are well documented from the nineteenth century, and perhaps even the eighteen centry. These capos are the Spanish Cejila and the Yoke capo.
Flamenco Music
Flamenco is a musical culture that originated in the Spanish province of Andalucia in the 1700's. The legend is that the people in this region combined folk music of many different cultures and forged a powerful sound that united the disparate cultures. Flamenco is a musical art form of music that composed of singing, dancing and guitar. In is traditional form one person would sit and play the guitar accompanying others sitting around who would sing and clap and some would dance. Flamenco is vibrant, energetic and passionate music, embodying the soul and culture of Spain. It is a form of music that is easy to love. The women wear long flowing dresses; people have castanets; the singing is verging on straight-out yelling; the guitar can be quite athletic. A group of people can make quite a noise without amplification. If you have never seen it performed before you can check out these videos. The first video is from 1948 and really captures the traditional feel of a group of people playing together. In modern forms you may see just one dancer and a guitar player on a stage. These variations are more suited to the modern stage.
Flamenco began in the villages and caves of the rural peoples and then migrated to wider the Spanish culture in Seville, before it broke into the cafes. At first, this style of music was considered uncultured by the elites. In those days the aristoracts of various countries had more in common with each other than the common people of their own country. Classical music was considered cultured and good, and Flamenco was a "common people's music." It was during the mid 1800's that Flamenco could be seen more and more often in the cafes of Seville. There, it gained wide popularity and even cultural respectabtily.
After becoming popularized, Flamenco had a few internal developments. One interesting development was the prominence of some guitar players. In the original style of Flamenco the guitar is primarily the accompaniment, and not the main show. Eventually, there were some guitar players who were so impressive people would come just to see the guitar player. A style of solo Flamenco guitar developed that is very athletic.
Flamenco and the Cejilla
So, this awesome style of music developed somewhat isolated from the mainstream European culture. There are a few features that mean this style was particularly suited to capos. First, Flamenco is guitar based music. The guitar is the accompaniment that provides the musical structure to the dancing and singing. Second, Flamenco combines singing and guitar. That is, as people want to sing together they will be seeking to sing in particular keys, so the need for a capo would have been felt.
It is not surprising then that an early form the capo emerged as part of flamenco music. The Spanish Capo, called the cejilla (pronounced "the-hee-ya") was invited to help the Flamenco guitar players provide music that was easier to sing. The cejilla was a clever little invention, as all successful capos are. The main body is made out of wood. As the classical guitars used in this era had flat fretboards, the capo would be flat. There would be some gentle covering on like a leather strap or felt that is on the bottom of the wood and wraps around the neck of the guitar. The tightening mechanism is ingenious. A tuning peg was attached to the body of the capo, just like a tuning peg from the head of the guitar. A guitar string, or other string, is fixed in the capo and the tuning peg is used to tighten the leather strap to the right strength! Awesome. You can see the pictures below.
The capo below is the one from Sterner's collection. You can see the design. The body is made of wood and there is a tuning peg in the middle of the body. It looks like there is some woven string rather than a guitar string, but it works the same. The peg turns to tighten a yellow string. On his site, Sterner says this capo is probably French made and dates to the 1830's. He says it is one of the most ancient forms of capo. It may be that some of the performers from Seville came to the cafes of Paris to perform.
As Flamenco is still a living tradition, some guitar players like to use this style of capo for its traditional cultural connections. You can still buy a handcrafted wooden one today.
The Cejilla Throughout History
We do not know when this capo was invented, but Sterner's one dates as far back as the 1830's. It is sad to note that as wood breaks down over time more easily than metal many of these capos have been lost or destroyed, so it is difficult find older ones. We do know that this style has been used since the time it was introduced. We have found some pictures with this style of capo from a few various times.
Below is a painting by the great impressionist painter Edgar Degas. The painting, called The Guitarist Pagans and Monsieur Degas, dates from 1872. This painting is about the act of listening. The guitarist is Spanish born Lorenzo Pagans, who emigrated to Paris and played guitar in the cafes there. Although the painting is impressionist you can see near the headstock there looks to be a Spanish-style cejilla capo. The man listening is Edgar Degas' father, who had a love for the arts. You can see him listening intently.
Below is a picture of a great Flamenco guitarist named Ramòn Montoya (1880–1949). He was an amazing player who was performing in the cafes of Spain by age twenty. He is famous for introducing guitar solos into Flamenco. Before him the guitar traditionally was used as the accompaniment to the singing. Montoya's playing was so powerful and technical that a larger focus on the guitar emerged here in the music. You can see a video of him playing here, and low and behold he is using a cejilla. In the photo below he seems to be around aged 40–60, which would put this photo in the 1920's or 1930's. You can see the cejilla on the third fret.
Another renowned Flamenco player is Niño Ricardo (1904–1972). Both a composer and player, Ricardo was one of the most famous Flamenco players of his generation. He claimed the guitar was his "religion." Here is he with the Spanish capo on the second fret.
Flamenco music is still alive today and the passionate players can been found today, especially in Spain. Flamenco guitars use many kinds of capos today, and some of them still use the traditional Spanish capo. Thus, this capo get the title of older style of capo that is still in use!
Nineteenth Century Classical Guitar
We now turn away from Flamenco and the cejilla to the other form of guitar music that was popular in the nineteenth century, classical guitar. This period is sometimes called the Romantic period, and is parallel to Romantic movements in poetry, literature and even philosophy. Music is an expression of a wider cultural mood. In this period the six string guitar had come to prominence over other guitars, and we would recognize it as a guitar. During this period there were a number of composers who wrote pieces decided to solo guitar, like Fernando Sor, Mauro Giuliani and Francisco Tárrega. It is important to get clear that this is quite different to Flamenco guitar. This Romanic era music is much more peaceful and gentle than the furious passion of Flamenco. Check out the links about to hear some of their music.
The guitar really did gain popularity in this period. As the guitar is portable, easy to play and has some volume many of the Romantic poets loved to carry a guitar around as they rambled through the forests. We can imagine young men experiencing the beuaty of nature and being inspired to strum their guitar. One German man, Theodor Körner wrote, "I am surrounded by the coolers of a copse of a chestnut tress and the guitar that hands behind me on the nearest tree occupies m sin moments when I'm resting." Another poet wrote, "I always hang the guitar round my neck and ramble through the neighbouring villages" (quotes from The Art and Times of the Guitar but Frederic V. Grunfeld, 166).
The Yoke Style Capo
It is in the midst of this classical guitar playing that a number of capos emerged. The earliest and perhaps most prominent one we know of is the yoke style. This is not one brand of capo, but a style that was made by many different individual artisans and luthiers. The yoke style is called this because it is similar to the yoke that goes over a ox's neck. There is a flat bar on the top on a hinge that can open and close. The capo comes on from under the neck and the bar comes down, encapsulating the whole neck. On the bottom of the capo there is a screw with another bar that tightness to grip the neck.
Anders Sterner has two such yoke style capos in his collection. He says the first one is from 1840 and the second one is even older. Both look like they are made of brass. They have a top bat that is closed shut with a little lever. There is a leather pad sitting on the bar and there would have been a similar leather pad on the bottom piece, but this is missing now. The adjustable screw is attached with rivets to the capo body.
A few people have made modern versions and you can get one by Paige here.
Conclusion
This article has cover two capos that emerged and were popularized in the nineteenth century. The Spanish cejilla was used by Flamenco players to accompany the Flamenco singers, and is still used by some today. The yoke style was more popular with classical guitar players. Both of these capos date from the early nineteenth century. In our next article we will cover some cultural develops and capos from the late nineteenth century!
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