So, maybe you have seen a someone playing a guitar and using a capo and wondered, "What's that for?" Maybe you've been learning a new song and looking up the tab you notice that the song uses a capo. If you've ever wondered what the purpose of a capo is, you have come to the right place. In this article we will discuss "When to use a capo?"
The function of a capo is the change the key you're in. If you play a "G" chord and move it up a fret with a capo, you're now playing a "G#." There are three situations you would want to do this. The first situation is when you are playing along with a song that has a capo in the recording. The second is when you want to get the guitar into a certain key. The last is to get that high "ukulele" sound. Let's go through them these reasons!
1. Playing along with a recoding
When I was learning guitar, one of my favourite bands was the Beatles. While they were multi-instrumentalists, many of their songs are guitar based. They have both basic rhythm guitar sections for beginners and lead styles licks for those learning how to solo. They were creative in their chord selection, and opened many musical ideas to me. Well, as you learn songs from their repertoire, you quickly find that many of them were written with a capo: "Here Comes The Sun," capo on 7; "Julia," capo on 2; "Michelle," capo on 5. One of my earliest memories of a capo is my good friend showing me the song "Norwegian Wood." The first thing he did was carefully place a capo on the second fret, and then he started playing. It sounded just like the recording.
Imitation has always been fundamental to the culture of music. Even the greatest musicians began by hearing sounds they loved and learning how to imitate those sounds. There is something great about hearing a song, loving the sound, and going to learn it and play it for yourself. Part of the process of understanding a song is playing along with the recording. If I want to learning "Here Comes The Sun" I will go to that tab and see, right at the very top, that this song was played with a capo on the seventh fret. The first step is reading the tab, figuring out the chord structure and the picking pattern. But after awhile, you want to put the song and and strum along. I need to put the capo on to be able to play along with George Harrison.
It is not enough to play that song with different chords forms. It is certainly possible to transpose the song so I can play in the same key as "Here Comes the Sun," but with different chords without a capo. With a capo on the seventh fret the "D" chord-shape is really an "A." So I can play a regular old "A" when George is playing a "D" and it will fit musically, but it won't sing. It won't have the same timber, the soul, and I certainly won't be able to play the lovely lick that defines the heart of the song. To play along I need a capo because George used a capo, and fundamentally I am imitating a great musician in every way that I can.
After you have learned a song you are welcome to put the capo onto another fret, or take it off altogether, and play it in any key you like. But if I want to play along with the recording I need a capo. And this is one of the joys of the guitar.
2. Getting the right key
Many people who are learning the guitar go through a phase where they are focused on the guitar sound. When they listen to a song they listen for the guitar part, drowning out all other instruments and even the vocals. A friend of mine once said of this phase, "if there is no guitar part, what do I do?" This friend was astutely observing the guitar is part of music, but not the only part. While this phase is important in understand what the guitar is all about, musicality requires greater understanding and attention to everything that is going on. Music is made up of many different instrument, each with their own character. The guitar needs to be able to play along as part of the band. In fact, on of its great strength is that it can adapt keys very easily, thanks to the capo.
The capo is a great weapon when it comes to playing with others. The most prominent example of this would be choosing the right key to sing along with. Vocalists have a particular range, and sometimes raising or lowering the key a bit can make a song more comfortable and natural for a singer. With a capo we can change the key easily, and play the same chords and notes but now in a different key. An example of this would come from contemporary Christian music that is sung in modern churches. These guys use capos ALL THE TIME. Sometimes a song leader wants to play a song that was written in a high key that is hard for regular folks to sing in. The guitarist will choose a key that is easy for everyone to sing, not just professional vocalists. The capo is a fast was to try out a few keys quickly when making this decision. You put the capo on 5th fret, and you find the song is too high. Capo on the 1st fret, the song it too low. Capo on the 3rd, like the porridge of baby bear, just right. That's the key we will sing in.
Personally, I have a lower voice, being more of a baritone. I have always struggled to sing along with the Beatles. Thus, it has always been a pleasant surprise when the song I am learning (like "Here Comes the Sun") was written with a capo, because I will easily be able to move the capo down a few fret to make it singable for me.
This case is also something singer-song writers face. Sometimes a person will be writing a song. They've found a chord progression they love, but it doesn't quite fir their vocal range. A capo can be added to raise the sound up a few keys. Perfect!
Another, similar case is when a band is playing a song in a key that is awkward for the guitar. While it is possible to play a chord in any note, there are chords that are just easier to play. It is often the case that putting a capo on the 1st or 3rd fret and transposing all the chords will make playing the song easier. This requires a bit time before hand, and you need to know how to count the right semitones. But its a great skill to have.
What all these cases have in common is that the capo allows you to quickly change the key while you play the same chords. Neat.
3. Getting the high "ukulele" sound.
Sometimes, a musician will put a capo on their guitar to change the overall sound. If you put a capo on a high fret, like somewhere in the 6–8 range, and just strum a regular chord progress your guitar will feel like a different instrument. The notes will be higher, but will also be a brighter, clearer feel. Some people have compared this to the sound of a ukulele.
Sticking with the Beatles, John wrote a song called, "Girl," and it has a capo was up high on the 8th fret. If you listen to the song, the guitar has a very bright sound that goes well with his voice. The strumming feels brisk and crisp in a way guitars normally don't. "Michelle" has the same feel, with a capo the 5th fret.
Another famous example of a band using this sound is "Hotel California" by the Eagles. The song opens with a famous sound, which is a twelve string guitar with a capo on the 7th fret on a twelve string guitar, no less. There are some tabs out there that have you barre the chords, but the right way to play it is with a good 'ole capo. The sound of the guitar in this song has its distinct luminescent sound partly from having a capo on.
So! There you go. You might use a capo to play along with a song you love. You might use one to get your guitar in to the right key. You might use one because you a looking for that bright sound.
Conclusion
A capo is a handy device that has several important uses. It essence is that it changes the key of the guitar. There are some musical genres where this feature is extra important, like blues, folk and country. There are some genre that focus on soloing which make this use less important, like jazz and rock. If you ever need to sing along to a song, you may find you want to have a capo!
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