How to Use a Guitar Capo
(Last Updated: )
Master Your Music Faster with Lessons that Work!
If you are looking for a quick capo reference that will help you in placing your capo and determining the chord shapes to play, click the link for your free capo quick reference guide.
The quick reference requires the Adobe Reader which can be acquired here: Adobe Reader
If you are unfamiliar with guitar capos, the information below will help you to understand their use.
Pictures of a Few Different Styles of Capos
 |
 |
 |
What is a Guitar Capo
In simplest terms, a guitar capo is a clamp. It is a clamp that is designed to hold all the strings across a single fret on the guitar. By clamping the strings, one changes the pitch of the open strings on the guitar. There are many styles of capos, with elastic being the cheapest ($2 and up) but not the best for many purposes. If you are in the market for a capo, try several out at a guitar shop. Things to consider include how fast one can place the capo on the guitar and whether the type of capo is designed for the type of guitar; i.e. acoustic versus electric.
Why Use a Guitar Capo
By using a capo, it is often easier to play in certain musical keys that have difficult chords. This is especially true if one is not comfortable with playing bar chords. For example, a capo can make playing a Bb, Eb, F progression as simple as playing an A, D, E chord progression. A capo also makes it very easy to move the pitch of many songs upward to accommodate a singer’s voice. This is because one simply places the capo on the guitar and plays the same chord shapes that were used in the original key.
Chord Shapes and Sounds
It is probably easiest to explain chord shapes and sounds with an example. Assume you know a song that uses only the D, G, and Am chords.
If one takes the pattern of the fingers for the D chord and slides each finger up 1 fret on the guitar, one is playing a D chord shape but not a D chord. In fact, without a capo, playing this chord will sound pretty wretched.
However, if places his or her capo across the first fret of the guitar and plays this D chord shape; he or she will get the sound of an Eb chord by using the much simpler D chord shape. With a capo on the first fret, each chord will sound a half step higher. A G chord shape will sound like Ab; an Am chord shape will sound like Bbm.
The greatest thing about the capo is that by placing the capo across the first fret one can now play their song in Eb with same patterns as if they were playing the song in D. Moving the capo up additional frets moves the sound higher a half step for each fret moved upwards on the guitar.
An excellent free quick reference for how to use a capo can be obtained here: free capo quick reference guide.
The quick reference requires the Adobe Reader which can be acquired here: Adobe ReaderHow to Place the Capo on Your Guitar
The exact method for clamping the capo on your guitar will vary depending upon the type of capo used. Here are some quick checks to make sure you get the best results from your instrument and capo.- Center the capo in the middle of the fret
- Keep the clamping part of the capo horizontal with the frets. (Don’t diagonally clamp you capo)
- Ensure the strings are not pulled to one side; i.e. the strings still run straight up and down the guitar.
- The above steps should help your guitar maintain its tuning after the capo is applied.
- With the proper kind of capo for your guitar and the proper placement, there should not be buzzing of the strings on the guitar when played as open strings; i.e. no fingering of strings with the left hand.
The quick reference requires the Adobe Reader which can be acquired here: Adobe Reader