"A capo is a device for changing keys that you clamp onto your guitar neck" (Capone 132). It's often used to higher the key to make guitars sound more bright and less base-heavy.
Capos are pretty much like clamps
"Some players think using a capo is "cheating," but too much good music has been recorded with this great little tool" (Capone 132). I feel like capos have been used for lots of famous songs since using them not just only raise the key, but also the pitch goes well with many singers.
KEY TIPS
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Below is two videos of me playing the beginning of Find You by Nick Jonas. One is with a capo and one is without.
Without Capo
Learning songs that I knew how to play before except with a capo this time made things so much easier for me. In my opinion, the fingerings were simpler, I didn't have to move my fingers around as much, and in some cases the song sounded better. Like why have I not been using this tool until now!?
Question - Have any of you guys ever discovered a tool that made something easier to do?
Learn To Play The Guitar, Phil Capone
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Wow, Emily! I really loved your post on capos! I feel that the capo really helps in enhancing how the music sounds in a certain way. I noticed that when you used barre chords in the first video, the chords sounded a bit high (unnaturally high), and choked off. But with the capo, the chords were more open, and were in a way more silky and smooth, and did not decay as quickly. I personally seldom use the capo, as most songs do not really have a drastic effect when the rhythm guitar has a capo. But when I am recording a song with acoustic aesthetics, then the capo is a great choice. I have discovered a while back that using nicer plectrums (guitar picks) are better then using those cheap guitar center picks. How has your knowledge of capos helped you out in guitar playing?
ReplyDeleteYeah I also thought that the song without a capo sounded kind of choppy. Using capos has really helped me to be able to make notes sound more smooth and connected because I have small hands and w/o the capo, it was difficult to spread my hand out wide enough and I had to move very far up & down the neck, but with the capo I was able to play the same notes except with different fingerings that didn't require me to spread my hand out as much and stay within the same few frets.
DeleteThat was a great blog post! It's fascinating to see how a change can occur with just a little accessory. Personally I think the change, while subtle, is still enough where I can't really decide which version sounds better. As for your question, I used to despise using the shoulder rest when I first started playing the viola, even though a majority of people use it. However as time went on, I found using it to be more comfortable.
ReplyDeleteThank you for saying that it was a great post! I too have had troubles with using a shoulder rest when I was learning to play the violin. It really made my neck uncomfortable at first, but later on I realized that it helps a lot with playing with proper form and it got to be more comfortable.
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