GUITAR
THE CAPO AND MUSICAL REALITY | David Harsh
If you play the guitar , you probably use a capo sometimes . But is your capo holding you hostage ? Do you sometimes get confused about which key you ’ re actually in when you use it ? No more !
I highly recommend watching the accompanying instructional video , while it ’ s available . This will allow you to see and hear me demonstrating exactly what ’ s going on .
You can find the video right now at this link : www . guitarsuccess4u . com / CapoReality but perhaps one of the most common is the capotasto , better known as the capo . The capo gets its name from a phrase that means “ head tie ,” which implies that it ’ s being tied to the guitar near the headstock .
But when we put a capo on our guitar , what is happening , exactly ?
We ’ re shortening the length of the strings . This can allow us to play in some keys with open chord shapes to access actual chords that would normally all be bar chords .
In the video , I play all of those chords again , but with my capo on fret 1 . The chords are the same , but many of them are much easier to play , because I use the shapes : G Major , A minor , B minor , C Major , D Major , E minor , F sharp diminished , and ending on G Major .
But let ’ s not confuse shapes with chords .
Because unless we ’ re only collaborating with a drummer or a percussionist , there are harmonic consequences to everything we do with the capo . Do you believe it ?
We as guitarists make use of a variety of tools ,
Allow me to demonstrate ( see the video for a clearer picture of this .) The key of Ab Major , for example , has zero open chords , so they all need to have 100 % fretted notes .
The chords are : Ab Major , Bb minor , C minor , Db Major , Eb Major , F minor , G diminished , and we can come back around to Ab Major .
If you ’ re collaborating with a piano player , a synth player , a bass player , another guitar player , a vocalist , someone who plays strings or woodwinds , or any type of harmonic or melodic instrument or voice , they ’ re going to be playing or singing in a specific key .
And if you are the guitarist who ’ s leading that 70 August 2023 Subscribe for Free ...