CAPO GUITAR
WHY DON’ T YOU JUST PLAY DADGAD? | Mitch Bohannon
I chose to title this article with one of my favorite“ Sniper” comments from my reels. So, to answer this guy’ s comment / question … DADGAD is great, but it’ s very limiting especially if you are leading worship. Maybe you want the DADGAD sound on one song but not on the next. Do you have time in worship to swap guitars? I sure don’ t want to stop leading and have everyone watch me change guitars.
Playing with the Short-Cut Capo, your strings are still standard tuned, so all your barre-chords are the same above the capo and you have the ability to remove the capo and play straight. I film a reel every weekday morning to post for the purpose of inspiring someone with an idea to use the Short-Cut. Mostly, I show the firstlevel, basic chords. But, just as with everything on guitar, there’ s more to explore.
If you haven’ t yet explored the Short-Cut Capo, I want to encourage you to give it a strum and I am certain you will find a new creative spark you were unaware of. In most of my Short- Cut classes I will teach that this capo can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. There is not just ONE way to use it. There is
NOT just one set of fingerings to use! Normally, I teach fingerings that are modifications of chord shapes out of the keys of“ D” or“ G.” So, let’ s look at it in a different way.
It starts with learning two simple shapes. If you are familiar with standard Short-Cut capo chords, you probably already know the E / G #. The second is a variation of the“ A” chord.
These( 2-finger) shapes are moveable and will create a nice collection of chord voicings. My diagrams show the shapes and also show the Short-Cut Capo. You’ ll notice that you will play the“ E / G #” shape on frets 4, 9, and 11. The new shapes are for frets 5, 7, and 12. Be sure to check out the video as I’ ll show you some application ideas.
As you strum through these chord shapes, you’ ll find a family of Short-Cut chords where the root note is the bass note. With these new voicings, we’ re able to expand the“ sound” of the Short-Cut capo.
Often, I over-emphasize the simplicity of the Short-Cut capo when I’ m teaching it. It really
can be a fantastic tool for the beginner to grasp fingering and strumming at the same time. However, I could tell you story after story of studio musicians and other pro players who regularly use the Short-Cut Capo live and in recording.
Wouldn’ t that be something … if hearing these new shapes stirred something in your spirit and new songs of praise were born. Don’ t get stuck in a rut. Give the Short-Cut capo a try and play in freedom. If you have questions or if you would like my chord diagrams and handbook, please email me at cutcapo @ gmail. com Mitch Bohannon Mitch Bohannon and his wife, Noelle have been married for over 33 years with three adult kids and 6 grandchildren! Mitch developed the Short-Cut capo for Kyser and leads worship at Trinity Baptist in Orange, TX and is an English teacher in Louisiana.
62 December 2025 Subscribe for Free...