CAPO GUITAR
A SONGWRITER ’ S INSPIRATION | Mitch Bohannon
There have been many excellent songwriting articles in the archives of Worship Musician Magazine as well as experiences at the Christian Musician Summit over the years . But , what does it take to be a songwriter ? And where does a worship songwriter get his or her inspiration ? God ’ s Word ( hopefully ), an experience , an image , a feeling ... a new chord ? The answer ... all of the above and more .
I do not claim to be a songwriter , in fact , I often pray for the gift of songwriting . However , I do write my own arrangements of songs and , similar to songwriting , new arrangements can come from the same creative inspirations . One of those that I listed above is that of hearing or learning a “ new chord ”. Playing guitar with a Cut Capo is a fantastic way to hear that new chord !
Over the years I have befriended many songwriters and come to find out , many of them write songs using instruments that are not their main instrument ! I even had one songwriter whose songs you have probably sung at your church - tell me that if it had not been for the cut capo , he would not have learned to play the guitar !
So , I would encourage you that this technique would be helpful not only to guitar players , but to beginners and also to the bass player , the pianist , the vocalist , drummers , and yes , even the sound technician ! So , if you find yourself with a song in your heart ... borrow a guitar , get a Cut Capo , and keep reading .
I would say , if you ’ re reading this magazine , you are a creative or you ’ re married to one . New songs ( or new arrangements ) are inside of us all . We just need the inspirational spark to help us to communicate them . One of the blessings of playing guitar with the Cut Capo is that it is extremely simple to get started . It can be a tool that is as simple or as complex as you need or want it to be .
The Cut Capo , placed on the 2nd fret , creates an alternate tuning ( DADGAD )... using it in this first position allows us to play in the keys of E or A with simple , simple chord shapes ! ( A six-string , or full capo can be added two frets behind the cut capo in order to play in other keys ). Look at these most common shapes . For the key of “ E ” play ( E | B | C # m | A ). For the key of “ A ” try ( A | D2 | F # m | E ).
All of these shapes are six-string chords . This means you can hold the shape and strum all the strings . These really open up the guitar providing nice , full-sounding chords . I have even found several really cool sounding chord variations by accidentally placing my fingers in the “ wrong ” position . The Cut Capo technique is very forgiving !
After strumming through these chord shapes , leave the capo there on the 2 nd fret and slide your fingers up the fretboard on the 3rd and 4th strings while strumming and listen for new tonal blends . Many melodies will be found in these places as well . So , grab your guitar , strum and hum , and get your God-given creative juices flowing !
Please send me an email and ask for the chord chart .
cutcapo @ gmail . com I will be glad to answer questions or send more information .
Mitch Bohannon Mitch Bohannon and his wife , Noelle have been married for 30 years with three adult kids and two granddaughters . Mitch developed the Short- Cut Capo for Kyser and is the Director of Live Production at Trinity Baptist Church in Lake Charles , Louisiana .
E A B C # m F # m D2