How To Use A Capo

A capo is an essential piece of additional equipment for any beginner on guitar looking to play songs. Essentially, knowing how to use a capo will allow you to play in a wide variety of different keys without having to learn any new chords. For example, as beginners we normally learn open chords such as E minor, A minor, G major, D major, A major, F major, C major ECT however those chords limit us to playing songs in just 2 keys - They key of C and the key of G. As you can imagine not all songs are written in only those two keys (there are actually 24 keys) so in order to be able to play a wide variety of songs we need also be able to play in a wide variety of keys.

Now normally when you change keys to say D or A, you will also have to learn some new chords and in particular Barre Chords in order to be able to play through the complete key. Barre chords however present quite a problem for beginners on guitar and this is where a Capo becomes a saving grace. By simply positioning your capo at the correct point on the guitar neck you can play all of your usual open chords but in front of the Capo at a new position on the guitar neck. The result is that you’ll be playing in a new key but still using all your familiar chords.

The big advantage of owning and knowing how to use a Capo is that you won’t have to learn Barre Chords if you don’t want to or it can delay the time until you are ready to tackle them. Obviously it’s well worth the effort to practice and eventually master Barre chords on guitar however using a Capo in the meantime has a great many advantages.

Another area where a Capo is very useful is in transposing songs. There have been many occasions where I had a student who wanted to play a particular song however it was out of reach due to the fact that the key it was written in contained Barre chords. Through using a Capo I was able to transpose the song into open chords the student already knew and thereby make the songs available to them to learn. This is what’s really important when you learn to play acoustic guitar - you want to maintain a consistent sense of progress, of moving forward and of successful learning. So if something presents a big obstacle there is normally some easier way around it.

In order to know how to use a Capo correctly there is some amount of music theory you’d have to be aware of. There are video lessons in the Music Theory section of the site to help explain transposition to you so you can have a better idea of how it works. In many cases, including the song sheets on this website, the correct place to put your Capo is already indicated for you. From there it’s a simple matter of applying all of your usual strums and chords in front of it and you’ll automatically be playing along in the same key as the original, no Barre chords involved.

There are many different designs of Capo’s out there with prices ranging from very cheap to around $20 - $30 dollars. They all essentially do the same job however if you are getting serious about your guitar playing then buying a well designed one is worth the extra cost involved. Learning how to use a Capo is not too difficult and will certainly be of great benefit.