A capo is a little piece of equipment which you strap onto the neck of the guitar. What it does is really shortening the guitar neck and that means the strings now are shorter too and thus they’re going to sound higher.
Now there are a number of advantages for utilizing a capo. To begin with and in all likelihood the most prevalent reason people use a capo is simply because it enables them to utilize the same basic chord shapes they already know to give them different sounding chords which may not be so simple to play on the guitar. Another good reason is the fact that it adds an alternative texture to your playing. Open strings just sound different on the guitar and by using a capo to emulate that open string sound your chords will ring out a lot clearer.
Let’s take a look at circumstance one: If you play an open G chord on the guitar without using capo then that will just be a basic G chord. But when you place the capo on fret one and play the G chord 1 fret higher than where you would normally play it that chord will now be an Ab. Move the capo and the G shape chord another fret higher and you’ll end up with an A chord. So while you can play an A chord using an open A shape this kind of voicing of A will sound different and possibly preferable. Move everything up an additional fret and then you’ll be playing Bb. Sure you can use a barre chord to play Bb but it just will not sound as cool as the capoed version.
The second situation has more to do with textures and colours of the chord voicing. If you place the capo on fret 5 then play the G, C and D chord shapes you’ll really be playing C, F and G. These chords could have been played using barre chords, open chord shapes or even with A, D and E chord shapes using the capo on the 3rd fret it wouldn’t have had the same sound as the capoed version on the 5th fret. Using the G, C and D shapes with the capo on fret 5 will give the guitar an entirely distinctive sound and texture that might suit the song much better than other voicing.
There are lots of additional factors for employing a capo but the most suitable choice is simply to try things out and let your ear be the judge. Capo’s certainly are not for lazy guitar players as they say. A capo is an awesome tool you can use to generate new and wonderful tones on your guitar. Obtain one and try things out!
Find out more Strumming Patterns, feel free to visit the website Acoustic Guitar Basics.