How to Use a Capo on the Guitar

The capo is a barre that clamps across the strings of your guitar in much the same way as your index finger does when you are playing a barre chord. It is usually made of rubber or metal and it is clamped to the guitar neck by means of an elastic band or a clamp.

The cheapest type of capo is basically an elastic band attached to a strip of rubber. It's probably best to buy a few at a time because they can get stolen and lost, or simply wear out. The good thing is that you can carry it in your pocket, and quickly put it on your guitar when it is needed.

If you are reading this then you are probably wandering how the notes are altered by a capo on the guitar. The capo raises the key you are playing in without you having to learn more chords or to get an arrangement of a song in another key.

Let's say you are playing a song in G using the G, C, and D chords. If you put the capo on the second fret the song would now be in the key of A with the chords A, D and E.

Basically all your chord shapes are the same with the capo but if you have the capo on the second fret, the sound is a half note higher than the guitar without the capo. So it's really just like putting a barre across the strings with your index finger except that with the capo your index finger is now free to play notes.

Another common question about the capo is whether it is possible to barre only some of the strings. The answer is yes, you can buy capos to use on the third, fourth and fifth strings or the second, third and fourth strings. Using this kind of capo is just another way of producing and effect like an alternate tuning.

Guitarists who are not using the capo as a way of changing key for a singer sometimes use a capo to vary the pitch of the guitar simply to provide variety in their guitar's sound. If you play some songs without the capo and some songs withe the capo at the third fret and some with the capo at the fifth or the seventh fret your audience is less likely to allow your music to fade into the background. A well-known example of this is George Harrison's use of the capo at the seventh fret on If I Needed Someone and Here Comes The Sun.