capo topic

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guitardude

New member
I love using capos, but sometimes picking the right key or fret can be frustrating. I can range pretty good with my voice so i can always pick a few different keys. Some people say pick what sounds the best....however some parts of song sounds good and the other part might sound better on a different fret....i find myself changing it everyday to find which one i like better.

anyone else have this problem? what do you do to pick what final key your gonna use?
 
I like the idea of capos, but in some ways it feels like I'm cheating...I know that sounds crazy.

Usually I couldn't be bothered capoing, but it can be really good. I'm just lazy.
 
Some songs just sound better with a capo, or in a different key. I usually try the song out in several different keys before deciding.

It helps to record it and play it back to decide which one sounds better.
 
danny.guitar said:
Some songs just sound better with a capo, or in a different key. I usually try the song out in several different keys before deciding.

It helps to record it and play it back to decide which one sounds better.
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haha i did that actually yesterday but .....its stll hard to decide sometimes.
 
Also consider changing keys in the middle of the song, to take advantage of " different parts sounding better in other keys" It adds a lot of interest to a song. I am not a fan of the capo, but it has its place
chazba
 
Capos are great.
Peter Mulvey capo's only top 5 strings, and tunes the low E down...
Thats interesting. I also just got a capo that only capos the middle 3 strings. Thats interesting too.

I was reading an interview with bob dylan the other day, and he mentioned when getting stuck working on a song, he changes the key... The different sounds jog his mind... affect the melody in his head... It was something to thing about.

For a long time I was against capos.. I figured people should just learn how to barre chords... But then I decided I wanted to be a singer, and the capo makes my life alot easier... less complexity on stage makes for a better night for everyone.

-Luke.
 
yea, i thought they oversimplified playing, but really its just changing tuning or nut position.

i still make up pretty complex things with or without a capo.

i guess i just saw too many GCD players using capos
 
My buddy uses multiple capos.
One kid I know uses multiple capos and moves them mid song.. Its pretty weird.
 
Some songs jsut would sound wrong without a capo, if not be impossible to play. Here Comes the Sun, and pretty much anything by Jethro Tull, for instance. Up high on the neck, it can make the guitar sound like a whole different instrument.
 
demensia said:
My buddy uses multiple capos.
One kid I know uses multiple capos and moves them mid song.. Its pretty weird.
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That is awesome. I only use a G7th. I have a like 10 capos. I try messing with the partial capos...but i dont really find them any use yet. Maybe if im writing and something comes to mind i will know it will work.
 
I don't consider the use of a capo cheating. There are open chords that just can't be played in certain keys without a capo.

I use capos all the time. I can't even think of a song that I've written that doesn't use one. My range is okay but songs will still sound good in some keys and patchy in others (these could even be keys close together in the middle of my range for some reason.)
I have the same problem too though that I can't decide what key my voice sits best in. Usually after a couple of weeks I'll just lock into something though and keep it there. I also have to make quick demo recordings and compare them to decide sometimes. It's a big problem because I used to constantly change the key of songs week after week in practice -annoying my band!
 
I love capos man..definately not cheating in my book.. as a matter of fact I think they add a creative element in guitar playing. There's just certain tones and phrasing you cant replicate without them. I happen to be a big Richards fan and he's made a career out of using them. ..I'm not a singer myself, but if you experiment with capo's enough you'll find sounds and texture you've never came across before..can really help from a song writing perspective, opens new doors ..

great idea for a post man
 
do whatever you have to do to get the sound you're going for, I don't care if you have to use a drum stick as a plectrum
 
If you're having trouble figuring out which key works best because each key lends itself to different parts of the song, I would recommend selecting the key that most compliments the songs climax. It probably won't work all the time, but a good place to start.
 
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