3 Very Useful Ways To Use A Capo When Playing Guitar

by Maurice Richard

You may or may not be aware but for many people the use of a capo is seen as a bad thing.

They consider it "cheating".

If you are a professional musician and you have mastered the fretboard then sure, maybe for you it's cheating.

I beg to differ. Even professional guitar players can learn to use a capo and take advantage of chord variations that they normally would not have access to and come up with different and cool sounds.

But for the rest of us, who just want to learn to play the songs they love, using a capo is an incredibly useful tool.

Using a capo should be something you see as a positive.

Here are 3 important uses for a capo that will help your guitar plying instantly.

1. Avoid Barred Chords

This is a great way to use a capo.

Until you learned to play barred chords there are many songs that you just can't play properly because they have one or more barred chords.

Hotel California by the Eagles is a great example. It's a classic song that so many people love and want to learn to play.

However, there are two barred chords in this song so unless you can play them, and many people can't, you have to skip this song. That is a shame.

Instead if you take out your capo and put it on the second fret you instantly get rid of them and change the chords needed to play the song to regular (open) chords.

Yes, there is an F chord and a Dm too but they are much easier to play than barred chords if you learn them properly.

Not all songs can be changed in this way but many can. It's worth knowing about it and will help you expand your repertoire before you learn barred chords.

2. Change Keys Easily When Playing With Others

When you play with other musicians you will find that they do not always play music in the same keys.

Without going into a lot of depth the music you listen to and play is based on keys or groupings of chords that go well together.

You can learn to play in different keys without a capo but many times this requires you to play some barred chords.

For example, if you know a song in the key of G that uses the chords G, Em, C and D and you are asked to play it in the key of A, you could translate all the chords into the new key and start playing them, including barred chords.

Instead, all you really have to do is slide a capo on the 2nd fret and you can now play the same song and progression using the original chords you already know!

It's an awesome tool!

3. Play A Song In Your Vocal Range

Ever try to play and sing one of your favorite songs but struggled to make it sound good?

Maybe you felt like your voice was straining for some or all of it?

Many times when we try to play and sing songs with the same chords as the original artists you will find it is difficult for you to sing along.

Many people think this is because they are not good singers or because they don't have a big enough vocal range.

It may be possible the only issue is that you are trying to sing outside of your actual vocal range.

Assuming you are playing a song without a capo already you can test this by adding your capo and playing the same chords and singing along.

Do you feel like you are more relaxed when singing and not straining your voice? Then this may be where your vocal range is for this song.

I would test several capo locations starting with the first fret and going up one at a time until you find the very best position for you to sing the song comfortably.

When I do this with my students they are amazed at how much better they can sing than they thought and hopefully you experience the same thing!

Other Uses For A Capo

Those are the three main reasons I would use a capo and what most people would use it for but there are other possibilities.

For example, when you are first learning the open F chord you will find it very difficult to know if you are doing it properly by playing it in its usual position. That's because the 1st fret is the hardest one to play and press down.

If you throw a capo down on the 1st or 2nd fret and then play an F chord shape from there, the strings are much easier to get down and allows you to hear if you have the chord working properly.

Another thing you can do is to help a child play a larger acoustic or electric guitar by adding a capo. It will reduce the fretboard length and allow them to play open chords much easier and in a area that they can reach and their little fingers can access.

There is even more but we will stop there! The best thing for you to do is think about the capo as a tool to help you from now on instead of a cheating device.

You will be glad you did!

About The Author:

Maurice Richard is a professional guitar teacher that operates out of the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He has been a member of an elite guitar teaching mentorship program since 2007 and has taught many people how to play guitar.