FINALLY, SOMEONE EXPLAINS EXACTLY HOW A CAPO WORKS...

@LucraJamTracks

22 күн бұрын

Yeah this lesson is amazing! Thanks David.

The capo is a critical tool for every guitarist. Learning open tunings also opens up your world. Many musicians also tuned down. Paul McCartney tuned down an entire whole step on “Yesterday.” It is in the key of F, but he was able to use G forms.

On an ugly day in news reports...you your lessons and music are the only things today that truly make sense. Something useful to put in my toolbox, been wondering for a while now bout this theory. Great stuff thank you

Bingo, some lights went on. Clear, straight forward, very well presented. Thank you.

David, You are a incredible teacher. I've struggled with this for so long. Thank you. I am very pleased to be a premium member of Song Notes.

Nicely done David, very useful! Thanks for sharing!

Great explanation !! Thank you

Always learning. I do like your lessons. Thank you.

Dude, you just blew my mind. Thanks...

Awesome lesson, I have always wondered about this ❤

Great explanation! Your skill in the use of graphics and video editing are awesome. Thank you!

@Deogratias562

Жыл бұрын

this was the most helpful video thank you❤

Nicely done. Thanks.

Capo goes up- chord goes down. Genius I knew there had to be a easy way for it to make sense. Thank you sir

@lesblack413

3 ай бұрын

I'm not sure what you mean here. When the capo moves up one fret, the chord shape you are play is 1/2 step higher. G shape or sound goes to G# sound.

The best video ever. So helpful. Thanks for making things so clear.

Great basic lesson for a refresher. Excellent animations.

This video cleared so many doubts I had, thanks a lot!

I've been struggling with this for years, and all of a sudden, it's so simple. I've had a chart for it for a long time, but I never understood why.

This rocked my friend thank you!!!

You are awesome!!

Just stumbled on your page and subscribed. You have a great way of describing, what are to me, kind of complex themes....Thanks!!

Just subscribed love it 😊

Thanks for addressing this. I'm a harmonica player, learning guitar, this was/is always an issue.

Great information ❤

Great, just what I need to know, well explained. Thank you.

Great lesson!

Great info, thank you

Great job! Thanks

Thanks a lot for the amazing tutorial ❤️

Brilliant lesson thanks Colin UK 🇬🇧

You have totally simplified the capo for me thank you very much

Subscribed, great video!!

Finally someone actually explain it how it is!! Thank you!!

Thank you David. You just answered a question that has perplexed me my entire life. And you made it very simple. I love your teaching methods and your channel brother. Keep up the good work. Mike V. Albuquerque NM

Wow finally makes sense thank you.

Frickin AWESOME VIDEO DUDE. So good at explainging this. This has jumped my skill and ability up 10 fold!

Thank you bro for your lesson👍

Vielen vielen Dank für dieses wunderbare Video. So einfach ist das, wenn man es vernünftig erklärt bekommt. Liebe Grüße aus Deutschland.

well done !

You nail it 🎉 Thanks Bro...

So helpful hank you!

You’re so underrated! Clay, keep playing brother!

Thanks, David, this clears up a lot. I never knew the capo can also be used to lower the key.

Woww..youve made thiss too eaasyyy!!Thank you❤😊

Thank you very much brother😊

brilliant thank you

Hi David. Been looking for something like this for a long time. I’m a guitarist and a harmonica player. I busk harmonica with a pal on guitar and vocals, and he capos a lot, which often throws me! But this will help a lot. By the way, you can get all 12 keys on 10 hole diatonic harmonicas - yes, sharps and flats included! 😊

I have never heard the mysterious capo explained as well. Very nicely done sir. On the discussion of what key your harmonica should be, my understanding is if the song is in a major key you pick a harmonica to match the note in the fourth position. If its a minor key you should use the third position.

Excellent explanation! Chord family/shape versus key is hard to explain/understand to the layman. Thanks for the clarification!

I subscribed-good info here

Jesus, this is an eye opening. Thank you for demystified this for me.

Thanks a lot

Fantastic

With harmonica, you can either play in the key of the song - song in the key of G would use an harmonica in the key of G. Then you have the option to cross harp. That would mean using an harmonica in the fourth or fifth of the key. Hence playing in the key of G, you would use a harp in C or D. Led Zeppelin did “ When the Levee Breaks” in Open G. But they slowed the tape changing the pitch and key to F. Robert Plant used a harp in Bb.

@michaelslawinski1821

9 ай бұрын

I agree. The key of the harp is not the same as the guitar.

Excellent, as an in depth and readily understandable lesson on the capo is very hard to find.

this is so helpful, now when i play songs i can switch to different keys😁 thank you so much

Thankyou

Love the lesson but tried to get these and I have to join to get these PDFs

Thanks

Excellent video. Thank you. My question isn't usually the key of the root chord (when I'm using a capo) but what happens to the chords in that root chord family. Your Capo Captain is a game changer for me. So glad I came across your channel. You rock!

Your explanation about the Capo is really good, I often play with a Capo as per the original song and then find out I can't sing in the pitch and then have to lower the Capo from say 5th Fret down to 4th Fret and now in the Key of C but thank goodness the fingering for the Lead guitar is the same. But as I am Lead guitar & singer for my songs some songs with the Capo are only for the lead guitar but not for the Rhythm so How does that work when we are all trying to sing a song together. On other occasions , the original song is in D but our Band Singer wants to do it the Key of G so I then have to try to transpose the Lead guitar notes into the Key of G from D. It seems a minefield. I think that before watching your video the usage of the Capo was in the No Mans Land musical mystery? thks for your lesson.

@aviator73 A great lesson on use of the Capo, cleared a lot of cobwebs on the topic. Is it possible to purchase only the cheat sheets, without becoming a member

WOW! I am new to this. Just a beginner. I watched 3 other videos on this. You win hands down! The other videos left me confused. Question Sir: I know for a fact my voice is best suited for key of E. Why couldn't I just transpose every and any song to the Key of E ? Thank you, Denny

Major light bulb moment right here! Very well explained like I've never heard it before! Thank you!

I find transposing is easy for the typical major and minor chords but it gets tricky when its crazier colourful chord shapes you have to transpose think like jazz chords lol

Great advice! And not to mention....what is the guitars open tuning? if you are say, playing with a Piano which is tuned in Natural E MAJ. exg. I always tune my guitars in E flat [ D sharp]

I'm a musician with 60 years of guitar experience. When I play with a band, I only say the key the song is played in - never the chord shape with the capo on fret three. Reason I do this is it stops confusion. G chord shape with capo at fret three is of course A# or Bb. I have found that the reason most novice guitarists use capos is that they are unable to play moveable (barre) chords. Tell me if you think I'm wrong. If you still like to use a capo, then you will exclude yourself from playing many songs that have key changes in them. Unless you physically can't practice moveable chords due to arthritis in finger joints, you can achieve the new moveable chord shapes fairly quickly. My suggestion is to start with an easy chord shape like G barred at the third fret with your index finger. Once you have mastered that shape, it can be played up and down the fret board.

There is a G# (or Ab) harmonica. There are 12 diatonic harmonicas for every 12 chords, harmonica players just have to bring those pieces. If you had an E harmonica, you could play a G#(Ab) chord in 4th position.

I actually play an Ab harmonica on a regular basis. Same as G#, right? There are so many keys in the harmonica world. I own and play 13 harmonicas in different keys. Thanks for this lesson!

Harmonicas not necessarily work like that. There can be found on Google what Harmonica is used for different songs by artists. Other wise good video on the capo.

yaaay shanks

I play harmonica and guitar, yes at the same time, I can do more if I just play harmonica, If i ask what key it's because I am going to play a melody ( as opposed to cross harp - I'm not that good). If I only have one harp, I may ask the guitar player to play a chord progression in the the key of which ever harp I have on me...

I have a question, what about chords such as sharp majors?? If you’re trying to play a C#m chord but with a capo so you’re not hurting your wrist so much Thank you

Hi,sir try to play with capo in my company is no capo we try to transpose with song in the first okie but when she step to other note then me I don't know what note I point

Hey David. Love your channel and lessons. I think the confusion ( with me at least ) the first explanation, (G) you're changing the pitch ( goes up ) but with the second explanation, (E flat) the pitch stays the same but the shape changes. (goes down, making it easier to play) can you confirm?

@songnotes

5 ай бұрын

Not sure if I'm addressing the exact parts of the video that your'e asking about (if not, let me know with timestamps so I can find the parts your'e confused by)..... But - with the G example, I'm keeping the same shape (a "G" chord e.g. 320003 where the nut or capo is zero). Even as I add a capo I can continue to use that shape chord... but the pitch will change, one half-step up per each capo fret. For the E-flat example starting at 7:25 - my goal is to stay in key (pitch) with the note E-flat. I can add a capo up the neck fret by ret, and at the same time use "chord families" that go DOWN in pitch half-step by half-step. And this keeps things in the key of E-flat, as far as the ear is concerned. This whole part is tricky... the secret to understanding it (I think) is making sure you understand the idae of "chord families" vs "song key". If there's no capo, and you're in standard tuning, "song key" = "chord family". They're the same. Key of C chord family with no capo = Key of C, by ear. But key of C chord family with capo 2 = Key of D, by ear. Hope that helps!

Understood, but transpost G to E let me tell you it was impossible coz kneck when you're going up is expanding so the capo can't be fixed there,how about that? Help

Is the first note you play the determining factor of the songs key? what if the notes were in the order of CDEFG. Would the song be in the key of C?

@lesblack413

3 ай бұрын

Chords used or notes played generally identify the key the song is sung or played in, not necessarily the first note or chord. There can also be accidental notes in the song, which sometimes makes it more interesting to the ear.

very interesting.....i play a keyboard and transpose alot .....say from a C cord on the keys to transposed 6 down.....how can i determine what cord i need on the guitar if i am playing keyboard with the C fingering but transposed 6 down....hope you can enlighten me ....i do this for my singing voice.....thanks

@Simon-mv2xm

7 ай бұрын

6 steps down from C would be the key of F#. To play F# chords on the guitar will be tricky, so you can play D-shaped chords on the guitar with the capo on the 4th fret because F# is 4 half steps up from D.

@lesblack413

3 ай бұрын

Six down from C note would be F# or Gb.

what about major 7 chords and diminished when you have a capo on, here's where i really get confused, any info on that, please 🙏 for ex i want to write a song in the key of em and i want to use the cmaj7 chord, i do not know the voicing with the capo on 2nd fret

@lesblack413

3 ай бұрын

Don't use the capo. Just play the cmaj7 chord in it's normal position.

You use the 3rd if your playing harmonica

David, I need your help.... When writing tablature for a piece, and there's a capo on fret 2, and lets say I play all the strings open, should the written tab numbers be all twos? Or all zeros?

@songnotes

9 ай бұрын

I would suggest writing it as all zeros - but make sure you note (somewhere) that capo 2nd fret it being used! Which comes with the assumption that "capo = fret zero". I would argue this is the convention you'll find with other teachers & publishers as well.

@lesblack413

3 ай бұрын

@@songnotes If the capo is on fret five, then the note on both E string will be A or TAB 5 position.

yes, harps come in half steps.

help me. if i want to change from F#m to something easier how do i do that with capo>

@lesblack413

3 ай бұрын

Play F chord with capo on first fret.

If I put capo on 2nd fret, suppose capo is the nut, when I play regular form of C (do, mi, sol, do) what do we call this kind of chord (C or D), pls reply. Thank you so much, sir.

@lesblack413

3 ай бұрын

Capo on fret two when you are playing the C chord shape means you are playing a D sounding chord.

@artcomlotus3091

3 ай бұрын

@@lesblack413 Thanks so much, sir.

Original key is D, but I play F, should I put capo 3 which same as D?

@BryanClark-gk6ie

Ай бұрын

Should be 5 if I understand you right.

It means the work of capo is like transposition

@lesblack413

3 ай бұрын

Yes and no. But it does allow some players to play the relevant chords in the song if they have trouble playing barre (moveable) chords.

I've always been confused regarding how capo's work. After watching this, I'm still confused. Your 1st example was G. Add capo to 1st fret it becomes a G#. That I get. Second example you add a capo to 1st fret an Eb becomes a D chord. That's where I'm confused. Why does it not become an E chord? I get that an E chord with capo 1 would make an F, but why does it become a D chord? A capo raises the pitch, not lowers it. ?????

@Simon-mv2xm

7 ай бұрын

When you play a G Chord and add a capo while still playing the same G chord, that G chord will sound like a G# because it is a half step up. Likewise, if you play an E chord with a capo on the first fret it will sound like an F because it is a half step up. Now take this logic, and if you play a D chord with a capo on the first fret, it will sound like an Eb, or put the capo on the second fret and it will sound like an E (2 half steps up). I think you got confused because the chord shape stayed the same in the first 2 examples, but in the Eb to D example, he switched the chord to a D chord, rather than keeping the same chord shape and going a half step up. Let me know if this helps!

@MusicWizard85

6 ай бұрын

The 2nd example assumes you tuned your guitar down a half step to Eb.

@lesblack413

3 ай бұрын

This is why I never specify the capo position - only the chord in the key you are playing in. Let the other musos work out the chords in the key. Many 12 string players detune all 12 strings by 1/2 step so the standard tuning then becomes Eb. Also, not all instruments will be detuned generally in a band.

How does this relate to a bass?

@lesblack413

3 ай бұрын

Never seen a capo on a bass, but technically you could use on if you could buy one or make one. It would work, but not sure why you would bother.

I used capo when I sing n play guitar 😂.. Easy

You wouldn’t use a g sharp harmonica if you were playing in g sharp.. you would use a B flat harmonica

@lesblack413

3 ай бұрын

you might want to if you can buy a G# harp.

I am the key master. Are you the gate keeper? Asking for Zulu.

@MusicWizard85

6 ай бұрын

It's not Zulu, it's Zuul fool.

I’ve never understood. Why a capo at all. If a song is in G. Well just play G. If you need to transpose a song to another key. Why not just play that key.

@rosswilliams1989

2 ай бұрын

It allows you to change shapes. This is useful and can allow you to find what's most comfortable for you to play. Hope that helps out!

@davidmusselwhite547

2 ай бұрын

@@rosswilliams1989 not sure. What you mean by changing shapes. But. Ok. I can understand if someone. Can only play a G shape. Or a C shape and doesn’t know any other chords.

@rosswilliams1989

2 ай бұрын

Just preference at that point.

{(Gfamily +3Capo) = Key C } = {normal Key C }? Pls give me an answer🙏

Playing a C major chord with the capo at fret 2 isn't a D chord as far as the ears are concerned, it's an actual D major chord, every note you are playing is in the D major, your just using a C major chord grip with a capo at fret 2, I see a lot of guitar lessons on KZread where things are over complicated and actual info isn't given to the viewer in the correct manor

Well you don't need a capo at all. Just play the tune in any of the "chord" positions all over the neck.

How bout teachers especially don't call it a g chord when using a capo. This is a huge fail from teachers imo

@lesblack413

3 ай бұрын

spot on!!

Or just look at the the lowest note of the chord you’re playing.

@austinwalter4860

Ай бұрын

and what is the “note” exactly

thanks ..interesting.. makes it easier to understand .. for instance when 2 or 3 players 2 may be capoed on different frts ..and the bass player isnot ...