To those who have been playing a guitar for a number of years the use of a Capo and the results seem obvious but I often get people who are in the early stages say to me 'I can't play that song I haven't learnt those chords yet.' When you say something like 'put a capo on and play in D then' you get a blank look back. So I thought if there is anybody out there in this situation the following might be useful. Forgive me if I'm teaching too many grandmothers to suck eggs! C D E F G A B Open ---------------------------------- C# Eb F F# Ab Bb C Capo 1st fret ---------------------------------- D E F# G A B C# Capo 2nd fret ---------------------------------- Eb F G Ab Bb C D Capo 3rd fret ---------------------------------- E F# Ab A B C# Eb Capo 4th fret ---------------------------------- F G A Bb C D E Capo 5th fret ---------------------------------- And so on. The way you would use this for instance is: if the tune was in the key of F and you needed the chords F Bb C7 and Dm but could only play in the key of C, put a capo on the 5th fret and play C F G7and Am. ie. if you look at the open fret and find C count 5 frets up and you get F. Likewise with the rest of the chords. You could put the capo on the 3rd fret and play D G A7 and Bm and still get F Bb C7 and Dm. I hope this makes it easier for somebody out there. Remember it's not only new players that need capo's. Iv'e got a friend who likes to sing Whiskey in the Jar in Eb. Have you ever tried playing the chords with a melody line running through in this key? Not me, capo on 3 play in C and it's a piece of cake. Regards Baz
|