The capo
A clamp that presses all six strings down at the same fret. Everything you play behind it sounds higher, by a half step per fret: your open chords are enough to play in any key.
What it’s for
- Fitting a song to your voice, by moving it up one or more frets.
- Avoiding barre chords: a song in A♭ can be played with G shapes, capo at the 1st fret.
- Changing the color: open shapes played higher up the neck sound brighter.
Putting it on
Right behind the fret wire, nice and straight, clamped just tight enough that no string buzzes. Check your tuning once the capo is on.
A capo at the 2nd fret
- The capo clamps all six strings just behind the 2nd fret, like a flat index finger.
- The frets below the capo are out of play: the 2nd fret is now your “fret 0.”
Drawn like tab: high E at the top, low E at the bottom.
Which chord do you hear?
We talk about shapes: you play the G shape, and the chord you hear goes up a half step for every fret.
D shape, capo at the 2nd fret: you hear E
- You play the usual D shape, just two frets higher, counting from the capo.
- The “open” D string actually sounds the 2nd fret: E.
Drawn like tab: high E at the top, low E at the bottom.
| Shape played | Capo 1 | Capo 2 | Capo 3 | Capo 4 | Capo 5 | Capo 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C major (C) | D♭ | D | E♭ | E | F | G |
| G major (G) | A♭ | A | B♭ | B | C | D |
| D major (D) | E♭ | E | F | F♯ | G | A |
| A major (A) | B♭ | B | C | D♭ | D | E |
| E major (E) | F | F♯ | G | A♭ | A | B |
| A minor (Am) | B♭m | Bm | Cm | C♯m | Dm | Em |
| E minor (Em) | Fm | F♯m | Gm | G♯m | Am | Bm |
| D minor (Dm) | E♭m | Em | Fm | F♯m | Gm | Am |
Practice
The lesson The capo has you play the same progression in several keys.