A Step By Step Guide Of The Different Ways To Use A Capo

When you play any note on the guitar with your fingers, you are make the notes go higher in pitch. A capo is device that clamps down on the guitar strings to raise the notes higher without you having to use your fingers.

There are 2 different ways of using a capo for a song that you are playing. The two scenarios are:

Different Key, But Play The Same Chords
The Same Key, But Play Different Chords

MUSICAL GROUND RULES

Before we get started, we need to understand what a half step is. A half step is the smallest movement up or down in music. The following are all the letters of the musical alphabet including all the sharps and flats in between.

Very Important: Notice that there are no sharps or flats between two sets of letters: E and F, B and C.

DIFFERENT KEY, BUT PLAY THE SAME CHORDS

There are two different ways of thinking about this “different key, but playing the same chords”. If you have a specific key in mind that you want to change to OR you do not have a specific key in mind that you want to change to.

Key In Mind

If you have a specific key in mind that you want to play in, all you need to do is the following steps. FYI, the two examples above were if you had a key in mind.

Step 1: What key are you in?
Step 2: What key do you want to be in?
Step 3: How many half steps are from the original key to the key that you want to be in?
Step 4: Put the capo at the same number fret as the amount of half steps you just counted.

EXAMPLES

Say you want to change the key of a song to a higher key, you will need to put the capo at a higher fret and use the same exact chords. The following is an example of picking a higher key. We will use the Key of G as an example. To figure out your specific song that you want to play in a different key, follow the same steps but use the chords that are in your song.

Example 1

Step 1: We are playing a song in the Key of G
Step 2: We now want the song to be in the Key of A
Step 3: The difference between G and A is two half steps higher
Step 4: Put the capo at the second fret, but play the original chords:

Chords (original): G, C, Am, D = Key of G
Chords (capo II): G, C, Am, D = Key of A

Let’s try picking another key for another example:

Example 2

Step 1: We are playing a song in the Key of G
Step 2: We now want the song to be in the Key of C
Step 3: The difference between G and B is five half steps higher
Step 4: Put the capo at the fifth fret, but play the original chords:

Chords (original): G, C, Am, D = Key of G
Chords (capo V): G, C, Am, D = Key of C

No Key In Mind

If you do not have a specific key you have in mind, you will need to figure out the key after you have found a spot that you like.

Step 1: What key are you in?
Step 2: Put the capo on a higher fret where the songs sounds the best.
Step 3: What fret did you put the capo?
Step 4: Count the same amount of half steps away from the original key to figure out what key you are now in.

EXAMPLES

In this situation, say you want to change the key of a song to a higher key, you will need to put the capo at a higher fret and use the same exact chords. The following is an example of picking a higher key. We will use the Key of G as an example again.

Example 1

Step 1: We are playing a song in the Key of G
Step 2: The songs sounds best with the capo at the 3rd fret
Step 3: 3rd fret
Step 4: Three half steps away from the original key is the Key of Bb

Let’s try picking another fret for another example:

Example 2

Step 1: We are playing a song in the Key of G
Step 2: The songs sounds best with the capo at the 7th fret
Step 3: 7th fret
Step 4: Seven half steps away from the original key is the Key of D

Let’s map out all of chords up to the 7th fret. You can definitely put the capo higher than that though. Just remember, this example is only if your song is in the Key of G and use these chords. To figure out your specific song that you want to play in a different key, follow the same steps but use the chords that are in your song.

Chords (original): G, C, Am, D = Key of G
Chords (capo I): G, C, Am, D = Key of Ab
Chords (capo II): G, C, Am, D = Key of A
Chords (capo III): G, C, Am, D = Key of Bb
Chords (capo IV): G, C, Am, D = Key of B
Chords (capo V): G, C, Am, D = Key of C
Chords (capo VI): G, C, Am, D = Key of Db
Chords (capo VII): G, C, Am, D = Key of D

THE SAME KEY, BUT PLAY DIFFERENT CHORDS

In this situation, we want to keep the key the same but at the same time use different chords. You might think if you play different chords, then you would be in a different key, correct? With the capo: not exactly! Here are the steps to follow to make this happen:

Step 1: What key are you in?
Step 2: Find the name of the key on either the E-string, A-string, or D-string.
Step 3: Put the capo at that fret
Step 4: Find the root note of the chord and change the names of the chords, thinking of the capo as your new zero (or open string)

EXAMPLES

In the following example we want to stay in the Key of G but use different chords to play the song.

Example 1

Step 1: We are playing a song in the Key of G
Step 2: We need to find the note “G” on either the E-string, A-string, or D-string. There happens to be a single note “G” at the 3rd fret on the E-string.
Step 3: Put the capo at the 3rd fret
Step 4: Find the root of the chord and change the names of chords, thinking of your capo as your new zero (or open string):

Chords (original): G, C, Am, D
Chords (capo III): E, A, F#m, B

The 3rd fret on the E-string turns into a zero, or open string, on the E-string. This means if we were to play a chord with our new “open E-string” as the root note: it would be an E chord. If you keep going to the next chord, the C turns into an A chord. And so on.

Let’s do the same example above but this time put the capo somewhere else. Let’s see how the chords that we play work out.

Example 2

Step 1: We are playing a song in the Key of G
Step 2: We need to find the note “G” on either the E-string, A-string, or D-string. There happens to be a single note “G” at the 5th fret on the D-string.
Step 3: Put the capo at the 5th fret
Step 4: Find the root of the chord and change the names of chords, thinking of your capo as your new zero (or open string):

Chords (original): G, C, Am, D
Chords (capo V): D, G, Em, A

The 5th fret on the D-string turns into a zero, or open string, on the D-string. This means if we were to play a chord with our new “open D-string” as the root note: it would be a D chord. And so on.

Now that we have put together two examples and get two different sets of chords, it’s really about which set of chords would we rather play. They are going to sound different from each other: of course the one at the 5th fret is going to have a higher pitch overall.

Chords (capo III): E, A, F#m, B
Chords (capo V): D, G, Em, A

These two examples above and how we figured them out are probably the easiest chords to play without having to put the capo so high on the guitar. These are not the only spots where the capo works. You can actually put the capo anywhere on the guitar, but the chords that you will be playing will be a tougher to play.

Let’s fill in the blanks and show you what set of chords you would be playing for the capo at each fret. FYI, you can put the capo higher than the seventh fret, but for this example we will be going up to only the seventh fret.

Chords (original): G, C, Am, D
Chords (capo I): Gb, B, Abm, Db
Chords (capo II): F, Bb, Gm, C
Chords (capo III): E, A, F#m, B
Chords (capo IV): Eb, Ab, Fm, Bb
Chords (capo V): D, G, Em, A
Chords (capo VI): Db, Gb, Ebm, Ab
Chords (capo VII): C, F, Dm, G

WHAT WE JUST LEARNED

We just learned the 2 different ways of using a capo for a song that you are playing. We also learned that the first way has two versions, depending on what you are trying to accomplish.

Different Key, But Play The Same Chords
Key In Mind
No Key In Mind
The Same Key, But Play Different Chords

SOMETHING TO TRY

Compared to each other, each time you put the capo on you will be in the same key but it is going to sound slightly different. Why? It’s because the notes in each chord are arranged slightly different. Also, you will be slowly getting rid lower notes as you put the capo on higher and higher. Try it out for yourself to hear it. Take a song that you are familiar with and try this with it.

REASONS TO USE A CAPO

Now that we know how to use a capo, let’s go over the reasons why guitar players use it. There are 3 reasons why guitar players will use a capo:

To Make Songs Easier To Sing:

If a song was written with a lower voice in mind, it will be hard for someone with a higher voice to sing the same song in the same key. That is where the capo helps out tremendously. All you would need to do is keep trying the song at a higher capo until all the notes of the song are singable. It also works the same way if the voices are reversed.

To Make Songs Easier To Play:

Some chords can be very fatiguing on the hand, especially if the song is long or you the set of songs being played are full of harder chords. We can use the capo to take the same song and use different chords that are easier to play (while still staying in the same key).

To Make Songs Sound Different:

Playing songs in different keys have a different quality to them. Also, playing songs in the same key but with different chords gives a song a different character to the song overall.

ADVANCED, BUT KEEP IN MIND

You can even put the capo on only some of the strings. If you really get into it, there are a lot of different combinations of tunings and capo placements out there. Instead of looking them up, you can also just experiment with it to see what kind of interesting sounds you can get out of the guitar. It will definitely challenge your idea of how chords are played on the guitar.

BEWARE AND BE AWARE

Here are a couple of things to be aware of when using a capo.

How To Put It On:

You can put a capo on from either side of the guitar’s neck. While holding your guitar in the playing position, the capo will placed either from the bottom up or the top down on the neck of the guitar. The best way is from the top down for a couple of reasons. One, it is easier to take on and off. Two, the parts of the capo that stick out the most, such as the handles that open and close the capo, get in the way of your playing hand if you put it on from the bottom up.

Do Not Put On Too Tightly:

The harder you push down on a string, it tends to go slightly higher in pitch. Also, if you clamp down too hard on the strings, this can cause bumps on the strings to appear where the string is pushed against the fret. These bumps do not go away and will cause overall intonation problems. Your guitar will be in tune but when you start using your fingers to play, it will be slightly out of tune.

Putting It On And Taking It Off Quietly:

Putting the capo on and taking it off can be a messy and noisy process. Strings can get caught on it and/or can get stuck in the padding of the capo. If you need to be quiet while doing this, particularly while playing at a church or something that is being recorded live, there are things you can do.

Putting It On:

Open up the capo as wide as possible to clear the strings. At the same time with your other hand, mute the strings by holding them gently down. Do not push down on them hard enough to play a note, just to prevent them from vibrating.

Taking It Off:

First, mute the strings with one of your hands so they do not play a note. With the other hand slowly release the pressure of the capo until it is not touching the strings anymore. Be careful not to brush the strings with the capo with taking it off of the neck of the guitar.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF CAPOS

There are different types of capos out there. Some of which will make the process of putting it on and taking it off a lot easier or harder. For a more in depth look at the different types, check out this post here.

RECOMMENDED CAPOS

I recommend the Shubb capo: https://amzn.to/32HczGs

Overall, it is well built and it gives the best performance because you can set the amount that the capo pushes down on the strings.

Posted by Gregg Gascon

musician, singer/songwriter, & teacher