Guitar capos

[8STRINGR]

Happy Holidays All You Cafe'ers!

Here's a question for you guitar Gurus! I bought a guitar capo for a friend at work (name brand is not important but it was a good one) for Christmas. He's never owned (to my knowledge) a capo and has been messing around with it all over the fretboard since he took it home.

I had tried to explain that by positioning it on the second fret and playing in a "G" (fingered) chord that he is now playing in "A" and so on. His question to me (now I'm asking you folks) is that he knows what the opens strings are in 440 tuning (with the capo off) BUT with his capo on the second fret for "A" fourth for "B" and so on... what are the Open Strings (capoed) in the event he needs to double check tuning between songs.

Say for instance, He played a tune capoed for "A" and the folks he's pickin' with got ready to play another tune in "A" but he noticed somewhere in the last tune his guitar sounded kind of Flat or Sharp on a string or two. What's he looking for on his tuner with the strings capoed without having to remove the capo to tune up again in Open String OR does he have no choice in the matter than to remove the capo to retune?

I play mandolin, guitar and bass "by ear" and over the years I've developed the ear for knowing what's In or Out , capoed or not but it's hard for me to explain to him how to go about knowing the tuning (with a capo) so he'll understand it.

Is there a chart or website or a rough run down of the strings as they're capoed or does it solely rely on someone having knowledge of ALL of the fretted strings, each string all the way down the fret board or over time, just develope the ear to know for himself? It's a good question. I just don't know how to go about answering it.

Thanks for your help folks! #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif

[Adam Tracksler]

instead of EADGBE it would be F#BEAC#F# at the second capo. I dont know of any chart, but it would be the same as putting a finger down on that string, IE on the low E if youu put your finger on the 3rd fret it is a G, if you put a capo on the 3rd fret, it is still G.


Hope that helps, it really is as easy as it seems...

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[Walter Newton]

Well if the open guitar strings are EADGBE, you raise each note a half step for every fret you capo up:

no capo E A D G B E
capo at 1st fret F A# D# G# C F
capo at 2nd fret F# B E A C# F#
capo at 3rd fret G C F A# D G
etc.

I'm sure there are a million charts available online showing all the notes up the guitar neck, but if you know the open strings are EADGBE and are familiar with the chromatic scale it should be easy enough to figure out what any particular note is if need be (and he probably already knows at least some notes up the neck for tuning purposes - 5th fret of E string is A, 5th fret of A string is D, etc. - which may help too)

He can either remove the capo to retune or tune with the capo on (if he has a chromatic tuner).

[John Flynn]

There is a capo chart at the link below, at the bottom of the page. Be careful to follow the directions, though, or you can get "backwards" on the answer!
http://don-guitar.com/transpose.html

[Brian T]

Fifth fret above the capo will give you the equivalent of the next string. For example, if you are capo'd at the 2nd fret, 5 frets above or the 7th fret would equal 'b' which is what the 'a' string is with the capo on the 2nd fret. Clear as muddy water? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blues.gif

[JimD]

Fifth fret above the capo will give you the equivalent of the next string. #For example, if you are capo'd at the 2nd fret, 5 frets above or the 7th fret would equal 'b' which is what the 'a' string is with the capo on the 2nd fret. #Clear as muddy water? #

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif


Neither clear nor correct. The guitar is tuned in 4ths and a major third (between the 3rd and 2nd strings) -- so this just plain doesn't work there.

If you know the chromatic scale just count up from the open string to where the capo is (1 fret distance = 1/2 step) -- simple and effective.

If you don't know the chromatic scale, learn it.

[Jerry Byers]

I think he was referring to tuning using a pair of strings. Strings fretted at the 5th fret play the same note as the next lower string; except for the G string which is the 4th fret.

[JimD]

I think he was referring to tuning using a pair of strings. Strings fretted at the 5th fret play the same note as the next lower string; except for the G string which is the 4th fret.

OK -- but he didn't say fourth fret above the capo for the 3rd to 2nd.

[mandroid]

the capo may grip the strings, against the fretboard, sufficiently to make tuning lag because the part of the string above the capo'd fret is getting tensioned [#] and the free vibrating portion is still a bit flat. if the capo has a screw to adjust the grip tension,
then it may be more capable of retuning the strings while the capo is in place, as slipping under the grip of the capo would allow the whole string tension from one end to the other to equalize.
That make sense, or was that even the question? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[8STRINGR]

Thanks everyone for the input and the charts! Once he sees the charts they should be pretty self explanitory and he'll obviously get it.

This should answer his question. I'm going to print off a copy of these for myself so I, too will know!

I've always used a capo when playing in keys of "A" and "B". I don't "Bar Chord" anything. I can't stretch my fingers enough to get a clear sound. I had basically told him that if he were playing a "G" chord but had a capo on the second fret then his "G" chord would be an "A" or now he's playing in the Key of "A".

He understood that part but was just curious to what the strings (being capoed) would be if he were to play them open if he needed to retune any before going in to their next song, depending on what Key he/they were in.


Thanks again for the help! I'll get this to him and let him know that this info came from "the fine musically educated folks" on "The Cafe" !

Merry Christmas to ALL!! # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif

[pickinpox]

If he uses a chromatic electronic tuner (assuming he's not too far out of tune) the tuner will recognize the note and display whether the string is sharp or flat. He won't even have to pay attention to the note name although it will be displayed. If he doesn't use an electronic tuner he can tune by matching strings at the fifth fret (fourth fret for tuning the second string) like he normally does, again he doesn't have to be aware of the note name to accomplish this. If using a capo it is best to do the final tuning with it in place because they can alter the tuning slightly.

[Peter Hackman]

Indeed they can, e.g., by exerting more than natural pressure, or pushing
strings sideways. Which may be one of the reasons I avoid their use.
BG groups often play several tunes iin the same key one after the other
"while we're still in the gear of B" in order to minimize tuning.

In order to prevent confusion I think it's best for a band
to tune to a common fixed reference. It's really important if the band
has a singer - should everyone go sharp the singer will hit
his notes flat in relation to the band.

[8STRINGR]

Cool. All well taken. I'll pass this advice along to him too.
Once again, I've come to the right place (The Cafe') for answers! Thanks again, folks! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif

[Jerry Byers]

Just to add some mando content to this topic. This discussion could apply equally to a mandolin, except it would be the 7th fret and mandolin players rarely use a capo.

[8STRINGR]

Wow, I'll add this to my files for myself as well! Thanks, Jerry! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Brian T]

On the 5th fret above the NUT ion the low E is = to A. The c apo acts as a NUT. Fith fret above the capo on the low or 6th string is eequal to open or capo'd 5th string. How simple can it be??

[harleymando]

just use your ears man!