capo, capo no

[allenhopkins]

When are people going to start criticizing octave mandolin players for using capos? I've seen people slap capos on OM's, mandocelli, mandolas, and no one says a word. But not on the mandolin!

The capo's a tool. Use it or don't. If you find it useful, go ahead. If you find it limits your exploration of the fingerboard, don't use it. Not an ethical issue, not (or shouldn't be) a reason for respect or disrespect.

Classical guitarists have been known to transpose compositions into more "guitar-friendly" keys. If you find it hard to play in F#, and for some reason you need to play there, do what seems reasonable.

I try to stay off these capo threads, but some of the inflexibility and, well, snobbishness, gets to me. Sorry if I'm overly prickly or critical myself. I have a capo, use it maybe once a year for a particular need, and don't consider it a "crutch," just another resident of my toolbox.

[mee]

So I wonder, those that use a capo, is it because you really truly like using a capo, or because you have no interest in learning the chords, or feel you can't learn those chords? Be honest. I started using the capo because the language seemed impossible to me to learn at my age 50something. But I never liked using it, always felt incomplete and stagnant. And when someone cared enough to tell me to get rid of it, I went cold turkey without it and found that it wasn't as difficult as I expected and now I am really loving it and find I am getting more confident in my playing and trying new things. I don't expect I'll ever be great but I am giving it my all.

[NursingDaBlues]

So I wonder, those that use a capo, is it because you really truly like using a capo, or because you have no interest in learning the chords, or feel you can't learn those chords? Be honest. I started using the capo because the language seemed impossible to me to learn at my age 50something. But I never liked using it, always felt incomplete and stagnant. And when someone cared enough to tell me to get rid of it, I went cold turkey without it and found that it wasn't as difficult as I expected and now I am really loving it and find I am getting more confident in my playing and trying new things. I don't expect I'll ever be great but I am giving it my all.

Occasionally I like to experiment with open chords in a given key; for example, I may capo on 5th fret for a piccolo mandolin sound.

[Roger Moss]

So I wonder, those that use a capo, is it because you really truly like using a capo, or because you have no interest in learning the chords, or feel you can't learn those chords? Be honest. I started using the capo because the language seemed impossible to me to learn at my age 50something. But I never liked using it, always felt incomplete and stagnant. And when someone cared enough to tell me to get rid of it, I went cold turkey without it and found that it wasn't as difficult as I expected and now I am really loving it and find I am getting more confident in my playing and trying new things. I don't expect I'll ever be great but I am giving it my all.

I know in my case, I'm not invested enough in technical expertise to learn every position on the fretboard, but sometimes I just want a song to "sound right." For instance, I'm trying to get down "Mandolin Wind," and the easiest way to make it "sound right" is to use a capo on the second fret. Lazy, yes, but that's my middle name.

[bigskygirl]

So I wonder, those that use a capo, is it because you really truly like using a capo, or because you have no interest in learning the chords, or feel you can't learn those chords? Be honest. I started using the capo because the language seemed impossible to me to learn at my age 50something. But I never liked using it, always felt incomplete and stagnant. And when someone cared enough to tell me to get rid of it, I went cold turkey without it and found that it wasn't as difficult as I expected and now I am really loving it and find I am getting more confident in my playing and trying new things. I don't expect I'll ever be great but I am giving it my all.

I had capo envy for awhile when I first began playing but over the years I’ve spent time on transposing tunes to other keys. Now I have people that use a capo say they are sorry they rely on it.

I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have/use one I think it’s important that people have fun but it is limiting in the long run.

[mee]

I had capo envy for awhile when I first began playing but over the years I’ve spent time on transposing tunes to other keys. Now I have people that use a capo say they are sorry they rely on it.

I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have/use one I think it’s important that people have fun but it is limiting in the long run.

I agree with all you are saying, for me in the beginning I relied so much on it that I panicked one time when I didn't have it in my case and now it's like freedom without it.

[Frogstar]

So I wonder, those that use a capo, is it because you really truly like using a capo, or because you have no interest in learning the chords, or feel you can't learn those chords? Be honest. I started using the capo because the language seemed impossible to me to learn at my age 50something. But I never liked using it, always felt incomplete and stagnant. And when someone cared enough to tell me to get rid of it, I went cold turkey without it and found that it wasn't as difficult as I expected and now I am really loving it and find I am getting more confident in my playing and trying new things. I don't expect I'll ever be great but I am giving it my all.

80-90% of the time I don't know what the chords in the song we'll be playing are going to be, so it's much easier for me to follow along if I don't have to transpose on the fly too. Or maybe I do know the chords, but they're playing it in a different key than what I'm used to, etc.
I can get by doing it on the fly if it's a straight I-IV-V with guitar on capo 2 or something simple like that. I imagine I'll get better in time, but it's not a priority since I don't feel shame about using a capo in the first place (and I'm not aiming for "serious" either).

[Charlie Bernstein]

Best way to figure this out is learn guitar, guitar fretboard and guitar chords. . . . .

At least learn to recognize guitar chords, so you'll know what guitar players are doing. That way, you don't have to ask.

[Charlie Bernstein]

I'm getting vertigo trying to keep up here. Theory is not my forte. Can someone point me to an idiot level explanation of all this?

Roger, it's minutiae, and it's really not worth the effort it would take to untangle. All they're really doing is describing correspondences between mandos and guitars and capoed and uncapoed instruments. Only some of it is answering Tankertoad's question.

But to be fair, it's an unfair question. Sure, there are plenty of theory books and websites out there. But the real answer - both to Tankertoad and to you - is: keep playing. The more chords you know and the more keys you can play in, the easier it becomes to recognized what other players are doing.

[DHopkins]

When are people going to start criticizing octave mandolin players for using capos? I've seen people slap capos on OM's, mandocelli, mandolas, and no one says a word. But not on the mandolin!

The capo's a tool. Use it or don't. If you find it useful, go ahead. If you find it limits your exploration of the fingerboard, don't use it. Not an ethical issue, not (or shouldn't be) a reason for respect or disrespect.

Classical guitarists have been known to transpose compositions into more "guitar-friendly" keys. If you find it hard to play in F#, and for some reason you need to play there, do what seems reasonable.

I try to stay off these capo threads, but some of the inflexibility and, well, snobbishness, gets to me. Sorry if I'm overly prickly or critical myself. I have a capo, use it maybe once a year for a particular need, and don't consider it a "crutch," just another resident of my toolbox.

I think you're right. Some have the "I'm better than you are" attitude because of the capo.

And why is it OK for guitarists to use it? No one criticizes Tony Rice, Josh Williams, Doc Watson and many others because it's not at all uncommon to see one clamped onto their fingerboards.

[Baron Collins-Hill]