mandolin capo?

[mando-tech]

...capo on a mandolin !! ??....FORGET IT !

[sblock]

...capo on a mandolin !! ??....FORGET IT !

Click here to see Sierra Hull playing with a capo. I'd wager that the she is a far better mandolin player than the half dozen folks who have given you grief about playing with one. And no one points at the stage and laughs at her, to my knowledge. Hey, beautiful music is beautiful music. Make it happen any way you like, and ignore the snobs and pinheads. They ain't no part of nuthin', anyway!

[DHopkins]

In the long run, if you learn the song in the different key you will become a better player. Guitarists and banjo players capo to get certain sounds that the music needs. Mando players need the sounds the other keys provide.

A quote stolen from my friend, the excellent swing fiddler Paul Anastasio, "There are no hard keys, just unfamiliar ones". He was right, as soon as I spent enough time any key became much easier to play.

I'm 72 and have arthritis in my left hand. Let me tell you, there are some hard keys. It's not macho NOT to use a capo. It's a matter of convenience, especially with some minor or diminished chords. Some of the best use capos: Tony Rice, Vince Gill and I believe I remember Sam Bush using a capo once.

[fatt-dad]

...capo on a mandolin !! ??....FORGET IT !

12 years later. . . It just had to be said.

f-d

p.s., I use the Shubb.

[BrianWilliam]

Click here to see Sierra Hull playing with a capo.

Yes, but she's not playing a mandolin.

[trabb]

Yes, but she's not playing a mandolin.

And was she even born when the question was asked?

[allenhopkins]

Defy the Capo Police!! Use one when [a] you want that "open string" sound, but the singer says he/she can only sing the song in F#; [b] you have a supremely musical break worked out in A, but allova sudden it's gotta be in B-flat, for no good reason; [c] you feel like it.

Some questions never die, some arguments never end, no matter how old the thread.

[Austin Bob]

There is no denying that learning to play in all keys would make someone a technically better mando player and I strive to do so when I can. I am sure it also builds my character and strengthens my moral fiber, LOL.

However, my first priority is the sound I can make and the amount of time I have to invest to be able to do it. When I play church music, a tune may be in the key of A flat and have 12 different chords in it, including highly modified chords such as dimished, minor 7th flatted fifths, etc. Often, I don't see the music until the morning of the service. A capo often makes the difference between being able to easily play a piece on a given Sunday or not. In old-time, I never need to use a capo, because fiddlers generally prefer keys that allow them to use a lot of open strings. In bluegrass, however, I occasionally use a capo when I have to solo in a key like B flat because I like to use the open strings in double stop slides, etc.

As far as the "people will laugh at you" factor, well they might, but they can kiss my tailpiece. The long, long list of things people will shun you for in bluegrass is one of my pet peeves and one of things that sours my enjoyment of playing in that genre. Just MHO.

Well said. I too play in a choir, and while I try not to capo, there are times when I find it to be almost essential. There are some songs and chord progressions that just don't sound right in closed positions, and to me it's all about the music.

The audience does not care if you use a capo or not, only the capo police that seem to always chime in on these threads.

To answer the OP's question, I find the Shubb capo to be the least obtrusive and easiest to take on and off. I put it in a vise and bent it slightly to accommodate my radius fretboard.

[Paul Kotapish]

Never complain, never explain.

Put the capo on and damn the torpedoes.

I very rarely use one, but there are a few occasions when one is appropriate, and I'm happy to keep one in my case. If a singer is doing an English ballad in Ab that would sound best with cross-picked arpeggios with open drone strings, the capo just sounds better.

I like the Shubb banjo capo with the radius.

Long live ridiculous threads!

[Mark Wilson]

Long live ridiculous threads!

[JeffD]

i use a capo to cross tune AEAE. I tune the E and A strings down one note and capo at the second fret. this reduces the stress of trying to tune open AEAE.

And you can take the capo off and play in GDGD, which is also a popular cross tuning.

[JeffD]

Never complain, never explain.

Put the capo on and damn the torpedoes.

Get a Shubb or Keyser capo and paint it florescent green or safety yellow, to be sure nobody misses it.

[Spruce]

....there are a few occasions when one is appropriate....

[Dave Wrede]

Our main guitar player is always giving me grief about my non-use of a capo on mandolin when I do use one on mandola and 'cello. Well, we were playing at a different church this past weekend and behind the altar are a couple of paintings with choirs of angels, clouds, one angel playing a mandolin and one playing violin. I pointed out the angel playing mandolin without capo and remarked that it's G0d's will that mandolins don't use capos! Humour ensued. (Quietly, the bishop was there.)

[JeffD]

There is no grief anyone can give you that isn't deflected by playing brilliantly. Luckily its what we all try to do anyway. Its one of the many benefits.