OK, in the previous post I showed pics of Jeff Beck and Mark Knopfler using capos. I wouldn't mind having a fraction of their all round talent. I could have listed endless additional players - Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Ry Cooder, Steve Earle spring to mind - who I've seen pics of using capos. But you may not be a fan of them. :)
But to put it beyond all doubt.... here's somebody that I'm sure nobody at Guitarnoise would ever accuse of being a cheating newbie... :mrgreen:
The one and only David Hodge.
Cheers,
Chris
OK Chris you made a beleiver out of me...Capo's for everyone...
On a serious note and I'm rarely serious. I didn't mean to turn any beginner's off from using a capo they do serve a purpose and I was only somewhat serious about them being a cheat, but you can't deny the fact that any song can be transposed into a different key without the need for a capo. Of course it is much easier to just slap a capo on and go.
I own one or two though, just in case. Haven't ever had the need or desire to use one yet but maybe someday.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Good for you Chris! :D
You're quite right that they do seem to a have a bit of a bum rap for being just an 'easy option' for changing key, and apparently some jazzers like to diss them for that reason. But I really don't know why people think that there's something wrong with making life easier?? Easy is good in my book - gives me more time to put into other aspects of playing. And they really do open up possibilities of different tones, other inversions etc. I play mostly acoustic, and have zero rock cool cred, but I use capos frequently - even though I can play plenty of chords for different keys in the open position - just because I like the variety of sounds I get with the capo in different spots. Each to his own though... :)
Cheers,
Chris
Yea Chris easy is good and they are just another tool to use if needed.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
yes -- easy is good and acceptable for everyone. changing the timbre is great. partial capoing can be really cool (instant "drop E" anyone?)
but I really hate it when someone who's been playing for years can't learn a tune in a different key or won't play it because (s)he forgot a capo and never learned to play Bb7 or Ebmin. a capo should not turn into an excuse for not learning to play all of the 12 (each) major, minor triads and various 7th versions. (and let's show a little respect for the horns, eh?)
-=tension & release=-
+1 to gnease. Capos are a great tool, not a crutch. Learning different chord voicings is a key to understanding the guitar and being a complete player.
+1 to gnease. Capos are a great tool, not a crutch.
Yep, I'd go for the general idea of that. :) Although I don't really have a problem with them being both, if that suits somebody else.
After all, this is the Beginner's Forum, not a Conservatorium or a 'coolness' arm wrestling arena for professional musicians.
I think the same ‘easy versus harder' thing applies across a number of other aspects too. For example, using a swag of fancy gear to make cool noises. I'm sure that most new players want to start wailing away with some rocky sounds as quickly and easily as possible, but in the long run the skills you need to develop in your fingers are a lot more important for the crucial parts of the sound.
Some folks also no doubt think that open tuning is 'cheating' because you can use it to play in a simple fashion. Ditto for power chords, and so on.
But I say use whatever you like - I believe that the biggest deal is to just keep enjoying the playing, and to keep an eye out for different and better options along the way. The largest percentage of eager new beginners will in fact get discouraged or bored and then stop - so the most important thing is not be one of those who get overwhelmed and drop out... I'd certainly prefer to be able to move on from using any kind of crutches and start running, but I'd still rather walk with a crutch than end up immobile on the sidelines.
Some days I use my capo as a Cool Tool, and some days it probably IS more like a handy crutch to make a quick key change. I'm happy to own up to both... :mrgreen: :note1: :note2: :note1:
Cheers,
Chris
A capo should not turn into an excuse for not learning to play all of the 12 (each) major, minor triads and various 7th versions.
Hi Greg,
I was about to risk suggesting that you may have been a little over-zealous there, but on reflection you're right. :mrgreen:
When I first set out to learn, I wondered whether I should set that as a goal, but fairly quickly decided that it could turn out to be a waste of my time (when you start at nearly 60, you don't have so much learning time left, so picking a quick path is not just appealing, is more or less essential..! ).
My thinking was along the lines of “You must be kidding! I'll never use even half of those...†So instead, I picked a much smaller and more achievable set based on the common keys that I might actually want to play in.
I guess I started out with the usual suspects, and frankly they would have been enough (either with or without a capo) to have kept me happily playing hundreds if not thousands of perfectly good songs. I'm not aiming to be a pro.
However, as I progressed I gradually added more new chords, plus additional versions of the ones I already knew. Of course, once I got over the hurdle and managed to play the dreaded bar chords that number exploded and a whole new set became available. In fact, after reading your statement and thinking it might be a bit more than strictly necessary, I ran decided to run through how far through your list I've got so far....
Somewhat to my surprise (I guess I wasn't thinking clearly... :oops: ) I find that I can now play all of them, just as you suggest. It no longer seems as daunting - or as unnecessary - as it did when I was a complete beginner. It's great to have choices and options. :)
So if anybody ever sees me playing with a capo, please accept that I probably could have done it another way if I'd seen a good reason to. But I either preferred the sound or just found it easier in that position, and could therefore concentrate on the expression rather than the fingering... I do like capos... 8)
Cheers,
Chris
thanks for sharing, Chris. (really). being a solo act is one thing, but if playing with others, key changes are a fact of life. and given the guitar's simple, linear chromatic design, it's reasonable to expect the guitar player to make the switch to suit others. crossing threads: I put capos in a class with tuners -- often elsewhere when most wanted.
-=tension & release=-
Chris C,
I followed pretty much the same logic when it came to learning to play. Since I started at an older age 40+ I decided that there were things that I didn't want to spend my time on. One was learning to read music. Now I had somewhat learned years ago when i played trumpet in middle school for a couple years but I didn't remember any of that. So I made a decision to not learn how to read notation. I don't regret that and where I'm at and even where I want to be I still think it was a good decision for me.
I also decided not to try and sing and play at the same time even though I do like to sing, but I don't really have a great voice and I didn't feel that spending a lot of time trying to improve would just take time away from playing which is what I really want to do. I have begun to rethink this for several reasons, one is that we want to start playing out but none of us can sing.
The one thing that I really hadn't thought about was spending time trying to develop my ear. This I regret as the biggest mistake I have made. I still don't have a really good idea of the best way to go about it. I guess my ear has improved over time as I can usually tell when something is off but I can't necessarily tell you that I hear a A chord or Am or D.
As for chords I did spend time learning the open chords, barre chords and 7th chords but the rest I just learn as I learn new songs.
For the most part I'm happy with how I've progressed but I still wish I played better. I only need about another 20 yrs or so to get there...hmm I probably won't be around by then.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
I tried to learn Jeff Buckley's version of Hallelujah for several weeks, knew where the notes were, and could NOT play them.
THen a friend told me to put a capo on the fifth fret. Well, yeah. After that, it isn't even too hard a song.
Best,
Ande
(Probably not an excuse not to learn all the chord voicings. I AM working on that. But capos are cool.)
