capo

A capo temporarily shortens the strings on your guitar, raising the pitch of the unfretted, or 'open' strings and changing the key of open-position chords.

The word capo comes from the Italian capotasto, capo meaning head, and tasto meaning key, tie, or fret. In a document from 1640, the Italian Musicologist Giovanni Battista Doni uses the word capotasto to describe the nut on a viola da gamba, a family of hollow, wooden stringed instruments now referred to as viols.

A “C” is two half-steps away from a “D,” so placing that capo on fret 2 raises the pitch of the “C” chord shape. In the same way, an “A” is five half-steps below a “D,” so placing a capo on fret 5 and playing the “A” shape will also create a “D” chord.

Musicians commonly use a capo to raise the pitch of a fretted instrument so they can play in a different key using the same fingerings as playing open (i.e., without a capo).

Using a guitar capo allows you to effectively reposition the nut of your guitar up to a new fret, increasing the pitch of the open strings. Obviously you can tune the guitar down, so using a capo can be seen as tuning up from standard tuning without over stretching and breaking the strings!

Here's how it works in practice: As you change the position of a guitar capo while playing the same chord shape, the chord you're actually playing changes. For example, if you play the G chord shape with a capo on the 2nd fret, you're actually playing the A major chord.

The Beatles' George Harrison was a fan of capo usage, favoring a seventh string positioning, and playing “D” formations that sound like they're in A. There's a good example of this in the Beatles' “If I Needed Someone,” but Harrison's definitive capo piece is “Here Comes the Sun” from Abbey Road (1969).

The nut of your guitar is one of two anchor points on your guitar that make up the length of string that vibrates and creates sound (with the other being the bridge saddles). What a capo does is provide the same type of vibration termination, changing the pitch of your open strings without adjusting the tuning keys.

No, a capo is not at all necessary to play in different keys. It might make it easier in certain situations, but you have to consider the disadvantages of using a capo and then decide whether it's worth it to you. A common alternative to a capo is having your index finger function as a movable nut (grand barre).

An excellent example of this trend is the Beatles' 1965 song “If I Needed Someone,” from the album Rubber Soul, with its winning combo of droning 12-string guitar and three-part vocal harmonies. On “If I Needed Someone,” Harrison played the 12-string (namely, a Rickenbacker 360/12) with a capo at the seventh fret.

As you move the capo up the neck, all the strings ring out higher – so moving the capo up makes the song higher. As you move the capo up each fret, the key goes up one half step.

In addition to unlocking more tonal options, a capo can also make playing chords easier on your hands. Playing up the guitar's neck generally requires less pressure, and with the frets closer together the closer you get to the soundhole, there's less distance for your fingers to travel.