capotasto

Taking its name from the Italian word for "head," a capo is a small device that clamps onto the neck of a guitar and shortens the length of the strings, raising their pitch.

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.

head Capo means “head” in Italian. This is an appropriate name. In a way, the capo is similar to the nut of the guitar. The nut, located on the headstock, dictates where the playable area of the strings ends and where the string vibrations stop. In other words, a capo acts as a sort of moveable nut.

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.

For example, if a song is in the key of C but you want to play it in the key of G, you would place a capo on the third fret. This would raise the pitch of all the strings by three semitones, putting them in the key of G. Capos are also useful for creating different sounds on the guitar.

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!

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).

These notes are one whole step higher than the normal open string notes. If you were to play a C major chord with the capo on, it would sound like a D chord. As you move the capo up the guitar, the pitch becomes a half step higher with every fret.

These notes are one whole step higher than the normal open string notes. If you were to play a C major chord with the capo on, it would sound like a D chord. As you move the capo up the guitar, the pitch becomes a half step higher with every fret. Take “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles.

Each of the chords you play in open position can be played using a capo, but if you do that, the name of the chord changes; it goes up one semitone for every fret the capo is moved up. So an open G chord with a capo on the 1st fret will become a G# chord.

A capo is a little device that clamps onto the fretboard of a guitar (or any instrument in the lute family, really). You can place it on any fret along the guitar neck and by doing so, change the pitch of the strings without re-tuning them.

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.