[wannalearn01]

I have had the capo for a month or so, and all I ever did was have standard tuning and move it around some(1st, 2nd, 4th frets).

So I was playing last night and was bored and I remembered a post on here about tuning it down a step and keeping the capo on the 1st or 2nd...for ben harper songs.

I have to admit the DGCFAd tuning is awesome...I love the richer tone, more full tone that it gives.

But I had a couple questions about capo'ing:

Ok, so if I step it down a full step, and put the capo on the 2nd...thats standard tuning, but up an octave ??? Is that right? Just trying to get the concept of it...lol

Is there any other tunings that anyone would suggest that could be played both with out the capo, and then at the second fret too? I know there could be endless combinations...but some that would be a popular alt. tuning.

Thanks

T^roy

[goldrush]

No, tuning down a step then capoing on the II fret is just standard tuning. Remember, an octave is eighths ("oct").

Popular alternate tunings are open G (DBDGBD) and open D (DADF#AD), but there are hundreds more. You can capo at any fret you like--it will change the chords and the key, but the fingerings will remain the same.

[airdog4125]

he got it.

[capo2nd]

Aye, capos are a great tool.

[superwinkie]

Man, i love my capos

[wannalearn01]

No, tuning down a step then capoing on the II fret is just standard tuning. Remember, an octave is eighths ("oct").

Popular alternate tunings are open G (DBDGBD) and open D (DADF#AD), but there are hundreds more. You can capo at any fret you like--it will change the chords and the key, but the fingerings will remain the same.

Yea I knew about the steps to a new octave...I guess my lingo isn't up to par.

I capo it off at the second in standard tuning and I can play all the same things as I do in standard, but all "higher" notes...I mean they sound similar but slightly higher...so i assumed it was all the same chords...but now that I think about it...it doesn't make sense...lol

T^roy

[airdog4125]

They should sound the same they're just played higher up the fretboard.

[okiejohn]

Capo at the seventh fret and play C, G, Am7, G.......Dixie Chicks version of Landslide. There's a D7 and an Em in there as well, but the guitar really rings with the capo up that high......sounds good.

[evileye]

I love using my trigger capo to partically barre the strings, especially doing all strings except the B and E strings. Adds an interesting ring to chords.

[wannalearn01]

I am loving it a lot. I tend to leave it a little lower(notes) on the fret board, but I'll try out that 7th fret thing!

The trigger capo is awesome, I'm glad I ante'd up to get that rather than something cheaper...well worth the money!

I love using my trigger capo to partically barre the strings, especially doing all strings except the B and E strings. Adds an interesting ring to chords.

I haven't tried that either, but I'll be sure to!

When I capo of at the 2nd, full step down tuning, it sounds very very similar to standard but has a slighty different tone I felt...maybe I am just hearing things...

T^roy

[okiejohn]

There's a Son Volt tune that I think sounds great that uses a capo on the second fret....It's Tear Stained Eye, and the chords are D, G, A with an Em tossed in the chorus

[jshrel24]

Man i wish i didnt lose my capo, some chick bought me one for my bday one year. That and a Cd, hmm..i dont really recall why but anyway, i think im gonna have to purchase me another here soon.

[jalfordvidman]

Aye, I need to get me a capo too and mess around with it some.

[dadfad]

Yes, capos are great tools. Too many people think of them as a way to "cheat" by moving a tune into a key where they can use a simpler progression they can play more easily, which of course is a valid reason too (Albert Collins would capo so he could do most of his tunes "as if" in E.) (Of course he played tuned to open F-minor, but that's another story! ). Anyway, unless you have a reason, like wanting to play along with a recording or something, don't even think in terms of "standard" tuning. Use the concept of RELATIVE-standard..... whatever the 6-string's pitch is, the others are tuned in a standard way RELATIVE to that string. Instead of thinking EADGBE, think in terms of I IV VIIb IIb V I. (Actually you don't even need to think about it at all, but you know what I mean!). But a capo is a great tool. A capo can change the "feel" of a tune evn when it's played the same way as un-capoed. And even very skilled guitarists use it. Blind Blake, possibly the greatest fingerstylist who ever lived, used a capo. His tune "That'll Never Happen No More" when played un-capoed just sounds like another of his very complex fingerstyle rag-blues. When capoed (5th fret if memory serves me) (not as well as it used too sometimes... ) it sounds like a barrel-house piano playing a ragtime tune. Robert Johnson sometimes capoed, from standard so a tune could be played "as if" in A (with all of the licks available in that key) to a higher pitch to give the tune a more "etherial" feel. And in open-tuning as well (Open-G to B, I think, although many think it was open-A to B. Which maybe it was...whatever....I digress! (as I often do! ). Anyway, a capo is a great tool for lots of reasons. I keep one in the compartment of most of my guitars.

[evileye]

Yeah, capo's are great inventions. Even for obscure tunings, to save your strings snapping go -1 step the tuning and then capo 2nd. Also, it's great for that singer who's stubborn and just won't lower his/her voice.. - It's great for accompanying female singers, the higher pitch. All the same if you buy a capo, go the whole way - don't buy an elastic band piece of crap, buy the trigger capo even if it is 20 euros or so. Oh, and don't loose it! Or chew on it...

[randomorwhat]

Or chew on it... 

Darn, I always do!

[evileye]

Yeah, i'm a sucker for anything rubber...

[randomorwhat]

Heh, it's plastic for me!

[evileye]

(Shane's ears prick up at the mention of a capo in 2nd position... )

[randomorwhat]

(Why am I not suprised? )