If what comes out of your guitar sounds good, I don't care if you're "cheating". Effects boards and pedals, capos, whammy bars, 8 strings, etc... bring it on! People who complain about this probably aren't very proficient on their instrument.
Is using a capo seen as cheating? How can that even be a question? I quote the late, great Levon Helm: "You can do anything to music. Music doesn't care!"
The entire concept makes me so angry. I grew up as an experimental guitarist, surrounded by unimaginative metal heads. They loved my playing and the sounds I was getting, but they had to lash out instead of embracing the art. It's a prevalent attitude, held by many idiots. I mean.... isn't turning an amp up loud "cheating"? Having low action? Using a whammy bar. Shit. I once was accused of cheating for doing volume swells with my volume knob. Music isn't a sport.
Its nonsense. Whoever would say that using a capo is "cheating" would have only motivation: bullying. I don't know why Chris has responded and made this video,
Love the line at the end “who cares, it’s only rock n roll” well said. Seriously, any one accusing you of being lazy is just jealous in my humble opinion.
@@rowdy3837 Rowdy, Barry didn’t write that about Chris, I did, Lisa, I know a lot about Guitarist, I thought you might be a Musician because of what you said, he is Extremely Talented and I love his Tones, I love hearing him play, actually I know a lot about Music and the Music Business. Do you play in a Band or Professionally? Lisa Einsohn
Rowdy I am not trying to argue with you, Chris is, not like Andy Timmons Who Completely Blows you Away, he is young and he is a amazing player, it nice to see someone like Chris Buck to come into the Music World for all the younger people, and for us to see him progress.🎸🎸🎸🎸 Lisa Einsohn
I’m an old jazzer that never owned a capo for years. Not because I scoffed at them but never saw a need. Somehow I ended up with one several years back and discovered their creative boost. Anything that one can use easily to expand their musical output is well worth it. Take Nashville tuning for example. Very little to learn physically but a whole new tonal spectrum to dabble in. Great vid as usual, thanks!
I'm with you on that one . the art of it , there are endless possibilities for playing a song . this player played the same song in different ways . I like that , I feel so not alone . I am not a resital guy .
The correct opening should have been, I'm an old jazzer who never owned etc. When you are determining whether you should use who or that, keep these simple guidelines in mind: Who is always used to refer to people, and you are a person. That is always used when you are talking about an object, you are not an object, like I wrote, you're a person. That can also be used when you are talking about a class or type of person, such as a team. Sorry Bubba but the use of that instead of who is my current pet hate as I believe it is the influence of computers on our language that has led to this error.
@@Zacharia503 it would make sense to ask for clarification of meaning if a post was ambiguous. But this one wasn't made ambiguous by the grammatical error
"Open Strings" is a great reason to use a capo. You can play in different keys and the ringing open strings to make the song sound bigger. You can also use "cowboy" chord shapes to play chords that include open strings with a capo that wouldn't have any otherwise. Stop worrying about how somebody plays something, it doesn't matter. Did it sound good? Yes. Then it is good.
@@kennethkeen1234 Not sure, but... There are spammers putting in comments designed to scam users. They get blocked by RU-vid. At least that is my best guess.
I played with a bassist once who called it "cheating" where a bass note was _part_ of a guitar or keyboard chord--as in say F9/G. Never thought anyone could be that blockheaded musically.
I broke my left arm 2x when I was 4 years old and it never healed right, so I can't barre chords very well. At 56 years old, I couldn't care less what what someone might think if they saw me use one.
It literally doesn’t even matter what guitar you play. You ALWAYS sound the same. I’ve never known a player capable of this!😮💨 forever in awe of your playing!
Hey Chris, I find absolutely nothing about your playing lazy. Your right hand technique is almost as much a joy to watch as it is to listen to. We all use the tools we have at our disposal to achieve the tones, phrasing, harmony, chord voicings, etc...we are looking for. The CAPO is just one such tool. Keep up the awesome Friday Fretworks, I look forward each week.
None of the Nashville session players think it is! Nothing will give that jangling sound of open strings than a capo. The perfect way to have an additional overdub jump out of the mix with the additional harmonics created with open strings! Brilliant video as usual, Chris. Thank you
Since when does a capo change the sound of a string at all? They don't. It's no different than fingering the same notes. "Jangling" is more in chord choice (Majors and 7ths), strumming style, and tonality of an instrument. 12 string guitars are often called jangly because of the extra higher pitched strings. Open strings sound pure notes, they do not "Create harmonics", and harmony and harmonics are not one and the same thing either. Harmony is when two notes sound good and pleasant together, a harmonic is when you divide a wave (the vibrating string) into equal divisions of it's root note over it's effective length between two breaking points (fret and saddle) to break it into shorter segments that ring higher (Never lower) note than it's root. You have to force harmonics, the instrument does not make them naturally. What a capo can do is give you different open (unfingered) notes to what you would get without one. It behaves exactly like open strings, which behave just like fingered strings, it just holds some strings down for you, and allows for different note combinations that may be hard or impossible to play without one, or without an extra hand 😅. Tuning your guitar a half note sharp on all strings, is equal to just putting a capo over the strings between the nut and first fret.
@@Bob-of-Zoid Not quite. There is a difference in the nut material and the frets, which results in a slight change in tone. High end basses have a 0th fret for exactly that reason, it makes the open string sound more in line with fretted notes. Record something which includes open strings and then tune down a half step and capo the first fret, then compare the results. I think the capo version sounds better.
@@simongunkel7457 You are wrong! It does jack to the tone in any noticeable quantity! Not all High end basses do, and many guitars and other stringed instruments do too. The zero fret preceded the nut bu over a century, and was invented to get around the fact that a zero fret is the only one with constant pressure on it and wears way faster than any other fret. A nut can be made and installed faster, and at lower cost than a fret replaced and leveled. It's a workaround for a problem. I can although easily see a manufacturer selling that snake oil, and everyone who blew an extra $800 on an instrument that needs the zero fret replaced every few years, repeating such claims, and you taking it on blind faith. Snake oil is still Gibsons No. 1 selling point after all. I am making a bass right now that may sell for over $10,000 and if in auction who knows, possibly as much as $25K. I use 360 brass (not that "Bell brass" crap) or Stainless steel for nuts, not because of their tone, but for longevity. 360 brass is as tough as SS, and has the added advantage of being self lubricating. I'm not going to write a scientific paper for you to understand the laws of mechanical energy and wave propagation through materials based on their properties, nor can I know if you could even understand all involved, especially the quantities and math, but since you made the claim, how about you explain to me how that works! Remember when Stainless steel frets started getting popular in the late 90's? I was using it in 84 already. Lots of players, gong merely on a basic misunderstanding of science claimed it made the tone harsh and what not. That went away real quick when they were exposed as fools and their friends never had to pay for a fret job! Now you don't hear that very often anymore, and why? Because it was nonsense right from the start. Next you are going to tell me that "Tonewood" is a thing, and that nitrocellulose sounds better than polyurethane! 🤣
@@Bob-of-Zoid I'm not going to start peddling nonsense, but I have checked the difference between an open string and downtuning by a half step and capoing the first and there is a measurable difference in the decay of the higher partials starting with the 2nd harmonic, with the capo keeping the harmonics at a higher level relative to the fundamental for longer. You are probably right that this isn't down to the material, I hadn't given it much thought and I'm more inclined to think it's a matter of how a saddle contrains string motion compared to a fret, with the saddle keeping a fixed point, which a fret allows for the string to move laterally. I am willing to dust of my differential equations knowledge to figure out the precise reason for this beaviour, but it's there and repeatable. Note that I'm not advocating for buying some particular instrument, I'm advocating putting a capo on whatever instrument somebody owns. That's about as far away from "you need expensive gear to sound good" as it gets (even cheaper than "regularly change your strings").
Anyone who says it's cheating has never shown up to a jam and found a vocalist who specifies an odd key for a song you already know. Are you going to re-learn the song in a different key on the spot? For some songs, that's not so easy. Instead you use a tool-the capo-to instantly switch to their key. Song is in E with a lot of open chord shapes but they want it in F#? You're instantly ready to go. So, even without the creative advantages, it can save you a lot of work, like most tools are designed to do.
There seems to be this idea among some of the guitar community that guitar playing has to be difficult... Using a capo can make it easier to play some tunes. Especially in a live setting, the instrument being easier to play reduces the likelihood of mistakes, resulting in a better performance. This even more so when singing too, as Chris says! Stop making guitar harder to play for yourselves guys!
It's never the secret to a great sound! There is no great secret, only a crap load of bad misinformation on what does and doesn't do what to the sound, and "Tonewood" is utter bullshit! I'm sure Chris can make a clothes line contraption sound great!
Oumura Shin aka Machiya of Wagakki Band has several signature Sago Guitar models that has 29 frets (839mm/33" scale length) and they're tuned in Standard B. For Standard E, he would capo on the 5th fret, Eb on 4th fret and so on. The concept behind those guitars were being able to access the high E like on a typical 24 frets guitar but still able to get a low B, without having to resort to a 7 string guitar and being able to change tuning during a set, not having to swap to another guitar.
Thanks for taking on this topic. You've definitely helped assuage my guilt for being heavily reliant on capos when playing acoustic. And you've turned me on to a great musician whose music I will go investigate immediately. Love these Friday Fretworks episodes. And you're playing, of course!
That early solo - whoa! And dude, record a folk album! I can imagine the stellar list of artists who would queue up to join in. John Martyn didn't play "pretty," he played soulfully, dipping into wells far below the common language of myriads of musicians who at best merely skimmed the surface of troubled waters.
40 Years ago an amateur musician friend of mine (I'm not a musician) referred to it as a cap-o and I always thought that was the proper pronunciation. Then it seemed everyone pronounced it kay-po. Nice to see someone agree with my now dead friend.
The playing, touch an sensibility are always there. But the more I watch the more the more I realize how cool your approach is. Simple, easy, it goes really from the heart! Love it
I wrote a song where I use a capo to let the open strings ring out while I move around a shell voicing high up on the neck. The song sounds so empty without those ringing extended harmonies. It just goes to show you that if a mob of guys online are yelling about something on twitter, they're usually wrong.
From Jethro Tull, one of my favorite examples for capo use is Ian Anderson’s guitar in “Live is a Long Song” where a highly placed capo gives a real folk instrument quality lying somewhere between a guitar and mandolin.
Whoever has a problem with capos is missing out on an extremely versatile tool. I primary play on acoustic, but they are amazing on electric guitars too, not to mention on ukes, basses, banjos, mandolins, etc. You just have to know how to use it with throwing the guitar out of tune. It's best to have one that lets you adjust the tension. I love those low profile one with the little tension adjuster from D'addario. They make various sizes for different stringed instruments. On electric, you can't tighten the capo as much as you would on an acoustic or else you'll end up sharp. I use it as a creative tool, but so what if some folks use it as a perceived crutch? If they're making music, who cares how they do it? 🤔☺️
I would like to see more acoustic playing on this channel. You're style of play lends itself quite well to acoustic guitar. My all time favorite player, Rory Gallagher, played an acoustic guitar beautifully as well.
The 'caged system' was something I learned as an acoustic player so I knew where to put the capo. It's about retaining a sound of open chords...NOT CHEATING
Great to see you using the Acoustasonic... I bought the Tele model; so versatile! I've used a capo for 45 years; it simply allows for more interesting chord voicings.
There are so many guitar players that obsess over technical difficulty while seemingly oblivious to the fact that most of what they are playing is soulless drivel. Why would anyone care if someone was using a capo? And why would you go out of their way to make something more difficult? If the song is good then who cares? Difficult does not equal better. A lot of the best songwriters of all time were pretty mediocre/poor guitar players. Alternatively, there are loads of technically amazing guitar players who haven't written anything of any merit or musical value.
Biggest reason I use a capo is access to open strings in different keys and at higher pitches. Also in open tunings it gives you a different unfretted nut chord, a chord which sounds very different to what it does if barred and furthermore is instantly accessible wherever you hand happens to be up the neck. Take Tumbling Dice which is in open G capo on 4 giving Kieth that big B chord for example. There is no way on earth that driving B chord would sound the same trying to barre the fourth fret on that tune and furthermore it would be impossible to get the first verse change (which drops instantly from the F# on 11 back to the open B twice in quick succession at one point) and more importantly the famous chorus riff to sound anything like as good without the capo on 4. Basic principle: if it sounds better it is better, "cheating" be damned.
I never used one since you are deprived of the lower tones, below the capo, but it certainly is a legitimate means to an end which is creating something beautiful to the listener.
In standard tuning I use one on a couple of songs to assist in my changing voice range as I age. Mostly I use one on my 5 string open G Tele. I use it mostly to get an open A or open B tuning. It's not cheating. It changes the sound.
I'll probably post this video in all the Facebook groups I'm in when the capo snobs start posting derogatory comments. Man, if there's nothing I hate more, it's a condescending snob to some newbie, who is wanting to play a song in a different key and uses a capo. You proved so clearly the difference in the clarity and tone using a capo with open chord voicings. Thanks!
Great video as always. I'm a singer songwriter, and I play some solo acoustic gigs. I've discovered over the years that I can use a capo to change the mood of a song. Open when I want to sing in maybe a more mellow way, capo up a couple of frets to get higher and more intense on the same song. The other way works too...finger picking a couple of frets up for feeling, versus pounding the heck out of open strings to get the crowd worked up a bit. It's just another tool in the tool box!
The most important thing when using a capo is that your instrument is having now another scale length (shorter by all means). See Fender vs Gibson and the difference is not that big compared to capo-ing one or more frets. The 12th fret on a capo-ed neck translates to position 13, 14, 15 and so on, hence the harmonics of the strings change and the sustain drops as well.
A capo is a great way to get yourself out of a creative rut. I find many "fans" of music who are drawn to songs both in alternative tunnings and those that use a capo. These songs sound "amazingly different" or "fresh" to the ear of the listener. Virtually every successful mega star band uses a capo whenever they want to.
From an old old player... mountainous praise Chris for thorough address of capo wisdom! I know the chords, but my job is to free the voice of the guitar my Dad gave me when I was just a Pup of 9 years, and my gosh... play to the song!!! Tied up in Blue!
There was a guitar player named Albert Collins. And a song named Here Comes the Sun. First found out about a capo a long time ago. Kept trying to figure out how Don't Think Twice by Bob Dylan was played. A mystery for a long time until I learned about the capo. Then on to Alice's Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie.
Hey Chris, I am a fan, love your playing AND no, using a capo is NOT lazy! It is a way of quickly getting to some different tunings and sounds and the people who complain about a capo, honestly, need to get a life! Take care Chris! Happy Holidays!
Chris, You totally nailed the explanation as to the legitimacy of the capo. As a second guitarist, cutting through the mix is also an indispensable need to own one. It is certainly not cheating.
As an acoustic singer/songwriter type the capo maximizes my vocal range to the actual guitar part. I didn't use one for the first 20 years but looking back I also didn't sound as good as I should have mostly due to ego.
Glad you named a lot of the artist who use the capo. There are levels to every endeavor you are an awesome guitarist/artist i suspect most of the people complaining barely play or don't at all. Love the content.
John Martyn is one of my all time favorites. Saw him perform twice and met him after one of his shows. He played solo and had amazing sounds. A loop expert. There is a documentary about John Martyn, that might be available on RU-vid.
Keef is on a mission. He "working" on how to reduce the demands on his right hand as well. Less strumming being his preferred option. This is all good as it allows him to focus harder on trying to remember what song he is playing.
There is no cheating. It’s just music. People use boxes and buckets as drums or mics as bass drums. I’ve played a long time and only now am I using a capo and never in my life did I realize how much it’s added to my playing. Nice clip to get folks talking. I say do whatever just make music! ❤
Great to see you highlight that great old “Eric Clapton song” with such nice fingerstyle. Really shows your versatility. I think you should do more folksy, acoustic type stuff. Zeppelin showed a great rock/blues band can also do excellent acoustic stuff.
I love using a capo! It just changes the sound of the guitar, nevermind that it allows key changes. I think it was listening to Jethro Tull (or specifically, Ian Anderson) in the early 70s that made me realise what a beautiful difference it made. Plus, learning to play with a cheap acoustic guitar that had an insufficiently cut nut meant using a capo to lower the action to fret level made a huge difference to me being able to play. I would have probably given up in the first few months without it.
This lead is gorgeous, he does Blow me away, he is an Extremely Talented Artist, using a Capo doesn’t mean you are cheating it helps with Vocal range, I Love Listening To You Have Play. 💜💜💜💙💙💙❤️🎄Lisa Einsohn
I'm not a big capo user, but as i look around while watching this I can see 4 of them in my line of sight. Like many other things, it's a tool in the (usually metaphorical) tool box - and yes, I keep a spare one (number 5) in mine just in case.
Copperhead Road by Steve Earle was the first song that converted me to using a capo - only over the five strings leaving the bottom E open. Lovely stuff!!
Using a capo is just as valid as tuning your guitar down. The only thing that sets it apart is that tuning lower has different reputation in the guitar world. Also, love that squire Jazzmaster I want one now.
Chris, as usual you treat us to some mighty fine picking. i guess we will not know the limits to you taste and talents until you pick up a guitar with nylon strings and blow us away with some laid back jazz. Cheers
(For acoustic guitars) a capo can strangle the tone and volume of your guitar. Many use a capo to change the key of the song to suit their voice. However it’s more advantageous (in the long run) to simply learn the song in a suitable key. I used a capo a lot when I was just learning the guitar and it was easy and convenient. However after leaving it in my gig bag and forcing myself to learn songs in a couple of different keys, I found that it helped my guitar playing immensely. I’m certainly not against the use of a capo but it can lead to laziness!
Got to see John Martyn in Toronto warming up Yes's "...Topographic Oceans" tour in early '74. The Yes stage set-up was as insane as it was beautiful. Stunning, but all I could reminisce with was John Martyn's "Solid Air" and his wizardry with his instrument and spectacular mastery of effects, and arena crowds. Seriously changed how I looked at the guitar. Yes was pretty good too.
The instrument scale can be converted instantly, allowing for different open strings and note combinations that can push the player toward new possibilities. Takes some thinking.
One *could* say that using reverb to simulate what occurs when an open string is allowed to ring is "cheating". And if a guitar had built in addressable fret markers (e.g., a neck like the Fretlight guitars), such that moving a capo up 3 frets also moved fret indicators up 3 frets as well, then I'd say that more closely approximates "cheating". But wishing to play something in a higher register, and use the sonic and emotional benefits of open strings is not cheating in the least, any more than a singer asking the band to play in a higher or lower key to bring out the best in their voice could be considered "cheating".
Capos allow playing without over use of barre chords. It all depends on the musical needs. Barring a chord gives you two limitations. Firstly, it means a 'chopping' sound silencing the guitar every time you move the barring finger to another fret (although for rhythm you may want this) and secondly, limiting scale runs to your middle, ring and little finger or losing bass notes if you solo further up because the open strings are in the wrong key.
Half of the songs Lindsay Buckingham used a capo on have him way up and away from the capo'd fret. But even if he did stick to chords he could feasibly bar, there's usually a swing to barred chords since people don't continuously have consistent pressure. That sounds well and good because it makes it sound like it'll have more feel, but a lot of music with open strings relies on those tones being rock steady to maintain it's timbre. Songs intended to be somber can suffer a lot when they lose that anchor
Chris, you have to check out this all female guitar band from the UK. They write all their own material and bring back an energy and ambiance that only true roots guitar bands can do. The lead singer also is seen playing a double cut Special with P90's. If you listen to “Daydreaming” you will hear what I mean, the band are called ⭐ “The Big Moon” ⭐Maybe you know of them already. Greetings from Scotland. Roddy. 🙂
Hey if it works its works! its the music that counts! I have seen many great musicians use them and who the hell is anyone to question what the musician is doing to get that music out there? apart from lip sync , and auto tune, or just pretending to play thats where the issue is. and that would be an issue to anyone who wants to and has paid to see live music. Keep doing what you do Chris its awesome mate.
Capos help to give a lovely clean sound as it takes away the over vibration of the open strings when chording. A lot of recorded rhythm guitars have used capos. Had you laugh at the picture of Boris!
Never understood the argument that it’s cheating because If a capo is cheating then by that logic so is tuning to E flat (like Hendrix or SRV) which is essentially like using but in the reverse direction. More so, playing a capo is not entirely just about playing in key, often the actual tone sounds better (than playing in key without a capo) because of some notes simulating open strings rather than fretted notes
Thanks Chris. I appreciate you addressing the topic. Let’s play the song and the best tonality inversions . None of us have arrived!!! Guitar snobbery should be avoided !!
I worked with a dyed-in-the-wool jazzer who when he saw my Tele with a capo on it, gave me the usual muso schtick. When I told him the guitar was in open tuning, he wasn't impressed. Then I got my bottleneck out and he relented. Why? because that's an "old blues" thing and he felt constrained to respect that. But it's simple: if you use open strings as part of your playing, a capo helps you play in any key you want to. Yes, it's also used by strummers who don't want to learn barre chords but again, why not? If they're happy with their playing method as it is, why bother to learn more than they need to. A lot of singers and songwriters have their chosen instrument as very much their "third-string" skill. You learn what you think you need to, easy as that.
