The Capo
All natural (Primary) notes (A B C D E F G) are a whole step (2 frets) apart,
except between E-F and B-C which are a half step (1 fret) apart.
A sharp (#) is one fret higher than a natural (Primary) note, and a flat (b)
is one fret lower.
Below is a list of the "guitar keys".
These are the major keys that are most commonly played on the guitar. The
chords in the yellow cells are
the basic open position chords. Then notes in the blue cells would require
you to play a barre chord. When making a judgment as to which key shape to
transpose a song to, a lot of times you will choose the one that will note
make you play a barre chord. Or at least give you the fewest number of barre
chord.
The capo is sometimes called "the cheater" by
some people. Mainly because it lets you play in any key, but lets you just
play easier chord shapes.
Basically letting you avoid barre chords. This is partially true, but also
those open position chords have a unique sound, a sound that you could not
get using a barre chord form. So the capo is used to create a sound that you
could not get otherwise.
Legend
Here is the master transposition chart. It can be used for a couple of different
tasks.
1. You can use the chart to find what a particular chord shape would sound
like when you have the capo on different frets. For this you are using the
top green row to tell you what fret you should put the capo.
2. You can use the chart to transpose a song to a different key, usually into
on of the basic guitar keys (C G D A E). For doing this you are going to work
backwards. Find the chords sound that you are looking to get in one of the
capo fret columns, then see if it will produce a comfortable open position
chord shape in the far left column.
Changing keys using the original chord shapes
With the capo you can easily change the key of a song without re-learning
the chords in another key. This is a lot of times done to put a song in a more
comfortable range for the singer.
Here is an example. You have a song that has the chords G C D, but you need
those chords to sound like they are in the key of Bb. Find the G in the chord
shape column, then follow that row to the right until you find Bb. So you would
capo the guitar at the 3rd fret, and the G C and D chord shapes will sound
like a Bb, Eb, and F chord.
Keeping the same key, but changing the chord shapes
A lot of times you need to go the other way. You will have a song that is
in the key of Bb, but you need to change it to a comfortable guitar key (C
G D A E).
Here is an example. You have the chords Bb, Eb and F and you want to transpose
them into a comfortable guitar key but have the same chord sound as the original
chords.
1. Find a Bb in the capo 1st fret column.
2. Follow the row back to the far left column to see what chord shape you will
play get a Bb sound when capoed at the 1st fret. It is an A chord shape.
That is a good option for transposing your Bb chord.
3. Now check the other 2 chords in the capo 1st fret column and see if they
will produce a comfortable chord shape. The Eb chord sound with the capo at
the 1st fret is played with a D chord shape, and an F chord sound is played
with an E chord shape.
4. Capoing at the 1st fret is a good option for transposing these 3 chords.
5. You could then go through the same process for all of the other capo frets
to find some other possibilities. And in this case there are 3 more frets that
work. Though the possibility on the 8th fret and 10 fret are not very common
since they are so high up on the neck.
Here is the transposition chart with all of the possibilities for the Bb,
Eb and F chords. The yellow cells show when the desired chord sound can be
produced with a basic open position chord when the guitar is capoed at that
fret. The blue cells indicate when the chord sound can not be produced with
a basic chord shape. There are a couple of frets that you could get 1 or 2
easy chords, but not all 3.
Example
You have a song that has the chords G C D, but you need those chords to sound
like they are in the key of Bb. Find the G in the chord shape column, then
follow that row to the right until you find Bb. So you would capo the guitar
at the 3rd fret, and the G C and D chord shapes will sound like a Bb, Eb, and
F chord.
Before We Begin...
I want to try something with you guys. Instead of telling you what each part
of the tablature uses in each exercise below, I want you to try to figure it
out for yourself for only TODAY. I'll add the breakdown tomorrow for you. There
are some new elements being added here, but I think if you play the PTB file
provided, you'll be able to decipher some of it, if not all. Do NOT worry.
I'll add the breakdown information tomorrow for you. If you are completely
stumped - practice with this and wait until tomorrow.
Exercise 1:
You have a song that has the chords C G D, but you need those chords to sound
like they are in the key of Eb. Find the C in the chord shape column, then
follow that row to the right until you find Eb. So you would capo the guitar
at the 3rd fret, and the C G and D chord shapes will sound like a Eb, F, and
Bb chord. Notice that these have just interchanged from the example above.
Play this passage at 120 bpm.
Remember that ALL notes seen are counted from the capo as fret zero:
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Exercise 2:
You have a song that has the chords E A G, but you need those chords to sound
like they are in the key of F. Find the E in the chord shape column, then follow
that row to the right until you find F. So you would capo the guitar at the
1st fret, and the E A and G chord shapes will sound like a Bb, Eb, and F chord.
Play this passage at 85 bpm.
Remember that ALL notes seen are counted from the capo as fret zero:
Exercise 3:
You have a song that has the chords A G F, but you need those chords to sound
like they are in the key of Bb. Find the A in the chord shape column, then
follow that row to the right until you find Bb. So you would capo the guitar
at the 1st fret, and the A G and F chord shapes will sound like a Bb, Eb, and
F chord.
Play this passage at 56 bpm.
Remember that ALL notes seen are counted from the capo as fret zero:
