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#41
We'll do an I hate capos club.
A guitar player I didn't play with for long used to capo all over, and, like the above story, the changing went flawlessly in rehearsal, but at gigs he'd leave us out to dry. So me, keys, horn, and fiddle all spontaneously come in totally confident and in sync after his intros for a whole first set, the backup vocals were even right on the money. Now he's the one looking around confused. After the show he goes, dude I should just ditch the capo I felt like an idiot up there in the wrong key!
 
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#43
friendlybass said:
We'll do an I hate capos club.
A guitar player I didn't play with for long used to capo all over, and, like the above story, the changing went flawlessly in rehearsal, but at gigs he'd leave us out to dry. So me, keys, horn, and fiddle all spontaneously come in totally confident and in sync after his intros for a whole first set, the backup vocals were even right on the money. Now he's the one looking around confused. After the show he goes, dude I should just ditch the capo I felt like an idiot up there in the wrong key!
Click to expand...
"Drop the training wheels, junior, you're in the big league now."
 
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#44
DWBass said:
Not professional to change keys and not inform the band. Amateur move.
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What do mean amateur? it is wrong for every level.

I am for adapting to a song, but when a person changes a key in a difficult way for everyone else (guitarist using a capo is easy), at the important moment, that is just a f@ckup due to arrogance.

I'd do this.

 
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#46
Yep, I've also experienced the mis-placed capo trainwreck. We were doing Eric Church's Smoke a Little Smoke and the singer was a half-step off. The entire song sounded like this weird, dissonant dirge with all of us thinking our instruments had fallen out of tune somehow. We laughed about it and moved on to have a good rest of the gig.
 
#48
tekhedd said:
This happened to a band I play with in a competition setting (20 minute timed set). The guitarist and I both tuned usign the same clip-on tuner to make *absolutely* sure we were tuned the same. He did the intro, I came in, and then the keys. Keyboard was WAY out of tune. Which is impossible. After the set, we figured out that the tuner was set to A=443 or so. We did not score very well.
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Was it the gray Samson Tuner? Bought 1 for my guitarist as well as myself, he couldn't thought it without knocking it to A444
 
#49
I had this happen n church once.
We even rehearsed before the service--and the key didn't change--but when we played it during the service--all of a sudden the guitar player out on a capo-
Fortunately I was able to see him and figure out what fret he had it on--and play my part a few frets higher.
 
#51
jamro217 said:
I guess it's cheaper to spend a couple of bucks on a capo that (when incorrectly installed) will cost you a gig than it is to get a back up guitar already setup and tuned (with or without capo) and keep gigging.
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Good point. A capo, when used correctly, is not really a crutch. Experienced and skilled guitar players and singer/songwriters use them tastefully and appropriately to get voicings that would be nearly impossible or extremely difficult without one. Joni Mitchell used to use several different tunings and capos all over the neck to get her atmospheric soundscapes.

But they do have to remember what position it goes when playing in a combo. ;)
 
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#52
electracoyote said:
Good point. A capo, when used correctly, is not really a crutch. Experienced and skilled guitar players and singer/songwriters use them tastefully and appropriately to get voicings that would be nearly impossible or extremely difficult without one. Joni Mitchell used to use several different tunings and capos all over the neck to get her atmospheric soundscapes.

But they do have to remember what position it goes when playing in a combo. ;)
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When used properly capos can be good, I agree, and they come in handy when everybody other than the guitar player knows a song in one key and the guitar player in another.
Or when you want to get some different chord voicings, or with open tunings. etc.

Unfortunately, most guitar players I know use them as a crutch--at least most admit it.

And for some transparency here--I have primarily played guitar over the years (Although the last couple of years I've been playing more & more bass, so the gap between guitar & bass playing time is shrinking)--and I have only used a capo twice (Due to keys I know songs in & too many chord changes to make transposing in my head on the fly too confusing) And I hated it both times.
If I can transpose it in my head I will do that (& have).

If I ever did get one it would be for slide playing in open tuning--you can change keys without one--but the open string sound will change--so it's nto essential for what I'm dong.

If you are a guitar player who uses them well--hey--keep dong it--it sounds cool.
 
#53
zontar said:
If you are a guitar player who uses them well--hey--keep doing it--it sounds cool.
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38 years of guitar experience here too; in fact, I'm currently fronting a band on vox, guitar, keys, and harp. I assure you when I use a capo, it's not a crutch. I use a capo maybe two or three times over a 4-set performance (cover band), but I know some incredibly skilled players who use them much more.

Some very popular songs can't be played faithfully any other way without extreme difficulty ("Here Comes The Sun"--Beatles). And sometimes you really want open strings instead of moveable shapes and barring everything, as in songs that are in sharp or flat keys. It just depends on the song and the feel you're trying to elicit.

They shouldn't be used as a substitute for a healthy chord vocabulary, but they are a really useful tool when used creatively.
 
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#55
zontar said:
This is where they can really be helpful with open tunings.
So I may investigate that one day.
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Open tunings would surely benefit from a capo for key changes.

But I was referring to "open strings" in standard tuning. For example, play a standard first-position G chord, there are open strings. But what if you're playing in Ab and you want the same open string effect you get with G? You can only achieve Ab (in standard tuning) by using a moveable shape or barre chord, and that eliminates the open strings. Solution: Capo 1, play a standard first-position G chord. Viola. You get the same open string feel of the G chord but you're playing Ab. Not a cheat, not a crutch, it's more a tone/voicing choice. I can play moveable shapes all over the fingerboard, every chord know to man. Sometimes, for voicing purposes, I choose a capo and open-noted chords instead.
 
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#57
I love in Family Guy when they discover Peter is a genius pianist when he's drunk. He's playing solo at a concert and everything sounds horribly wrong, his wife pushes his stool up an inch or two and suddenly he's in key and sounding great!
 

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