A capo acts as a movable nut, clamping over frets to produce different pitches in open strings and thus enable chord shapes that you are familiar with to be played up the neck.
Capo charts allow for fast key switching. Each tab on the chart lists both the original chord shape and what it becomes when placed at a different fret.
Open Position Chords
Open chords provide an ideal starting point for learning guitar. Their simple nature and wide application makes them a good way to ease into learning the fretboard and build muscle strength quickly and easily.
Be sure to practice these chords slowly and with proper technique. Your fingers should remain relaxed, with your wrist curving naturally while playing – this will prevent strained muscles, while building finger strength and stamina. Also make sure that string muting is practiced – your index finger should rest lightly against one string, not directly touching or too far from it, to stop other strings from ringing and prevent unwanted sounds from your guitar.
Try playing around with various positions for the capo to alter the sound of your chords and find what works best with your song. Try placing it at different frets until you find one that fits well.
Major Scales
The major scale is a set of notes used to define the key of a song. It comprises whole steps and half steps, with whole steps consisting of two half-steps in sequence – this formula repeats for all 12 notes contained within its scope.
As you move up the fretboard with the capo in different positions, observe how each spot connects via an identical pattern of intervals. For instance, fret 2 allows for open chords in G major; fret 4 shifts those chords over to C major for playback.
This means that once you’ve learned basic open chords, they can be played at any position on the fretboard. Give it a try – this will teach you how to use the capo as a transposing tool and help determine which of your open chord shapes sound best with each capo location.
Minor Scales
Minor scales share similar structures as major ones; however, their seventh notes differ by one full step lower. If you want to use a capo on the fifth fret and play in minor key with capo, more complex chord shapes like G barre chords may be required (see example below).
Capoing can not only change the key of a song, but it can also alter its chords’ sound. To make sense of how this works, look at the first column of a capo chart; its far left column displays what open position chords would sound like for that key if playing without capoing; for instance putting one on fret 2 will convert your C chord to D chord allowing you to experiment and find unique combinations that give songs certain flair.
Chromatic Scales
Chromatic scales make use of all twelve musical notes found within an octave and don’t follow a predetermined pattern, like Major or Minor scales do. They feature every note possible within that range of notes – giving it its unique character.
Each note in a chromatic scale is separated by semitone intervals (half steps); one half step is equivalent to two frets on a guitar.
The chromatic scale allows sharps and flats to be used instead of regular diatonic notes, creating accidentals which can alter the key signature of music pieces.
When writing in the chromatic scale, it’s crucial that composers remain consistent in spelling the initial and terminal notes in their scale. For instance, starting on Eb and ending with D# should be written as Eb-D# rather than Eb-D – utilizing correct spelling will save time and help avoid silly mistakes that lead to dropped marks! Choosing correct spelling saves both time and marks!