the capo - an absolutely marvellous device and I have used one pretty much since I started playing - wonderful allowing adjustment to playing root position chords whilst playing in different keys BUT what I don't get is those who use one on the first fret, surely a semitone difference in key is marginal for vocal performance and what's more the instrumentalists who use one? I guess we all notice a different 'percussive' quality to our playing when using one but I thought I would seek out the wisdom of the Fretboard - is it that we all really want zero fret guitars?
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It also means you can get a looser feel and a deeper tone if you tune the guitar down to Eb and then capo back to standard pitch.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Plus of course, everyone who's said that a semitone is not insignificant to a singer is bang on.
Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.
A semitone is rarely a deal-breaker as to whether our singer can actually hit the notes, but it can make the difference between her sounding good or great.
In truth the key signature of a piece dictates it's mood, hence the fact that, even though JS Bach said that D was the key of God, he composed in across all key signatures. I work in composition for screen and very often end up quoting the same theme and variations in different keys as required to alter the mood of the scene. A piece in Am, while sounding melancholy, takes on more pathos when simply moved to Gm. Sometimes I get a call to ask if I can change the mood, and a semitone is enough. As an aside, a common trick which mostly goes unnoticed, in major big budget action movies, is to tweak certain, typically, big hit songs, featured in the main soundtrack, up a semitone, which creates urgency and plays well with the the on screen excitement. Unless you're sitting there analysing it, you don't even realise that is has happened.
For many guitar players, it allows a shift of mood while allowing easier fingering. When I am working on a piece using guitar, sometimes the capo gets me there quicker, other times I go without and, say, work in a key light Eb or Bb and find interesting harmonies due to not being able to fall into the usual fingering patterns that we all fall into.
There is a whole world of study out there about the effect of key signature, its fascinating to realise that we respond differently to such subtle changes.
Me: "I wish someone had told me 20 years earlier"
partial capos can have a stunning effect on your writing
http://www.shubb.com/partial/index.htm
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I've always assumed partial capos would confuse me with the interval thing, but then I used to think that about open tunings as well, and I'm good with those now, so maybe worth a try
Anyway, if 5 string banjo players can deal with this kind of thing, so can guitarists
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein