First rule of capo club is..

[HomespunEffects]

You may think so. Fine. Pretty much anything he said was free from any realworld experience, though.

I’m just wondering why you took such great offense. It’s not that big of a deal that some people don’t find a capo necessary.

 

[HomespunEffects]

I don't use capos frequently.

I don't wanna see people debate over silly questions which I asked.

Hugs for everyone.

Haha, I was just kidding but i really don’t like hugs in person.

 

[newpedals]

Haha, I was just kidding but i really don’t like hugs in person.

I had a slight germophobia while I was in my teens. So I can relate to it.

Took a therapist for me to overcome my habit of frequent hand-washing.

 

[Sascha Franck]

I’m just wondering why you took such great offense. It’s not that big of a deal that some people don’t find a capo necessary.

I'm not taking offense at all (sorry in case it came across like that), but as one of the topics (or a very related one) was "are you a bad guitar player when you use capos?", I found it quite adventurous to come up with whatever statements saying things along the lines of "there's always ways around a capo" - when there clearly are situations when that is completely untrue. I posted some examples that could never be played without a capo and I added some reallife experience of situations when there's absolutely no way to get around without using one.

And all the time Mr. @maguchi (whom I defenitely have no axe to grind with at all, in fact, I pretty much respect him) came around with "solutions" that simply are no solutions for either situation. Add to this that I even said I usually don't like using capos myself most of the time, either (heck, I am possibly the most standard tuning guy there is, I hardly ever use any drop tunings and all my guitars are tuned in standard E).
Yet, I can very clearly see how you can be forced into using a capo, especially in case there's paid gigs requiring you to play things how they are written or how the originals sound. Heck, not even the infamous "Wonderwall" can too easily be played without a capo (yeah, I know, I know, it's possible, but it's just sooo much easier to simply slap a capo into the 2nd fret).

And it's not getting any better once there's an actual MD in, say, a musical theatre environment.
"Hey, Mr. Axeman, that's not what's written in the score!"
"Yeah, I know, but I just don't feel like using a capo, so I came up with these alternatives which IMO work just as great!"
Said noone ever. Well, maybe someone did, but rest assured it likely was his last day on that particular gig. You either play what's in the score or have damn good reasons not to (such as things being literally unplayable, which happens quite sometimes when the guitar voice was written by non-guitar-players).

So, as said, no idea whether I came across arrogant, offended, wound up or anything, but all I tried was setting some things straight, based on my very own experiences.

 

[la szum]

Thank you. Very well put.

My Grandpa used to tell me, "Even a broken clock is right 2 times a day."

I look forward to those 2 times pretty much every day.

 

[nicolasrivera]

Never ever add lube to your capo, ever.

 

[Aelred]

I don't use capos frequently.

I don't wanna see people debate over silly questions which I asked.

Hugs for everyone.

You posted something on the Internet. Flamewar is inevitable, however unprovoked.

The thread title was a nice joke on the movie "Fight Club". Guess what? Fight!!! Line-by-line irrelevant dissection without regard to context or intent!

Gotta love the Net, and its denizens. I can get pretty peculiar about some issues too, sometimes.

 

[la szum]

It's true.

 

[newpedals]

You posted something on the Internet. Flamewar is inevitable, however unprovoked.

The thread title was a nice joke on the movie "Fight Club". Guess what? Fight!!! Line-by-line irrelevant dissection without regard to context or intent!

Gotta love the Net, and its denizens. I can get pretty peculiar about some issues too, sometimes.

It's one of my brother's favourite movies. I didn't watch it completely because of rumors of pictures of something in there. Just like they wanna keep the existence of the club in the movie a secret, I thought of the "capo club".

 

[LeftyLoungeLizard]

Have y'all considered an amp capo?

 

[TSJMajesty]

Have y'all considered an amp capo?

"It was an obstruction to me 'and..."

 

[maguchi]

Maybe that's one of the reasons why music is my profession but not yours.

A forum like this is not a place for a person to present their credentials to try to reinforce their side in a debate.

You very, very clearly have never played, say, a musical. You get a sheet of notes and play them.

Yes, I agree, you are correct. You are given a score and you need to play them as written. I have never seen or been given music that has a requirement that a capo is to be used, must be used or can be used. Not even the shows that I've played in musical theater. Usually chords are written out like this (the pencil marks were added by me), I have seen chord symbols sometimes too.

You would be laughed at. At best.

Maybe by someone with a callous sense of humor.

This would need no muted open string (which makes the chord kind "unstrummable") if you played it like that:

Not really, I mute the string above the fretted note with the tip of my fretting finger.

Similar things go for the next chord:

Not only isn't that an Eadd4 by any means (most importantly there's no major third and there's also a F#, hence a 9th), but due to the pretty low A note, it likely won't sound like an E chord as well but again like an A chord. And again, in fact this is a very popular voicing for an Asus4 chord (with an additional 6th), often written as D/A (because that's what it actually is).

Don't forget you asked for a D add 9 chord to be played before the E add 4 chord. You cropped my picture and removed the diagram of the E add 4 that came after the D add 9. Here it is again, I added chord symbols above the diagrams for clarity.

It would however in either case very likey be perceived as a sort of open sounding Amaj9 (or Amaj7sus2, if you will). The open A string would likely be below the low interval limit and rather make it sound like an A chord with the 5th in the bass. In fact, this is a very typical voicing for an Amaj9 chord.

OK, you don't like the A down that low, You can play it this way. A little bit of a stretch, but I got it pretty good after a couple of tries on both a Tele and a dreadnought and my hands are not big, I wear medium size gloves.

And all the time Mr. @maguchi (whom I defenitely have no axe to grind with at all, in fact, I pretty much respect him)...

You could have fooled me.

 

[Sascha Franck]

You are given a score and you need to play them as written. I have never seen or been given music that has a requirement that a capo is to be used, must be used or can be used.

I have been. Quite sometimes in fact.

You can play it this way.

Of course. Doesn't sound like in my example at all, though.

Really, you're missing the point with all your examples. Not a single one works as well as the voicings I posted in a certain context (which is what capos are pretty much all about).
In fact, IMO any Xadd4 chord only ever works well under very specific conditions (as the add4 is pretty much *the* avoid note on a major chord), hence voicings. Coming up with any random Eadd4 voicings isn't solving this. And, most of all, it's not exactly proving that you never need a capo. Because sometimes you just do, in case you want to play a certain voicing. That's all I said right at the start of this unholy debate, nothing less, nothing more.

 

[metropolis_4]

Yes, I agree, you are correct. You are given a score and you need to play them as written. I have never seen or been given music that has a requirement that a capo is to be used, must be used or can be used. Not even the shows that I've played in musical theater. Usually chords are written out like this (the pencil marks were added by me), I have seen chord symbols sometimes too.
View attachment 39603

I’ve come across some music theater scores that call for a capo, but it’s always a mixed bag depending on who wrote the arrangement.

The worst is when you get a piece of music that specifies to use a capo and then the notes written are relative to the capo position

 

[James Freeman]

First rule of capo club is..

to not use it.

I could play bar chords in my first year of playing when I was 13.


...unless you're a "cowboy".

 

[metropolis_4]

to not use it.

I could play bar chords in my first year of playing when I was 13.


...unless you're a "cowboy".

 

[HomespunEffects]

... and then the notes written are relative to the capo position

Is this in A or C#?

Yes.

Thanks.

 

[Eagle]

I use a capo to hold the strings in place on an acoustic neck while taking the bridge saddle out to reshape it. I also use a shubb as a string damper sometimes because it can be set very lightly and works way better than a fret wrap in the studio.

 

[HomespunEffects]

I was thinking about this last night during a bout with insomnia. The argument in this thread very accurately shows the disconnect between classical and jazz musicians. Neither is wrong but if you make a Venn diagram, there is a lot that is distinct between the two camps. There’s a distinction between how they feel a rhythm. There’s a huge distinction where one has a set performance and the other is encouraged to take latitude with a basic chart.

Classical guys consider jazz guys undisciplined, which is untrue. Jazz guys find playing classical uninspired, which is untrue. Classical guys can’t fathom going off chart and Jazz guys find that mind-numbingly dull.

 

[FuzzyAce]

to not use it.

I could play bar chords in my first year of playing when I was 13.


...unless you're a "cowboy".