They say music is good to the soul. Good music is not only necessary for the audience but to you as an individual too. Therefore, you should always get the best you can to ensure that you make your music as enjoyable as possible. To make this possible, you must employ the use of different techniques like using a capo as well as different musical instruments.
Capos have been used by guitarists over the years to make your guitar sound brighter and better. Therefore, capos are necessary especially when you are playing your guitar while singing. However, a guitarist must be able to confidently as well as freely play everything without the capo. Overreliance on the capo is a disease that works on the backward progress of every guitarist.
As such, a capo forms one of the musical instruments that have been used over the years to add flavor to music.
Why Capos are Necessary?
Whether or not capos are necessary solely depends on the player. This is because, there are people who love using capos and are very much used to them. On the other hand, there are experts who feel capos are cheats and hence they hate using them.
Can You Play Guitar Without a Capo?
On the question whether one can play guitar without a capo, the answer is a positive ‘yes’. No professional guitarist should depend so much on capos that they cannot operate without them. This is because, they might be invited in a place where there are no capos and he forgets to bring his own. You might also find yourself in places where the use of capos is not allowed especially in competitions.
Many guitar schools don’t teach their beginners how to use capos until they are well acquainted with the basics. This makes things easy for the trainees to enjoy playing guitar as an individual. When the capos are introduced they become just an enhancer tool to what they have already learnt. However, we can say capos are very necessary for anyone who wants to give perfect music to their audience.
What Does Capo in Italian Mean?
Although the ‘word capo’ has different meanings in Italian, they all come to one conclusion of leadership. This is because, the word is mostly used to mean ‘head’, sometimes it is used to mean ‘leader of a group’. The word is also used in referring to a ‘boss’ as well as ‘origin of a river’. The word also forms common phrases in Italian like; il capo di stato meaning Head of State and many more.
What is Capo Short For?
Capo is a short name for different words depending on the language of origin. Some of these words include:
- Capodastro- French
- Capostato (which is Italian meaning “head of fretboard”)
- Capodestre –French
- Kapodaster- German
- Capotraste – Portuguese
- Kapodaster – Serbo-Croatian
- Kapotasta – Greek
This means “head of the neck”. This is because; it is clamped on the head of your guitar when in use to make guitar playing easy for the player.
Why Do Guitar Players Use a Capo?
There are different reasons why guitar players use a capo. Some of these reasons are:
Play more songs using fewer chords
Many guitarists enjoying using a capo because, it makes it easy for them to play many songs with just a few chords. With just a 5 chords, you can change between them and use a capo to play 1000s of songs.
Makes it easy for them to play difficult chords
If you perfectly use a capo when you are playing guitar, you’ll be able to do crazy things with few touches. The capo helps you to play cool chord voicing that you can never get to without a capo.
A good tool for songwriters and composers
A capo doesn’t only come through for guitar players only. It also comes in handy for songwriters and composers by bringing up unique sounds in their singing using a capo.
Do Beginners Need a Capo?
With the word ‘do’ added to this question, then the appropriate answer is a solid ‘no’. when you are learning something new, the worst thing that can happen is to be given shortcuts. A capo is a very perfect and necessary tool in smooth playing of a guitar. However, it should not be introduced to a beginner.
A student should be taught how to survive through difficult moments. Hence, they should be taught all the basics of guitar playing and once they are good in it, equipments like capos can be introduced. A capo is said to be a learning prevention tool to a beginner and not a sound enhancement tool.
Introducing a capo to a student arrests their musical development. This means, it will be very difficult for them to play simple chords without the use of a capo. Bottom line is, don’t introduce a capo to a beginner.
Do Professionals Use Guitar Capos?
There is no distinct answer to this question as we all have different preferences. There are some who think that using capos while playing guitar is cheating and hence they cannot use them. On the other hand, there are experts who are very confident with them and feel very uncomfortable playing one without.
Experts don’t use capos because they can’t do without them but simply because they want to enhance the quality of the music. Majority of the experienced guitarists have embraced the use of capos and have even come up with different ways of using them.
Are Capos Bad for Guitars?
The answer to this subject highly depends on how you use your capo on the guitar. If it is well used and how you handle it once you are through with the instrument. This is because; many people have recorded some changes on their fret after leaving the capo on after using the guitar.
If you want to ensure that the capo doesn’t affect or accelerate the wearing out of your fret, follow the safety precautions. One of the most important precautions is always removing the capo if you are not playing the guitar. The second one is avoiding using it on the same fret always.
Conclusion
The question of whether or not capos are necessary is quite difficult to give a solid answer. This is because; it highly depends on individual preference. However, if you want to be creative in your guitar playing then you should consider using a capo. A capo helps you to be creative and allows you to do crazy things with your guitar.
The best thing about capos is that they come in different types and many are very affordable. Therefore, if you want to reach those crazy notes on your guitar, make good use of this wonderful tool and you’ll love it.