{"id":5,"date":"2020-01-07T18:18:49","date_gmt":"2020-01-07T18:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/?p=5"},"modified":"2020-01-31T15:42:29","modified_gmt":"2020-01-31T15:42:29","slug":"do-you-tune-guitar-before-or-after-putting-capo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/do-you-tune-guitar-before-or-after-putting-capo\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Tune Guitar Before or After Putting Capo?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Many guitarists use capos in their playing. A capo comes in handy in your playing, especially when you want to play and sing thus use a more comfortable chord pattern. However, there has been a discussion of when should you tune the guitar on whether before or after putting the capo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there are those who advocate for tuning after putting the Capo, others support for tuning before putting the capo. The best method applied enables for more comfortable use of the capo thus better results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Do You Tune Guitar Before or After Putting Capo?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A Guitar should be tuned before putting a Capo\non. In fact, your guitar should be in tune regardless of what you will do\nafterwards. Please disregard any other advice telling you to tune a half step\nhigher. With a good Capo, your strings will be in tune after putting the Capo,\nwith no increased pressure that might damage them. If you feel the guitar is\nout of tune after putting the Capo, adjusting the position of the Capo in\naddition to using the right quality Capo will give you the correct tune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do You Tune a Guitar After Putting a Capo on?<\/strong>                        <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As is the\nrecommended practice, I usually tune my guitar before putting a Capo. Using the\nbest tuner, I Tune every string of the guitar to the proper Pitch Whether E B G\nD A E. After the first tuning; I do a second pass tuning just to ensure that\nevery string corresponds to its tuning and in this, I do fine-tuning. It is\nafter the guitar is well-tuned that I apply the capo. If the guitar feels out\nof tune while the capo is on, adjusting the position to the Capo helps in\nsolving the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there\nare different types of Caspos in the market, these come in different qualities.\nA Capo that presses the strings too hard on the fretboard damages the strings\nthus distorting the sound. This distortion of music is more while using the electric\nguitar than when using <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Does my Guitar go out of Tune when I Put a Capo on?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When using\nthe acoustic guitar, the Capo will rarely give you an out of tune sound.\nHowever, when using the wrong type of Capo that gives undue pressure on the\nstrings, then you get out of tune sound. The pressure of the Capo should be\njust as your finger presses on the fretboard. Furthermore, the position of the\nCapo on the fret matters a lot. Adjusting the Capo to the right position, at\nthe centre, gives you the right tune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the\nother hand, while using the electric guitar, you will have to use a Capo that\napplies minimum pressure on the strings. The electric guitar goes out of tune\nif increased pressure is used. More often than not, the lead guitarists do not\nhave to use a Capo for their playing. They leave that to Acoustic guitar\nplayers like me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can You Tune a Guitar with the Capo on<\/strong>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many will\ntell you that it is ok to tune a guitar with the Capo on, but I disagree. It is\nvery wrong as well as unprofessional to tune your guitar while your Capo is on\nas this only damage your strings. Furthermore, tuning a guitar while the Capo\nis on fixes you to only use the guitar at that tuning only. When you tune the\nguitar while the Capo is off, you can play while putting the capo in different positions\nyou would like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Tuning is a Capo on 1st Fret?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While using\nthe Capo, you can place the Capo at any fret. This raises the tuning of the\nguitar in addition to making the playing distance of the guitar shorter.\nPlacing you capo at any position away from the nut shifts the notes of the\nstrings to a different note. Moving the capo one step higher allows you to\nraise the pitch of all the strings by a half step. For instance, open strings are\ntuned to E A D G B E. Putting the Capo on the first fret raises the string with\na half step to F A# D# G# C F. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore,\nfor each position, you place the capo, shift the tone of the strings, a number\nof half steps similar to the number of frets from the nut. As such, knowing the\nkey you are in is easy. That is you count the number of frets to the capo, then\nshifting the open string notes of the guitar with the number of half steps\ncounted to the Capo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you Tune a Guitar down a Half Step with a Capo?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Moving the Capo up the fretboard of your\nguitar tunes your guitar up in half steps for each fret. Consequently, moving\nthe Capo down the frets lowers the tone of the strings. For instance, if the\nCapo is placed on the 3rd<\/sup> fret, which corresponds to note G on the 6th<\/sup>\nstring, moving a half step is shifting the Capo one fret behind to fret number 2,\nwhich corresponds to F# on the 6th<\/sup>\nstring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Fix a Capo on Guitar<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are different types of Capos\navailable in the market. These different types offer different clamping\nmechanisms. However, the process of fixing your Capo on the guitar remains the\nsame<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Positioning the guitar<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Place your guitar on your lap at the most\ncomfortable position then wear the strap adjusting it to this position. This\nsorts you out, whether standing or when sitting. Remember, you should have your\ncapo with you. This position allows you to play confidently and with no stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Determining the position you\ndesire your capo on<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The next point is determining the position\nyou want your capo on. As stated earlier, moving the capo up or down each fret\ncause a shift of the tones of the guitar in half steps. For instance, putting\nthe Capo on the 3rd<\/sup> fret means the tuning of the guitar strings to G\nC F A# D G.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 3: Clamping the capo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Depending on the clamping mechanism of\nyour guitar, open the capo and place it on the desired fret. The pressure of\nthe capo must be just as your finger could press on the strings; otherwise, you\nget out of tune notes as well as destroy your strings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 4: Proper adjustment of the capo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The proper placement of your Capo matters\na lot. As such, never place the capo directly on the fret bar as well as too far\nfrom the fret bar as this may give out of tune tones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Is Keeping Unused Capo on the Headstock bad?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Where you put your capo has been a story\nof discussion. Personally I put my capo on the headstock and haven\u2019t had to\ncomplain about a less grip from the capo. If putting your capo on the headstock\nwould have effects then you would notice the many complaints from the different\nguitarists all over who place their capos on the headstock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, I am using the Planet Waves NS\nDual Action Guitar Capo and haven\u2019t had any issues with it. With the right grip\non your strings, you are sure of a quality sound. Furthermore, the capo offers an\neasy mechanism that helps in fast-changing of songs in addition <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is very critical that every guitar\nplayer observe how they tune their guitar when using a capo. Do not ever tune a\nguitar after putting on a capo. Tuning beforehand helps in ensuring that the guitar\ngives you the right sound as well as the perfect one. You are now <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many guitarists use capos in their playing. A capo comes in handy in your playing, especially when you want to play and sing thus use a more comfortable chord pattern.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150,"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5\/revisions\/150"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phanesmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}