Using a Capo for Guitar Practice
In this video we’re talking about using a capo to help beginners practice guitar! If you’re just starting out with guitar or have been playing for while and have trouble with basic chords, this is the video for you! Whether you are muting the strings or having trouble stretching, you can use the capo further up on the guitar neck to practice the open position chords with some more comfort and ease. Once you can, just move the capo down a fret to stretch your fingers a little further and continue in the same manner!
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Transcription
Hey, it's Dan here again and I have a quick tip for those beginners that are just having some struggles with those open position chords like C, G, D, F and the like. That I think will really help and I'll give it to a lot of beginners with just getting them down. Getting them nice and clean and sounding really good. And that's using your capo to make it a little easier to play them further up. So you can use the capo for more than just changing keys and for certain songs, things like that. So when we look at the fretboard, the further down we are the further the frets are spread apart. But the further up we are the closer they are together. So we can use that with a capo to make playing chords a little easier. So for example if I slap the capo on fret 7 These frets are gonna be a little bit closer together making it a little easier to make some of these open position chords and they're gonna sound good. Now I'm not playing… Like here I'm not playing a G chord. I'm actually playing a D chord. But as a beginner you don't need to know that if you're just trying to get your chords sounding really good. So you can practice them where the frets are a little closer together. It makes it a little easier if you don't have to stretch out as far. And you just make sure they sound really clean. Or even if you're just working on just one in particular. Then what you do when you get it nice and clean you just move that capo back one. The frets are gonna be ever so slightly further apart. And you can practice them again. And you just keep going. You just move that capo down a little bit at a time. One fret at a time. And of course if they're not sounding good then take a second to make sure they sound good before you move on. Or you keep it there for a little bit. Maybe a couple of days as your fingers get used to stretching out. And you don't have to stop there with just the chord shapes. Like if you know a song that uses, let's say, C to G to A minor. You can use the capo to have it sound a little different. And you could try it in different places. Just to see how it turns out and see how it sounds. So have fun with it and Happy Practicing!