Capo annoyance

[Marvin]

Guitarists...

put a capo on say the 3rd fret and play D shape, you're not playing a bloody D chord!!!!!!

That's all.

[Clarky]

Try GuitarChat, faker

[mushers]

fight back by playing a 5 string that really gets the guitarist going if their trying to follow you

[andydye]

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1370896074' post='2107188']
Guitarists...
put a capo on say the 3rd fret and play D shape, you're not playing a bloody D chord!!!!!!
That's all.
[/quote]

They are playing an 'f'-ing d-shape though, it's just transposed 3 semitones up for capo3...

[vsmith1]

Bah - try keyboard players who turn the transpose knob and insist that they are playing D when you know that it's a E!

[Dave Vader]

[quote name='andydye' timestamp='1370942007' post='2107628']
They are playing an 'f'-ing d-shape though, it's just transposed 3 semitones up for capo3...
[/quote]

Oh that's clever, i see what you did there.....

[Marvin]

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1370943851' post='2107663']
Oh that's clever, i see what you did there.....
[/quote]

I missed it to start with :/

[aende]

As a former g*****ist; I under stand the frustration.

I also understand the frustration of using open tuning and so on.

As a now converted bass player, I say this; Guitar players can be utter tits about capo's and bizarre tuning. MTFU and barr with your finger or find another method of playing the chord without all the hullaballoo....I used to play in a band where the other guitar player basically used a capo as a way of 'making it easier'....it used to really f*ck with everyone else in the band, but he would not change his ways....I left the band quickly!

**I have played guitar for 25 years and have never required the need for a capo and the only open tuning I have used is drop D and open G for slide acoustic and without bass.

[geoffbyrne]

I played guitar in bands from 1959 to 1979. Never needed a capo - learned to play barre chords as suggested above - played in every key possible without capo.

Not so long ago played with a lot(!) who capo'd everything - and since there were 2 of 'em, each capo'd in a different way (No point in us both playing the same chords....)! One might capo on 2nd fret so he could play in D using C-type chord shapes, while the other would capo 5th fret to use A-type, or 10th to use E-type shapes (FFS!).

Add to this the confusion caused because they conformed to the PITCH of the recorded song WITHOUT taking into account the original band was tuned DOWN a semitone and you begin to see where error may creep in.

And creep in it did - more than once a key was called on stage & despite rehearsal (and they changed things when I wasn't there) we all started off on different keys - usually to my detriment. This showed me that even they weren't sure of what key they were actually in!

Then the bum girlfriend singer was intoduced & I was off like a shot!!

G.

Edited June 11, 2013 by geoffbyrne

[mushers]

[quote name='aende' timestamp='1370944054' post='2107670']
As a former g*****ist; I under stand the frustration.

I also understand the frustration of using open tuning and so on.

As a now converted bass player, I say this; Guitar players can be utter tits about capo's and bizarre tuning. MTFU and barr with your finger or find another method of playing the chord without all the hullaballoo....I used to play in a band where the other guitar player basically used a capo as a way of 'making it easier'....it used to really f*ck with everyone else in the band, but he would not change his ways....I left the band quickly!

**I have played guitar for 25 years and have never required the need for a capo and the only open tuning I have used is drop D and open G for slide acoustic and without bass.
[/quote]

ahh the bizarre tunings drive me mad, one guy i played with used them and barred with one finger, he couldnt even tell me what chord he was playing "but it sounds good"
i would start to pick it out by ear as soon as i got close he would start to play something different grrr

[andydye]

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1370943851' post='2107663']
Oh that's clever, i see what you did there.....
[/quote]



[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1370944014' post='2107669']
I missed it to start with :/
[/quote]

[Dave Vader]

Capos are great, you can make lovely sounds with them that you just can't do with barre chords.
Bassists really just need to learn to transpose in their heads quickly, and pick out a root note from the middle of an augmented 9th add7 without missing a beat.

I work with a lot of people who both use capos and altered tunings, and "play by ear". A lesser player would be lost and running away in seconds.
I translate for the other musicians instead. Some of them are even weirder....

[4-string-thing]

I briefly played in band where the guitarist was left handed and played a right handed guitar upside down without swapping the strings round.... Try following what he was playing!

[dlloyd]

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1370946315' post='2107710']
Capos are great, you can make lovely sounds with them that you just can't do with barre chords.
[/quote]

This.

If your ability on guitar is limited to campfire chords and you're using a capo as a crutch, then maybe there is a case for learning a few more chords, but there are times when a barre chord just can't replicate the sound of ringing open notes.

Case in point:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umwQG7fue84[/media]

[WalMan]

[quote name='mushers' timestamp='1370941792' post='2107620']
fight back by playing a 5 string that really gets the guitarist going if their trying to follow you
[/quote]better still get a Hipshot D-tuner and do the odd song tuned DADG

[Mr Lizard]

I've had the same situation many times. Stupid guitarists!

Me : What chord are you playing?

Them : "x" shape with a capo on the 4th fret

Me : What chord are you playing?

Them "x"

Me: No it's not. What chord are you playing?

Them :

me :

[Cat Burrito]

We use capos a lot in my band but the guys know the chords correctly. I like it because when I get an MP3 to work out a new song I just have to find the root note, work out where Pete (singer) has put the capo and I have the whole song worked out in about 30 seconds!

All that said a neighbour who plays guitar & jams with me still thinks it is D major no matter where the capo is. I just adapt as he has those 2 extra strings to worry about

[Mog]

Whats worse is when another bassist comes along afterwards and tells you that you were in the wrong key............."OK smart-arse heres the bass, you 'ave at it"

Seriously though, it will improve your improv when you deal with these guys. Thinking on the fly is 50% of the battle.

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1370946315' post='2107710']
Capos are great, you can make lovely sounds with them that you just can't do with barre chords.
[/quote]

Indeedy. Nashville high strung acoustic in DADGAD capo'd up a few. Complete trouser juice.

And certain genres / songs just don't sound right without a capo'd open tuning. But bog chords on electrics because the player can't barre? Not so much.

Been thinking about one of [url="http://www.spidercapo.com/"]these[/url]. Desire and terror in equal measure.

Edited June 11, 2013 by skankdelvar

[paul_5]

Once backed a singer/songwriter at the drop of a hat (3 hours notice - including a 45 minute drive to the gig), I had a text message that went something like "[i]song a[/i] - B Capo 3, [i]song[/i] b - D capo 2 etc..."

Forgive me for not taking the fretless to that gig

[Beer of the Bass]

My band Jen and the Gents are heavily capo reliant, as while our singer has the singing and songwriting thing down pretty well, her guitar playing is kind of simplistic. Personally I wouldn't dream of criticising a player for using a capo, especially if the guitar isn't the main focus of what they're doing - there's a lot to be said for just getting out there and playing. I would hate it if all those singer/songwriter types who play just enough guitar to flesh out the songs stayed at home because someone deemed that their guitar playing didn't meet some arbitrary standard.

[paul_5]

I have nothing against capos per se, it's just that backing someone who uses them can often be a bit tricky...

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1370973471' post='2108171']
I have nothing against capos per se, it's just that backing someone who uses them can often be a bit tricky...
[/quote]

Quite so, Sir. In my old acoustic guitar duo, we'd have enormous 'fun' routining stuff where we were each in different open tunings, capo'd at different places. Required a large scotch, a pen and some paper just to sort it all out.

Edited June 11, 2013 by skankdelvar

[bobbass4k]

I use a capo on bass fairly often, does that make me some sort of malevolent goblin?

[Marvin]

I have nothing against the use of capo's per se. It's when I'm being told, insistently, that x chord is being played when it clearly isn't. Piss and boil etc etc.