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For more information from the source site of this video please visit: http://secretguitarteacher.com/youtube/intermediate/acoustic/nW-VocdRQoI/84485289-how-to-use-a-capo-1.php

This is a sample lesson from the Secret Guitar Teacher website (see link above).

It is part of the Intermediate Acoustic Guitar Course so is not ideal for complete beginners, but anyone who has played guitar for a while and wants to understand more about how to use the Capo should find this useful.

Here's the abridged transcript:

These lessons are all about the Capo. What it is, what it does, the different reasons to use it and how to work out where to stick it when you do decide to use it.

Here's a close up of the Capo I use. It's made by Kyser and costs as little as $15 if you order one online. It's well-designed, does everything you need a Capo to do and so far, mine has lasted forever.

First I want it to be easy and quick to put on... Secondly I want it to apply the right amount of pressure evenly across all six strings... too little and things get buzzy ...too much and the strings get pulled out of tune and sound a bit brittle. Thirdly, I want it to be easy to move -- occasionally, even in the middle of playing a song!

Here's one made by Dunlop -- basically operates the same as my Kyser one and costs around the same as well -- another good example of a capo that does everything you want it to and nothing that you don't want it to!

Now this one is interesting. This is called the G7th performance Capo. At around $44 it is considerably more expensive than the others. It claims to have two advantages over the one's we have looked at so far -- its pressure is adjustable in very small increments, and it takes up less room on the guitar neck and so never gets in the way of your fretting hand.

Here's an example of the type of Capo I would advise avoiding. The screw adjustment is there to help you fine-tune the pressure -- something I have personally never found the need to do. In any case, this method of adjustment is just too fiddly and certainly prevents using the Capo quickly and easily.

Now, what if you are practically broke and would find the $15 Capo a stretch? My advice is not to be tempted to go for one of these......or these.

These type of designs are generally much cheaper, typically around $4 but awkward to use, not very effective and tend not to last that long in my experience. You'd be almost better advised to opt for the instant homemade capo instead. This will cost you nothing and works almost as well!

Don't make the mistake of getting a specialised Capo at this stage...

This is an example of a clever looking gadget that allows you to select individual strings for the Capo to hold down. This sort of thing might be interesting to experiment with in addition to a standard Capo, but, for now, the most important thing is to get hold of a simple standard Capo.

Finally, if you are picking up a Capo from a second hand source, make sure it's a GUITAR capo -- these are examples of banjo capos -

Be warned! You might also bump into Capos for Ukeleles, Mandolins and even Lutes!

OK, so that's a brief introduction to the thing itself, but why would you bother getting hold of a capo in the first place? Just what are they good for?
Well. the first application most guitar players find for a capo is simply to enable you to change the key of a song, but without having to change the chord shapes you use. For example, supposing I have learned the song 'Let it Be' by the Beatles. And let's say I have learned it in the original key of C. Here's the first line: Then perhaps I find myself accompanying a female vocalist who complains that the key is too low for them to sing it in. Could I please play it in the key of Eb instead?

So we want to use the Capo to transpose a song instantly from the key of C major to Eb major. Well, Eb is three semitones or half steps higher than C on the chromatic scale, so think of this key as being three frets higher...

So, I fit my capo at the third fret and now when I play a C chord shape, we are actually hearing an Eb chord. Similarly when I change to the next chord shape the G...because all the notes have been shifted up three frets, we are hearing the chord three semitones above G -- Bb.

So the idea behind this use of the Capo is simply to be able to change key without having to change the chord shapes.

But, for the more advanced guitar player there are also some more creative reasons why you might choose to use a Capo.

As these generally require a higher level of understanding of music theory, to fully grasp and to fully use, we have decided to separate out those applications and make them the subject of a separate lesson.