Do You Need A Capo For Guitar?

I was checking out a forum the other day, and someone asked “do you need a capo for guitar?”

There are many situations where you need a capo for guitar. You especially need a capo for songs that are written originally with a capo.

Do better understand this, let’s identify the purpose of a capo.

What’s the purpose of a capo?

A capo clamps onto a particular fret, which raises the pitch of your open guitar strings.

The capo essentially acts as a substitute for a bar, which allows you to use open chords as you would without a capo.

As a general rule beginners do not need a capo. That doesn’t mean capos aren’t useful for beginners, though.

Beginners and advanced guitarists alike can both benefit from a capo, because the capo allows you to easily change keys.

As a general rule you need a capo to play a song that originally used a capo.

However, you can substitute the original chord shapes by using barre chords. This is arguably more difficult, so I’d just use the capo.

Let’s look at how to use a capo if you don’t know how.

Every capo is different, but generally a capo is just a clamp.

You want to clamp it onto the target fret, and make sure it’s right behind the actual fret, as if you’re using a bar.

You’ll want to tune your guitar after you put the capo on, as a capo will generally put your guitar slightly out of tune.

Here’s a great video on how to use a capo.

How to use a capo, and why you need a capo (video)

The D’Addario NS Artist Capo has the highest customer rating on Sweetwater.

Here’s a sweet video demo for the capo.

D’Addario NS Artist Capo Demo

A guitar capo, while not essential, is a helpful tool for the guitar.

It makes it easy to switch keys, and they are necessary for playing songs originally played with a capo.

So, do you need a capo for your guitar? Let me know in the comments!