A guitar capo is a device that clamps on the neck of your guitar so you can transpose guitar chords. It basically acts like a moveable nut. Where ever you put your capo is the new nut, and you can play your open chords (G chord, C, A, E, etc). The capo can be used to transpose a song to a key you can play. Maybe you can’t sing a song in a certain key because it’s too low, or maybe you don’t know the chords to play along with a song on CD. A guitar capo can help by transposing the key to something manageable for you and still fit the key of a song. Maybe a song you know uses open strings to play and it doesn’t sound right with barred chords and you need to transpose it. Again a guitar capo is what you need.

Here’s a guitar capo chart of come uncommon guitar keys and how to play them using a key you know. If you can play in the key of A, E, D, G, or C then you can play in all the keys with a capo.

• A#/Bb - Capo the first fret and play in A or Capo the third fret and play in G.
• B - Capo the second fret and play in A, or Capo the fourth fret and play in G
• C#/Db Capo the first fret and play in C, or fourth fret and play in A
• D#/Eb Capo the first fret and play in D
• F - Capo the first fret and play in E, or third fret and play in D
• F# Capo the second fret and play in E, or fourth fret and play in D
• G#/Ab Capo the first fret and play in G, or fourth fret and play in A

Here’s a good example of some places on the net where you see a capo used for transposition into easier keys.  The Jason Mraz song “I’m Yours” is in the key of B (using chords B, F#, G#m, and E) on the CD, although I’ve seen videos of him playing it in A also (using chords A, E, F#m, and D).  He plays it using barre chords, starting on the 7th fret for the key of B, 5th fret for the key of A.  If you want to play it in A, then that’s an easy guitar guitar key but the song will have an F#m which takes a barre chord no matter how you play it.  So using a capo on the first fret and playing in A is no good if you don’t know the F#m.  So you can capo the 4th fret and play it in G.  The Chords then become G, D, Em, C.  Easy.  That chord progressions is I, V, vi, IV by the way.

Another example is the Taylor Swift song “Love Story” which is in the key of D.  If does have a Bm chord which is typically a barre chord although it can be played other ways.  If you don’t know the Bm, you can put a guitar capo on the second fret and play it in the key of C.