-Only A's and B's on report cards.
-No drugs in the house.
-Bassists should not use a pick.
-Guitarists should not use a capo.
I asked him to expound on the capo for the blog:
As a guitar student in the late 1960’s, I had to have one. Most of the folk rock artists that I liked were using them...I figured out quickly that the pretty boy folk rock guys only knew three or four chords and used the capo to fake their way thru any key. Instead of learning all the chords, they could get by with a few. I listened to their “different voicing” and “tonal qualities” points of view. It seemed like cheating to me.Now, when I see a guitarist using a capo
the first thought that comes to mind is,
"This cat can't hack it"and I know that Life is not so extreme
direct from plastic to negative judgmental emotions
there must be something I'm missing
so I asked the Great White Noise
and the Pro-Capo crowd responded
some of which were clear, concise
and counterargument worthy
"For one of meager natural skill and even less talent, I can use all the help I can get"Counterargument: Doc, when you're practicing with a capo on you're not practicing the guitar you're practicing the guitar-with-a-capo-on
"Capos are more for the benefit of vocalists than guitarists. Bring out the best in your front person by any means necessary."Counterargument: If you give a front person a fish they will eat for a day...
"as long as it's thought of as a style choice, just like drop tunings, it changes the sound of the instrument"Counterargument: None!
In summation, capo users beware
I am judging you
and I may feel compelled to question you on:
1) how your capo achieves a tone/sound/style that cannot be achieved by a capoless instrument
2) if you can accurately convey what Key Signature a capoless instrument may accompany you
"Capos are for fascists and Jimmy Buffet"
Thanks for quoting me, but here's my counter-counterargument: why would you make a vocalist (or anyone for whom range/register matters) jump through hoops because of your stubborn refusal to transpose a tune with a capo? More accurately, your dad's hickish dismissal of it?
ReplyDeleteYou seem to assert that all the things capos allow are still possible without them, which I find very difficult to conceive – at least without wildly retuning your instrument to the extent that you maybe need a whole different set of strings, maybe even an intonation adjustment to compensate for tension.
In a way I see where you're coming from. A truly great player can make it work without one. A capo can be a crutch if you're playing I-IV-V folk songs and you only know those chords...but even then, who cares if it makes for a more dynamic performance? At its most fundamental level, the capo is a solution to the problems that simply barring chords further up (or down) the neck present: realistically that's one less finger you have to work with, while your barring finger is clumsily clamping down and causing impeded resonance from the guitar. I would challenge you to critically listen to someone play the same chords (same notes, same voicing) with and without a capo and tell me that it doesn't sound distinct and distinguishably different.
Capos make shit easier. But like...amps make being heard easier. Your argument is like saying "if you just played louder you wouldn't need your stupid amp, problem solved."
I resent being called a fascist by someone who seeks to make things more difficult for people and judges the use of tools for these specific applications, know what I mean dawg?
Maybe he's not calling you a fascist. Maybe he's calling you Jimmy Buffet.
ReplyDelete;)
C'mon, man.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsD6uEZsIsU
One of the most beautiful acoustic compositions by one of the biggest acoustic guitar virtuosos on the planet.
Andy McKee uses capo's. Can this "cat hack it?"
Much love,
MTD
Mike I'm sorry that you feel resentful !
ReplyDeleteI thought I disclaimed at the end of the post that through this experience I have learned that the capo can be used tastefully to create sounds that are impossible on a capo-less guitar
and I hope that at least some of you assholes will admit MOST people use them because they can't play barre chords. which is fucking lame.
I don't know why I feel the need to Raise the Barre (pun intended) for Basic Guitarmanship...
perhaps because I think Humans are capable of playing barre chords. I have faith.
Hey I just realized you made fun of my dad. Not cool, Mike. Now I hope you are resentful.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, it's not a "stubborn refusal" I end up transposing tunes for people who think "Capo 3" is a key, all the time.
It's a cop out. I think it's fair to say that If you can't understand how the tool works you shouldn't be using it. Is that not fair?
Totally fair.
DeleteI don't think it's fair to be prentious and elitist about anything, let alone the use of a tool like a capo. What happened to appreciating someone's passion for playing music? They have to be an extremely skilled musician to deserve any respect? That's bogus and I hope everyone knows that.
ReplyDeleteSo what if someone struggles with barre chords? So what if anyone using a capo is doing it for ease of play? That's not lame; what's lame is basically saying that they're not worthy to play music or express themselves through music.
I hope no one cares that you're judging them. They shouldn't. You don't have to be technically amazing to play, to enjoy playing, or to have your music appreciated by others.