But what happens when you put a capo on the second fret? Here are some common capo “chords to keys“. More on Transposing Keys Key Converter Changing Chords Chord Numbers Dominant Sevenths Using a Capo Advanced Capo Capo … Going back to “A Thousand Years,” we transposed the chords to the key of G. If we want to bring the key back up to the original key, simply place the capo on the 3rd fret and play the exact same chords in the key of G. And just like magic, the chords you play will sound like those in the original song. By playing Am you will get Bm, and by playing Dm you will get Em. Let’s say that, without the capo, you like to play the chords G-C-D-Em and Am (which are in the key of G minor). You will now be in the key of F even though you will playing the Key of C chords. This is where a brief lesson in changing the key of a song will come in handy. You should not play the 6th string. Very important: note that I said “play IN G”, not “play G”. Music theory and common practice will tell you that given these chords, the song is probably in the key of C. HOWEVER, if we look at where the capo would have to go in order to play C shapes, it’s not so bad. key of A without having to re-learn it. if you want open to be based on a root of B (on the lowest string) you're probably going to want to put it on the 7th fret. Move the capo to 4th fret and your C chord sounds like an E chord. By using a capo you can quickly change the key of the song, by moving the capo to a different fret …if you are playing in the key of G, and it’s to low to sing, then you would put this little capo on the guitar neck and each fret you move up is another half step. In folk-guitar playing, the combination of open strings and fretted ones is the essence of the style. In order to get back to the same key you can put a capo on the first fret and also play the Am chord. A guitar in standard tuning makes the classic EADGBE (from the fattest to the thinnest strings). Therefore put your capo on fret 3. If we put it on fret 3, we can play C-Am-Dm-G. Reason 3 for using a capo: easier shapes, easier key. So playing a 145 in E or play it like it is in D using the chord shapes for 145, you still play the same chords. Capo 1 is the first fret, Capo 2 is the second fret, etc. Ok so I got a capo on the 4th fret...the chords I'm using are...C, G, Am, Em...what key am I in? I am trying to determine what key this would be, so that I can start working on a melody using notes from the appropriate key. This chart shows the keys that can be achieved by placing a capo on various frets on the guitar and then playing the common chord shapes used in C Major such as C, F, G7 and Am. Below, I have provided a capo chart, where there is all kind of chords name and fret numbers, so that you will be able to find out require fret number and chord pretty easily. If you’re a keen singer-songwriter, a capo is your best friend. Chord Am (2nd fret) notes: A, E, C, E and A. You would just put a capo on the 2nd fret, and play the chord shapes G, C, and D. These chord shapes will now sound a whole step higher. By putting the capo on the second fret and playing a C chord, will create the chord D sound. Question by Anon I wrote my first song on guitar. This is because moving the capo up just one fret will raise the chord half a step while moving the capo up two frets will move up the tone a full step. And so on… Transposing With a Capo: There are only a few “key shapes” that will be used with a capo, so figuring out where it needs to be and what shapes to play should be pretty easy. A capo, or capo tasto in full length, is a device used for change the key without changing the tuning. Chords (original): G, C, Am, D = Key of G; Chords (capo V): G, C, Am, D = Key of C; NO KEY IN MIND. Using the capo chord chart you can see that with your fingers on an A minor chord shape and a capo at the second fret the sound your guitar will produce is that of a B minor chord. Now you are still in the same key as the recording, but the chords are much easier to play. The capo needs to go in 3rd fret to get the key of C. ... (that d chord is the one where you bar 1,2 and 3 second fret.) Have a go at playing with your capo. Not sure if I am preaching to the choir, but - In the key of E, and open E and a D shape with the capo at the 2nd fret are the same chord. When you play a G shape with the capo on fret 2, the chord that sounds is … So fret one equals the key of G#, fret 2 equals the key of A and so on. You just attach the capo around the guitar neck on a fret that you chose and the pitch is raised (place the capo over the fretboard as you would do with your index finger playing a barre chord, e.i. Basic major and minor chords which have open chord shapes in the 1 st position are: C, D, E, G, A, Am, Dm and Em. If you think of fret three as if it were fret one, and form a C chord as you normally would (but above the capo), it will sound as a D chord. The solution is to place the capo at the second fret and play the A minor chord shape. This can be simply worked out by finding a bass note of the familiar key, e.g. Key of A: capo 2 and play in G, capo 7 and play in D, or capo 9 and play in C. To get to A#/Bb, B, or C, move the capo up one, two, or three frets from these locations. All chords posted along with songs on UkuTabs do not require the use of a capo. If you don’t have a capo you can choose to either play this song with Am, C, G & D however it will not be the same key … Finally we need to know which fret to place the capo on. The string 5 (A) is left open. The open chord pattern (which results in your chosen chord) is shown under fret number for capo placement. 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