Topic: semitones

When I find a song I want to play, sometimes I transpose it up 2 semitones and play those chords.  Does this mean I adjust my Capo or just play the new chords?

Re: semitones

There's two options here.  You can move the capo up 2 frets and play the exact same fingerings you would without the capo (just two frets higher). Or you can transpose it up two semitones and play new fingerings without a capo. Example: If you're playing a song that has the chords G C and D and you want to transpose it to A D and E (two semitones up),  you could just put a capo on the second fret and play G C and D normally, but now you'd be playing the G fingering on the 5th Fret, not the third.  Am I making sense?  If you wanted to skip the capo altogether, just play A D and E instead of G C and D.

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Re: semitones

Got it thanks, Brian

Re: semitones

True.  Also, if you put a capo and play the same chords you're changing the key.   But if you change the chords down same number of semitones as the capo you're back to playing in the same key.  This is how we sometimes make a difficult song easier to play.

Re: semitones

Using a capo and changing the fingering also changes the voice of the guitar and can really add some zing to the song your'e playing.  Or, if you have two guitars, one playing normally and one capo'd up, it can add depth to the song.