|
Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2013 10:14:17 GMT
- What is it
- Types
- What it does (and doesn’t!) do
- Fitting a capo
- Being creative with a 3 string partial capo
- Model review
- Summary
- What is a partial capo?
A partial capo is generally thought of as any sort of capo that does not cover all 6 (or 12) strings of a guitar. They do not have to be a specifically made type of capo- some of you may have tried just using a normal capo but covering say just 5 strings. This can be easier to do for certain types of capo, such as the G7th. David Mead describes using a G7th banjo capo as a 5 string capo (see later for more abut this).
- Types
As has already been mentioned, there are some special capos on the market that are designed to cover a certain number of strings. These are the main types I have come across:
- 5 string capos- as mentioned above, you may be able to use a normal 6 string capo in this way, or adapt a capo designed for another type of instrument. Basically these cover 5 strings, but note you can leave either the 1st string alone, or the 6th string. Kyser, G7th, Shubb all make this type of capo.
- 3 string capos- these cover any 3 adjacent strings in the middle of the guitar. Again note that by fitting the capo in 2 different ways you can capo different combinations of strings, either strings 3, 4, 5 or strings 2,3 4. Companies like Shubb and G7th make specific capos for this purpose, but Keith Chesterton also describes making your own ‘cut’ capo by taking a hacksaw to a normal Shubb 6 string capo
Here is the excellent Staffan Svahn showing what can be done with a 3 string capo
- specialist- there is something called the spider capo in which you can literally capo any string you desire- they do not have to be adjacent.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2013 10:19:56 GMT
Part 2 There is an excellent composition by Staffan Svahn on youtube that demonstrates this capo.
And here is the Acoustic Guitar review by Doug Young, who I think you can tell in this video quite likes this!
3. What it does (and doesn’t) do
I’ve already talked a little about what a partial capo does. The more interesting question is ‘why?’ We all know what a normal 6 string capo does, and many people use them to raise the pitch of their guitar strings for various reasons. This might be to be able to play different chord shapes to another guitarist, to raise pitch to a more comfortable vocal register, to avoid barre chords(!), to make stretches easier etc etc.
There doesn’t seem to be any ‘practical’ reason for a partial capo, although manufacturers of course try to tell us differently! And this is where I come to my point of what a partial capo isn’t. Almost all the manufacturers try and sell the concept as something like ’the easy way to explore alternate tunings’, with promises that the player will be able to play in Dadgad but without retuning their strings.
Frankly this is rubbish (and Shubb are a little more transparent on their website than G7th in this respect), so lets get that false claim out the way now. If I place a 3 string capo at fret 2 on a standard tuned guitar covering strings 4, 3 and 2, this is supposedly the ‘Dadgad’ setting (but of course with the equivalent of capoed at fret 2) But are you really playing in Dadgad? Yes you are if all you want to do is strum those open strings. But as soon as you start placing any fingers on strings 4, 3, and 2 you are NOT forming any chord shapes that would be played in true dadgad. How can it? The actual physical notes you are playing have not changed position, whereas when you retune the strings for ‘proper’ dadgad playing, all the notes on strings 6 2 and 1 have changed position- they are going to be 2 frets higher.
For me the best way to think about partial capos is as a totally creative tool, and that is the approach players like David Mead and Staffan Svahn seem to take in their compositions for example. Treat it as such and you wont be disappointed. You may even come up with a few masterpieces that you would never ever have thought of, and would be impossible to reproduce using alternate tunings.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2013 10:24:14 GMT
Part 3
4. Fitting a capo
Without meaning to state the blatantly obvious here, there are a few things to think about when you are attaching the capo to the neck:
- try to make sure it is fitted as securely as possible. If you plan to play behind the capo as well as above the capo position you may find you hand whizzing back and forth and unavoidably knocking the capo on the way. Although playing in this way does require a little more thought about the the way the left hand moves, in particular being a bit more extreme in your movements when jumping over the capo, it certainly helps to ensure that the capo is a tight fit and wont move out of position if accidentally knocked.
- If using a G7th capo make sure that you take time to ensure that the outer string that is left open underneath the capo is going to be restricted (or what I call ‘choked’) when plucked. I find the G7th is a little prone to this, particularly if you have a guitar with a high action, or you are playing in the middle of the neck where the neck’s relief is mainly centered.
- If your guitar has a high action you may find that the guitar goes out of tune when fitting the capo tightly, so make any necessary tuning adjustments.
As an aside, I find the Shubb 3 string capo to be very easy to remove quickly and quietly (with a little practice). I use this when I go from my ‘Sunday Morning in January’ piece straight into ‘Si Bheag Si Mhor’. I can have that capo whipped of in just half a second! Not so easy putting it on as quickly though!
5. My own explorations using a 3 string partial capo
So far I have written the following pieces using 3 string capos:
Sunday Morning in January- CGCGCD tuning with capo at fret 3, strings 2-4 Leo’s Waltz- CGCGCD with capo at fret 9, strings 2-4 Cranborne Chase- Dadgad with capo at fret 4 strings 2-4 Catherine’s Song- CFCGCD with capo at fret 8, strings 2-4
All of these arose out of just placing the capo almost randomly and seeing where the music took me. I think I naturally gravitate to positions which give me interesting ‘juicy’ sounding chords.
I think there is probably two different approaches I take when using the 3 string capo. The first is to use is to create a drone chord in the middle of the strings. The second is to raise the pitches of certain strings to simply create more harmonically rich textures when using harp like effects.
A typical pice that shows off the drone chord approach is Leo’s Waltz. If I were to strum all the open strings I would get the following:
CGAEAD
The 3 capoed strings create an A diad (a diad is otherwise known in rock as the power chord). The piece starts in D minor tonality, so the constantly articulated triad creates a nice open D9th kind of sound. But then in the next part of the tune where I go higher up the neck, we start using some flat notes that, in theory, should clash horribly with the A diad. To my ears at least I rather like the effect. It helps create the rather wistful feel I was after with the piece.
Leo extract.tiff (110.57 KB)
Lets have a look at Sunday Morning in January. This was the first piece I ever wrote with the capo, and its a rather strange piece. In many ways it does not show any of the common characteristics of the partial capo. Its unusual melody just seems to snake its way up and down the neck, with the capoed strings sometimes helping me move to a new position on the neck. I have no idea where the piece came from. It just arrived almost fully formed as soon as I clamped the capo on and started noodling.
A more recent piece is Catherine’s Song. This shows the other approach which is using the capoed strings not so much as a drone, but simply to create nice harp like effects. Again, with the capo on this is what an open strummed chord would be:
CFAbEbAbD
We are in F minor territory here, but with that unusual open D string, which again in theory (and don’t we just love theory!) should clash horribly. The D creates a minor 2nd interval with the Eb, and also the flattened 5th (the so called Devil’s Interval) with the Ab. Yummy scrummy! To be fair, I use the D very sparingly. The piece started with the opening riff, and progressed later in the day into the piece with its 3 distinct sections that I have now settled on. Catherines song extract.tiff (90.87 KB)
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2013 10:28:54 GMT
Part 4 One obvious thing to note about these pieces- all of them are in open tunings already. This allows me to place the capo to create these Diads on the capoed strings. Not so easy to do in standard tuning. Also note that although I have stuck so far with capoing strings 4 to 2, it is also possible to capo strings 5 to 3. In dadgad this position would not create a diad or triad (just like standard tuning), whereas for CGCGCD that I use this would create interesting perfect 4th intervals that might be interesting to pursue.
Also note that on the capoed strings you can now get interesting new natural harmonics. This isn’t something I’ve used yet, it might mean it possible to create some really interesting melodies entirely in natural harmonics. Just remember that the 5th, 7th, 9th and 12 fret harmonics (to name just the ‘normally’ used ones) will now be at different fret positions depending on the capo position.
Hopefully I have piqued your interest in possibly using a partial capo in a creative way, and it would be interesting to hear the results. The possibilities seem endless. If I had a 12 string I would love to experiment with a partial capo on one of those. What about using it on a bouzouki? (Interestingly the spider capo is available in a small banjo/ bouzouki version).
6. Model review
I am now going to talk about 3 capos that I use (or could be used) as partial capos.
This was the first partial capo I bought. It is still the one I probably turn to the most for a number of reasons:
- it is cheap compared to others
- it is very easy to fit and quick to adjust
- there is no choking of the outer strings wherever I place it
- it works well all along the neck, even in very high fret positions
- it covers the 3 strings very well and very firmly
The G7th 3 string capo
This is a recent purchase, and I am still getting used to it. It is their new Newport design, and is basically a clone of the Shubb mechanism. The only difference between the two seems to be the position of the spring mechanism. Both are very attractive in their ways and are about the same weight. In my opinion the Shubb looks a little more subtle on the neck- it blends in with the fingerboard more than the bright chrome finish of the G7th. It is early days yet, but hear are my thoughts about the G7th:
- It is very fiddly to fit- I seem to have to keep making small adjustments to the thumb wheel before I’m ready to play any music
- the arm is very small- my guitars are both 45mm wide necks, and the arm only just covers the 3 strings. Beyond the 8th fret is just no go
- it is very easy to have the 1st string choke in higher fret positions. In other words, the string hits the side (or ‘elbow’) of the capo. It takes a lot of faffing about trying to find the exact position in higher fret positions
- This might be an illusion, but tonally I find the G7th to be a bit duller sounding than the Shubb. For those that believe a capo does not impart any sonic characteristics on a guitar this might be difficult to accept, but anyway that was my immediate reaction when I first fitted it and played a piece that I play two or three times a day.
- it is expensive- a very extravagant purchase!
- Even when firmly clamped I still find it very easy to push put of position with my left hand
As you can see, there are significant issues in my mind with the G7th. It is a lovely looking design but I sometimes wonder if they did any field testing with it, particularly with fingerstyle players who might play guitars with quite wide necks. Maybe G7th are quite literal with their claims of this being ‘for mimicking dadgad tuning’ because fitting it beyond any of the lower frets is just such a pain. I cannot imagine me fitting this in a gig situation as it would take me at least a minute or two to get the capo properly and securely fitted.
So my recommendation- buy yourself a Shubb, or follow Keith’s advice and if you have a spare 6 string Shubb capo get out your hacksaw and do a bit of DIY!
G7th Banjo Capo
I do not personally use this capo as a partial capo, though I did give it a go. David Mead uses a 5 string capo in his piece Unseen Sunlight, the youtube video showing a Shubb model, but in this clip he discusses using a Banjo capo from G7th:
Again I find it only just barely covers my strings in the lower frets and is almost impossible to fit beyond about the 5th fret. Manufacturers tend to call this the ‘dropped D’ capo, although again be cautious if buying it for this specific reason. Like the so called ‘dadgad’ capos this doesn’t really give you true dropped D tuning. I sometimes think it would be fun to experiment with this capo together with a partial.
As an aside, be careful about buying this capo for a bouzouki. Although it says so on the packet, my own experience is that this capo fits fine up to fret 5, and then again is impossible beyond that. I don’t know whether my Octave mandola is a particularly wide neck, or whether G7th capos are generally quite a lot shorter. There seems to be a recurring theme here that their capos work best up to fret 5 (of course some of you may think that I’m mad even contemplating fitting a capo beyond fret 5!)
- Summary
Hopefully some of you have found this article useful. I know I have gone into some theory in the ‘Use of’ section, but to be honest, that is the joy of a partial capo. You don’t need any theory. I certainly don’t use theory to help create pieces. I can look back on them and kind of understand whats going on, but it isn’t necessary at all. If it sounds good to you, it is good. What price do you put on musical inspiration? A capo is a relatively cheap piece of equipment, and yet in has furnished me with a handful of pieces that I am quite proud of. It is a simple way to perhaps explore new textures, new harmonies, harp like effects, and generally push your creativity into another dimension. Listening to the work of Staffan Svahn I never cease to be amazed at how he creates beautiful, inspiring pieces using the humble capo in all sorts of creative ways. I look forward to hearing the results of everyone’s experimentation.
Interesting Links
There are some interesting books by guitarist Harvey Reid that you can buy here:
partialcapo.com/store.htm#ecwid:category=230864&mode=product&product=670277
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2013 10:34:20 GMT
Sorry about some of the strange formatting in this article. I have a pdf of this whole article if anyone remotely interested might want a copy, I can easily email it to you. Again if anyone is remotely interested in the tab of any of my pieces, let me know.
Robbie
|
|
davewhite
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Luthier
Aemulor et ambitiosior
Posts: 3,544
|
Post by davewhite on Apr 8, 2013 10:35:39 GMT
Robbie,
Fabulous tutorial with great food for thought. I think I might experiment - I like the idea of being able to play some strings behind the capo and the capo position harmonics sounds fun. If Keith could add his Blue Peter picture tutorial of adapting a Shubb capo here that would be great too.
|
|
ocarolan
Global Moderator
CURMUDGEONLY OLD GIT (leader - to join, just ask!)
Posts: 34,025
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"","color":"c0cfe1"}
Mini-Profile Name Color: 182a3f
Mini-Profile Text Color: 733a1c
|
Post by ocarolan on Apr 8, 2013 11:22:28 GMT
Superbly done Robbie, and will repay closer study I'm sure.
Dave - yes OK, will do that when I've taken some pics.
keith
|
|
Martin
Administrator
Posts: 11,884
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"http://mandocello.org/lytebox/images/adirondack.jpg","color":""}
Mini-Profile Name Color: 0a530b
Mini-Profile Text Color: 4f3517
|
Post by Martin on Apr 8, 2013 12:03:42 GMT
This is a great looking article Robbie, with tonnes of detail and lots of practical examples Thanks very much for posting this
|
|
leoroberts
C.O.G.
Posts: 24,593
My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
|
Post by leoroberts on Apr 8, 2013 13:15:44 GMT
What a cracking series of tutorials - cheers, Robbie.
I won't pretend that a partial capo is anything I've ever used though I can see how, for the more accomplished musician/performer, they'd be of real benefit. I really enjoyed reading your explanation. Who knows? maybe sometime in the future...
|
|
leoroberts
C.O.G.
Posts: 24,593
My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
|
Post by leoroberts on Apr 8, 2013 15:42:39 GMT
So, is it capo as in cap? Or as in cape?
Asking for a friend....
|
|
ocarolan
Global Moderator
CURMUDGEONLY OLD GIT (leader - to join, just ask!)
Posts: 34,025
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"","color":"c0cfe1"}
Mini-Profile Name Color: 182a3f
Mini-Profile Text Color: 733a1c
|
Post by ocarolan on Apr 8, 2013 16:13:57 GMT
Britspeak tends to be cap-oh. Merkinspeak tends to be cape-oh AFAIK anyway. Hope your friend is helped by this, and that his embarassing ailment clears up soon. Keith
|
|
leoroberts
C.O.G.
Posts: 24,593
My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
|
Post by leoroberts on Apr 8, 2013 16:20:56 GMT
Just had a word with him - he sends his thanks. He's hoping the cream works and your answer, apparently, means he doesn't have to "work out any difficult rhymes."
Don't know what he means.
|
|
ocarolan
Global Moderator
CURMUDGEONLY OLD GIT (leader - to join, just ask!)
Posts: 34,025
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"","color":"c0cfe1"}
Mini-Profile Name Color: 182a3f
Mini-Profile Text Color: 733a1c
|
Post by ocarolan on Apr 8, 2013 16:36:45 GMT
Ah good. And good to know your friend writes songs too!
You should perform them together.... keith
|
|
leoroberts
C.O.G.
Posts: 24,593
My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
|
Post by leoroberts on Apr 8, 2013 16:51:46 GMT
Nah, he's rubbish...
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2013 8:52:37 GMT
|
|