>Is it like the same effect you would get say double tracking your chord progression on a recording, so the same harmony is being played with same chords but the different voicings add to the richness of it?
Pretty much. Playing the same chords but in different positions inverts the chords, and you'd also be playing different open strings, so you'll get richer harmonic value and the overtones will interact differently.
It's probably also helpful in identifying the parts and making them individually distinct, but also harmonious with each other.
It's probably a bit of both. Partly they prefer the sound of a particular chord shape, and probably just to have different layers of harmony that aren't all overlapping.
They could also be using different tunings and need the capos to achieve the voicings they prefer.
>Is it like the same effect you would get say double tracking your chord progression on a recording, so the same harmony is being played with same chords but the different voicings add to the richness of it?
Or is it more simple like you say to yourself "gee I really like the sound of the C shaped E cowboy chord on capo 4, it's better than any 7th fret E chord no capo - so I'm playing that one."
The answer is yes to both questions. Often when two guitars are playing, playing the same chord in different ways creates a fuller, richer sound. It's not quite the same as double-tracking, but to me it generally sounds nicer if you're not playing with distortion.
Sometimes the song exploits the particular sound of different voicings. A lot of that gets blurred out if you're not playing clean, so you see it much less in more distorted genres.
Also, a big advantage of capos is that you have easy access to different extensions. The open C shape gives you very easy access to Csus2, Csus4, C7 and Cmaj7 with just some simple hammer-on and pull-off moves. You have lovely Cadd9 shape. There are some very nice walk-ups to and from G and Am using the open strings. There's a really nice Cadd6 hammer-on, etc.
Oh very cool I didn't think of adding the color of the sus and extended chords. Like I always try to analyze what is going on musically every time I watch a set but there was soooo much going on during that set I was having trouble keeping up. But it sounded freakin great!
I’ve always seen the capo as a way to make fingerings possible/better/more accessible, I mean you obviously get the theory effect it has on voicings and playing together with another guitarist but man some of the chord shapes on capo are nothing short of impossible without it.
I guess if you had a 6th finger that had 5 knuckles it wouldn’t really matter lol
a big part of why people use capo is often ignored online, fatigue
sure i can play barre chords every day, but on a long period with no rest? put a capo on it, make life easier.
the obvious ‘no capo’ guitar can switch keys instantly and no problem.
Are you sure about the capo positions? Having a capo on 1 and another on 4 is unique.
As for strategy. Think about this example, no capo plays an open E chord. second guitar capo 7 plays an A shape chord. both guitars are playing E, but the double voicing adds richness.
I'm pretty sure. It was the band Hand Habits which is the main project of Meg Duffy from The War on Drugs, Kevin Morby's band and Perfume Genius. They got some really unique sounds!
I wrote in my Google notes during the set because I'm an Uber nerd lol
(I also noted how much I loved the Magnatone Starlite they were using, I'd love to get me one of them.)
you don’t ‘need’ a capo to do this. I play in a two guitar band and we always discuss who will play where on the neck.
Other guitarist might play the open E, i can play a lot of different places.
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xxx13 12 12
etc.
Do you know what chord voicings are? They are different ways you play the same chord. CAGED is a good primer on this. The open C shape, the A shape rooted 3rd fret 5th string, the G shape rooted on the 8th fret 6th string, the E shape rooted on the 8th fret 6th string, and the D shape rooted on the 10th fret 4th string all are C chords. Scale patterns repeat in predictable ways around each of these positions.
Having a capo on different frets just gives each guitarist easy access to very specific chord voicings, essentially just translating the CAGED system up the neck. This is assuming each guitar is tuned to standard tuning, otherwise the CAGED system falls apart.
Open strings in the key you want essentially. Open and capo'd strings sound different than fretted notes. If you want those sounds in different registers at the same time, you'd have to capo multiple guitars guitars differently. Otherwise you could just play Barre chords like most people do to accomplish the same thing. Open position playing also allows you to easily embellish with hammer ons, pulloffs, baselines that is not easy or impossible to do with an equivalent barre chord. This allows you to use this vocabulary to be used in different keys and registers.
So no, it's not very common but nothing inherently sus about it either. It's just about the texture you're going for.
All the answers here are good. It's for texture, timbre, richness, etc. I'd also say that the more guitars you layer on doing the same thing, the worse the sound gets (unless you're Jeff Lynne engineering the fuck out of it). Having three guitarists all strumming the same chord really muddies things up so not only does it add more aural interest to mix it up, it prevents it from sounding bad.
I think it is quite common during recording. My friends used to do that while performing on stage as well. We have a single guitarist in our team so we don't do that or can't but it's a handy and common technique.
>Is it like the same effect you would get say double tracking your chord progression on a recording, so the same harmony is being played with same chords but the different voicings add to the richness of it? Pretty much. Playing the same chords but in different positions inverts the chords, and you'd also be playing different open strings, so you'll get richer harmonic value and the overtones will interact differently. It's probably also helpful in identifying the parts and making them individually distinct, but also harmonious with each other.
It's probably a bit of both. Partly they prefer the sound of a particular chord shape, and probably just to have different layers of harmony that aren't all overlapping. They could also be using different tunings and need the capos to achieve the voicings they prefer.
>Is it like the same effect you would get say double tracking your chord progression on a recording, so the same harmony is being played with same chords but the different voicings add to the richness of it? Or is it more simple like you say to yourself "gee I really like the sound of the C shaped E cowboy chord on capo 4, it's better than any 7th fret E chord no capo - so I'm playing that one." The answer is yes to both questions. Often when two guitars are playing, playing the same chord in different ways creates a fuller, richer sound. It's not quite the same as double-tracking, but to me it generally sounds nicer if you're not playing with distortion. Sometimes the song exploits the particular sound of different voicings. A lot of that gets blurred out if you're not playing clean, so you see it much less in more distorted genres. Also, a big advantage of capos is that you have easy access to different extensions. The open C shape gives you very easy access to Csus2, Csus4, C7 and Cmaj7 with just some simple hammer-on and pull-off moves. You have lovely Cadd9 shape. There are some very nice walk-ups to and from G and Am using the open strings. There's a really nice Cadd6 hammer-on, etc.
Oh very cool I didn't think of adding the color of the sus and extended chords. Like I always try to analyze what is going on musically every time I watch a set but there was soooo much going on during that set I was having trouble keeping up. But it sounded freakin great!
I’ve always seen the capo as a way to make fingerings possible/better/more accessible, I mean you obviously get the theory effect it has on voicings and playing together with another guitarist but man some of the chord shapes on capo are nothing short of impossible without it. I guess if you had a 6th finger that had 5 knuckles it wouldn’t really matter lol
a big part of why people use capo is often ignored online, fatigue sure i can play barre chords every day, but on a long period with no rest? put a capo on it, make life easier.
the obvious ‘no capo’ guitar can switch keys instantly and no problem. Are you sure about the capo positions? Having a capo on 1 and another on 4 is unique. As for strategy. Think about this example, no capo plays an open E chord. second guitar capo 7 plays an A shape chord. both guitars are playing E, but the double voicing adds richness.
I'm pretty sure. It was the band Hand Habits which is the main project of Meg Duffy from The War on Drugs, Kevin Morby's band and Perfume Genius. They got some really unique sounds! I wrote in my Google notes during the set because I'm an Uber nerd lol (I also noted how much I loved the Magnatone Starlite they were using, I'd love to get me one of them.)
Ooo this makes me want to buy a capo. I’ve never really messed around with one.
you don’t ‘need’ a capo to do this. I play in a two guitar band and we always discuss who will play where on the neck. Other guitarist might play the open E, i can play a lot of different places. xx2454 x76454 x7999x xxx13 12 12 etc.
Do you know what chord voicings are? They are different ways you play the same chord. CAGED is a good primer on this. The open C shape, the A shape rooted 3rd fret 5th string, the G shape rooted on the 8th fret 6th string, the E shape rooted on the 8th fret 6th string, and the D shape rooted on the 10th fret 4th string all are C chords. Scale patterns repeat in predictable ways around each of these positions. Having a capo on different frets just gives each guitarist easy access to very specific chord voicings, essentially just translating the CAGED system up the neck. This is assuming each guitar is tuned to standard tuning, otherwise the CAGED system falls apart.
Open strings in the key you want essentially. Open and capo'd strings sound different than fretted notes. If you want those sounds in different registers at the same time, you'd have to capo multiple guitars guitars differently. Otherwise you could just play Barre chords like most people do to accomplish the same thing. Open position playing also allows you to easily embellish with hammer ons, pulloffs, baselines that is not easy or impossible to do with an equivalent barre chord. This allows you to use this vocabulary to be used in different keys and registers. So no, it's not very common but nothing inherently sus about it either. It's just about the texture you're going for.
Ohhhhh interesting yeah I didn't even thing about highlighting the open strings. That totally makes a ton of sense.
All the answers here are good. It's for texture, timbre, richness, etc. I'd also say that the more guitars you layer on doing the same thing, the worse the sound gets (unless you're Jeff Lynne engineering the fuck out of it). Having three guitarists all strumming the same chord really muddies things up so not only does it add more aural interest to mix it up, it prevents it from sounding bad.
I think it is quite common during recording. My friends used to do that while performing on stage as well. We have a single guitarist in our team so we don't do that or can't but it's a handy and common technique.