A capo is a device used on the neck (fretboard) of guitar to shorten
the playable length of the strings, hence raising the pitch.This
makes changing the key of a song very easy and hence you can use the
open chords anywhere on fretboard therefore you can play almost anysong
on its original scale by using the open chords
.
How it works
Every fret on the fret board represents half note or half scale. now if u place the capo on the first fret then u can use the shape of C major chord after the capo but it will sound half step higher (i.e. Sound of C # major).Similarly if u place the capo on 2nd fret then again u can use C major chord but it will sound 1 note or scale higher (i.e .D mojor). Similarly u can use all the other open position chords like A,Am,G,D,E,Em etc.anywhere on the fretboard using a capo but remember that they will sound higher depending on which fret u have placed a capo.
Few types of capo:
This Type of capo is commonly used .It is a clip type capo and we can easily fit it on the fretboard .I will recommand You to buy this type of capo.It is available at the price range starting about 200 INR to few thousand depending on the brand.
This is Screw type capo and is also used frequently though we have to tight it manually every time .
This is home made capo.It can be made easily with the help of pencil and two hair rubbers.I found this very useful video tutorial for it on you tube.This is how a capo is fitted on the fretboard.
