Guitar lesson: How to change the key of any song the easy way

For the uninitiated, a capo is a handy device that you clamp over the strings to raise the pitch. Why? Well take a look at singer-songwriters such as George Ezra for the answer…

Ezra will often play with a capo at the 2nd fret. But if he’s playing live and finds a song too high to sing comfortably, he can move the capo down to the 1st fret or remove it all together, allowing him to play exactly the same guitar parts one or two semitones lower. 

If your voice is higher, try moving your capo farther up the fretboard instead. A basic capo is cheap as chips, so there’s no reason not to try one. But we'd certainly advise investing in a good quality capo from the likes of G7th or Shubb if you'll be using one regulalrly. 

We’ve played the following simple fingerpicked arpeggio that you can hear on the audio below it in open position and it sounds great. We’ve also played it a second time using a capo up at the 7th fret, and you should be able to hear that the higher sound is a lot sweeter. 

Try out your capo using strummed chords, too.

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