Members bsman Posted September 26, 2011 Members Share Posted September 26, 2011 Count me with the "use 'em a lot on acoustic, rarely on electric" crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaVenCAD Posted September 26, 2011 Members Share Posted September 26, 2011 Barre chords are a crutch? First time I've ever heard that.Tell me, how do you play your B flat minor 7th chord? I don't mind using a barre, but the whole "make a bar, stick an E shape in front of it" bores me. I'd rather play it open if possible and hear some jangle with it. Oh, and: -6--6--6--6--X--X- I don't know an open version unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaVenCAD Posted September 26, 2011 Members Share Posted September 26, 2011 Barre chords are just another voicing with a particular sound. How is that a crutch? Sometimes you want a full six strings filling up space, sometimes you want a light triad on the high strings to add color. Depends on the song. It's like saying triads are a crutch because they "only" have three notes, or cowboy chords are a crutch because you only use three frets. If you're saying learning the shape instead of the chord is the crutch, then sure, I suppose, but you could say that about any chord shape, not just barre chords. Learning through shapes isn't really a crutch, it's a way to learn. If you stop there in your learning and never understand what you're actually playing, then that's your own problem (to the extent it's a problem, your ears are the ultimate judge)..Heck, the guitar itself is one big crutch because you've got frets to keep you in tune, whereas violinists and bassists have 'real' instruments that make you find the pitch without frets! That's exactly what I'm saying. Learn one shape, move it all around the guitar.. That's Dolly Parton playing =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor49 Posted September 27, 2011 Members Share Posted September 27, 2011 Music is all about voicings. The character of a piece can change fundamentally when different voicings are used. Some of the voicings are best played with a capo. Using one does not make you a wuss because you cannot barre, or an unskilled player. Doing it all with barre does not make you a better player . Horses for courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayd_mon Posted September 27, 2011 Members Share Posted September 27, 2011 The reason that they're useful on acoustic is the same reason they can be useful on electric - open strings, hammer-ons that aren't possible using barre chords, etc. To say that they can be used on one and not the other is silly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted September 27, 2011 Members Share Posted September 27, 2011 I don't mind using a barre, but the whole "make a bar, stick an E shape in front of it" bores me. I'd rather play it open if possible and hear some jangle with it.Oh, and:-6--6--6--6--X--X-I don't know an open version unfortunately.To me, a barre chord is any chord that has a barre. If you mean just knowing E/A Major/minor barre is bad, sure, but it sure beats the alternative of only knowing CAGED chords because you can at least play diverse chord progressions. When I say I'm a barre chord player, I don't really mean the four barre chords that everybody plays. I do mix up a pretty good variation of chords, but even the ones without a barre tend to be movable chords, I often use the open strings merely as drones when they work in a particular key. I mostly ignore open chords. The beauty of movable chords is that your fingers can get very used to what a diminished 7th feels like, for instance, and it becomes a nice part of your vocabulary. As you get more and more repetition on these chords, you can mix these chords up effortlessly in your playing without having to relearn the diminished 7th chord everywhere on the scale. Plus, it gives you a natural feel for how "high" or "low" you want a given movable chord to sound, so you can chose a high A7 on the treble 4 strings, vs. a low A7 on all six, etc. Lastly, I dislike open chords because they just don't fit in with my style, where I like to play lots of choppy rhythms and the open strings kind of stick out like a sore thumb because they can't be left hand muted. I play a lot of different chords and don't ever limit the kind of chords I use based on what I can or can't play, and movable chords have given me a lot of variety of sounds. If they're a crutch, I'll continue to sport it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Greg.Coal Posted September 27, 2011 Members Share Posted September 27, 2011 Saw Marty Stuart a month or so ago and he used one frequently on his Telecaster. Probably because it's a B-Bender and he wants to play in different keys. I use one on electric and acoustic and, of course, it's really useful for checking the neck relief. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FoonkySteve Posted September 27, 2011 Members Share Posted September 27, 2011 I Like to use a Capo on an acoustic as a production technique. I've used this method a few times..... If im writing/arranging/recording something, i'll have my guitar parts down, drums, bass, whatever else, i like to add an acoustic part capo-d on the upper frets to double the chords played on the other guitar parts, but in a different voicing, can add mucho brightness to a chorus. Just having it slightly above 'barely audible' low in the mix, you barely know it's there, but if you take it out, - you notice there's something missing - if that makes any sense? Anyway - Capo's are great tools. I used to be a snob about it though and rendered them for pussies who dont wanna learn man-chords Then i grew up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members csm Posted September 27, 2011 Members Share Posted September 27, 2011 Shame Albert Collins, Muddy Waters and Clarence Gatemouth Brown aren't around so we can tell 'em that a capo is a mere crutch ... I use one a LOT when I'm playing slide on open-A tuned guitars (acoustic or electric) particularly when jamming with people sufficiently inconsiderate to want to play in keys other than A. And for one song I do in that tuning, I capo at the 5th fret, which not only puts me into D but gives the guitar a nice 'banjo' effect. In standard tuning, my favourite capo trick is 'fake drop D': I capo the top five strings at the second fret leaving the low E string open, play D shapes while everyone else plays in E ... and get a lovely boom at the bottom of each run or chord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BeanoBoy Posted September 27, 2011 Members Share Posted September 27, 2011 If The Beatles, Stones and Dylan use 'em, they're good enough for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted September 27, 2011 Members Share Posted September 27, 2011 Music is all about voicings.The character of a piece can change fundamentally when different voicings are used.Some of the voicings are best played with a capo.Using one does not make you a wuss because you cannot barre, or an unskilled player.Doing it all with barre does not make you a better player .Horses for courses. Wisdom. Have to earn it. If any of you ever listen to Paul Simon, who uses a capo a lot, many of his voicings are a result of the capo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rog951 Posted September 27, 2011 Members Share Posted September 27, 2011 Kind of weird and ignorant to call a capo a crutch. You can do things with a capo that are physically impossible otherwise. I'm not really into using them very often, but even I understand how they can be useful tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scuzzo Posted September 27, 2011 Members Share Posted September 27, 2011 there are all sorts or cool open tuning ideas and lead kinda things you can do with a capo that is just not possible with out one.. now as for barre chords.. they are fine.. but they just do sound the same with out doing them correctly.. not just that lazy, easy.. barre the E A string and thats it.. even if you are doing just those notes you should still make an effort to form the rest of the chord.. i have played some folks guitars that only have wear on the E and A strings.. not the D,G,B,E... all those are like new... just the E and A... so no hate for barre chords... but those corny Power Chords that let you learn every pop song in 4 easy steps... meh... at least use the full form then you have the option to flatten or augment or breakup the thing and arpeggio.. and its good to know the open forms too and mix it up.. a full open chord just sounds different then a barre E or A on what ever fret... well that a bit of a tangent... but i see nothing wrong with either barre or capo.. those 2 note chords? well.... anyway.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fixintogo Posted September 27, 2011 Members Share Posted September 27, 2011 I think it's weird that there's even a controversy. Capos allow you do things that sound good sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Frankdp Posted September 27, 2011 Members Share Posted September 27, 2011 I don't prefer to use them because they make my guitar sound like its in a different key......just sayin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Even Bigger D Posted September 27, 2011 Members Share Posted September 27, 2011 Depends on the genre. For country, especially if you have to play in keys chose by the singer, they're essential. For rock they can be handy but are rarely required. For jazz, I could go many gigs and never consider using one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members yanktar Posted September 27, 2011 Members Share Posted September 27, 2011 Without his capos, a mafia don can't function.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members csm Posted September 27, 2011 Members Share Posted September 27, 2011 Just got back from a screening of the new Stones concert film Some Girls (taken from a Fort Worth gig on the 1978 tour) ... and for the Jumpin' Jack Flash finale, Lord Keef has TWO capos on his Tele: one on the second fret and one just above it on the third. 'Sup with that??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor49 Posted September 28, 2011 Members Share Posted September 28, 2011 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Could understand it for a quick change to the next song?just rip off the first one and transition to the next one non-stop but for the finale..................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kit_strong Posted September 28, 2011 Members Share Posted September 28, 2011 Definitely a crutch solely used by no-talent hacks[YOUTUBE]My_-ZMIuD_A[/YOUTUBE][YOUTUBE]dtC8K06mEFQ[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.