Capo(tasto)

Now for another segment of sound altering items.  This week we are looking at probably the most widely used and most well known for guitar players, the capo.  Capo is short for capotasto, which is Italian for "head of fretboard."  According to the Oxford Music Encyclopedia, the first recorded use of the capo was in 1640 by G.B. Doni in his piece, Annotazioni, but it was probably used before that.  The point of a capo is to effectively shorten the length of the strings on a guitar, banjo, or mandolin so the pitch is raised, allowing the musician to play in a higher key with different fingerings.  It is placed on the neck and using some form of a clamp, presses all the strings down, shortening the neck.

Capos come in many shapes and sizes.  It comprises of two major component, the part that applies pressure to the fret and the mechanism that mounts it on to the neck.  The capo on the right, for example, utilizes rubber to evenly distribute pressure across the whole neck while a spring pushes a curve arm against the bottom of the neck, creating a vice so it stays put.  This is very common and mostly used for quick changes from key to key between songs.  Other mounting-mechanisms include lock with key for long lasting grip and rope ties for secure grips.  The fret pressure can be provided by rubber like the one on the right or by metal, depending on what sound you are looking for.  Rubber capos are most common since they seem to last longer than metal or plastic ones, and they have a smaller chance of breaking the strings.  Either way, it has to be rectangular so it presses equally over all the frets. (ehow.com)

The capo has a very special relationship with stringed instruments like the guitar.  Whatever genre the guitar goes, the capo follows.  When the guitar entered the jazz scene, the capo was close behind.  Now as Jazz became more defined as a genre, the capo tended to fade into the background and stick around mainly in blues and folk.  In blues, the music usually incorporates many flatted notes, to give a sad feeling.  The capo saved guitarist from some awkward hand cramping fingerings.

The capo isn't only used to take up the key signature. It also can procure some interesting chords using a partial capo, a capo that only applies pressure to a couple strings, giving the guitar a new, unique sound.