What would these guitar chords be without a capo?
Friday, September 16th, 2011 at
12:00 am
I have a song with a capo on 2 and the chords are Em, Am, C, D, and Caad9 with the capo on. What would the chords be without the capo? Sorry if I wasn’t clear and thank you!
No, the chords WITH THE CAPO ON the second fret are Em, Am, C, D and I want to know what the chords would be without the capo on. Sorry for the confusion.
Tagged with: capo • fret • sorry for the confusion
Filed under: Chords
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I’m going to assume that you mean the fingering of the chords you are listing is the same as a "normal" (open position on a guitar with standard tuning) Em, Am, etc. and want to find out the chords you are actually playing with the capo on…
A capo is basically a "moveable nut" for your guitar. If the capo is on the 2nd fret, then the chords you are playing are one whole step higher than what it would be in the open position (i.e without a capo). Therefore, with the capo on, the chords you are REALLY playing (i.e the tones that your guitar will produce) are : F#m, Bm, D, E, and Dadd9.
If you just take the capo off and use these fingerings without barring your index across the 2nd fret (basically replacing the capo with your finger) you’ll get some weird results…so I don’t think that’s what you mean…
EDIT: Still not sure what you mean.
If you take the capo off but leave your fingers where they would be with the capo on (i.e. not barring your index at the 2nd fret), chances are you’ll end up with a bunch of open strings that will clash with the notes you are fingering. What "chord" you end up with will depend on where you were placing your fingers for each individual chord with the capo on. The chord names you listed make sense for the open position (played "at the nut" on a guitar with standard tuning) but would be more difficult to play with a capo on the 2nd fret, defeating the purpose of using a capo altogether.
I still think you are confusing the chord that your guitar emits (actual frequency of the soundwaves produced) with the chord diagram you are fingering on your guitar while the capo is on…
Just add 2 frets to every chord…
To play what sounds like an Em position w/ a capo at the 2nd fret, play an F#m.
Am=Bm
C=D
D=E
Cadd9 would of course be Dadd9, because that’s actually the true chord you’re playing with that capo at the 2nd fret.
See how it moves up the alphabet? The only thing to remember is there are no sharps/flats between E and F and B and C.
So if you’re playing an Em postion with a capo at the 3rd fret, count up from the open Em chord…
0-2-2-0-0-0
1st fret would be Fm
2nd fret would be F#m or Gb minor
and the 3rd fret would be Gm
Hope this wasn’t confusing…hang in there!