Cut Capo

Product Description

Billy Foote wrote You Are My King with the cut capo and showed it to Chris Tomlin in 98. Mitch Bohannon encouraged the development of this new Kyser cut capo that is becoming popular in worship circles today. Mitch Bohannon of Bo's Capos is a worship leader himself and describes the capo and how it came to be:

"I first heard of this in 1999 at a Maranatha Workshop. Then later in 2000 at a Worship-Together conference in San Jose, I saw Chris Tomlin using this technique and took that opportunity to learn a little from him. From our discussions, I realized that it would take a whole new mindset as far as looking at chords and fingerings.

So, I sat down and wrote out all the “theory” I needed for the chords I might play in worship music. Once I had written a chord chart for the capo, I saw how simple it was and began to teach others how to use it. I called and met with Milton Kyser of Kyser Capos, and after a year of discussions with him, I found myself demonstrating the finished capo at the 2002 Summer NAMM Show in Nashville, TN.

I was able to meet with Rick Cua, of Worshiptogether’s “New Song Café” and discussed the usefulness of the capo. In August 2002, I met again with Rick and we filmed a “webisode” of instruction with the capo for the Worship-together website."

Capo instructions – Mitch Bohannon

The capo is designed to be placed on the 2nd fret with strings tuned to standard tuning (EADGBE). It can be used in conjunction with a full capo (discussed later). The capo serves two purposes. First, it allows for chord “voicings” different from standard open chords. These “voicings” are not necessarily true-to-theory chords meaning they may include or exclude a specific note. Secondly, use of the cut capo often calls for very simple fingerings which makes the chords easier for beginning players.

Place the capo on the fret board from the top so that it covers strings 5, 4, and 3. Make sure it is next to the fret bar. This will provide better intonation and allow the player to reach the bass note with more ease.

Using the capo on by itself on the second fret, you will be playing in the key of “E.” A simple chord progression used in the song “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever” looks like this…



The fingerings are much more simple than standard fingerings. The 1st and 2nd strings ring continuously, providing a “droning” sound effect which also allows for more time in chord changes. For the F#m chord, simply reach around the capo with the index finger (#1) and use fingers #3 and #4 on the 5th and 4th strings. (It will become more comfortable after you play it a few times.)

STRUMMING/RHYTHM

Chords played with the cut capo are almost all 6-string chords which means you can strum all six strings giving a very full sound. Hammer-ons are also very easy in that you’re only fingering a couple of strings. To “hammer-on” simply strum the open strings and then quickly snap your finger(s) into the chord position. Combining hammer-ons with palm muting it becomes very easy to create an easy acoustic rhythm drive.

TRANSPOSING – PLAYING IN DIFFERENT KEYS

Transposing the capo to another key is the same as playing in the key of “E” and using a standard capo…



This means that the same progression used above (E, F#, A, B2) played with a full capo on fret 3 and the cut capo on fret 5 would transcribe to: G, Am, C, D2

This picture shows the position of the capos when playing in the key of “G.” To transcribe chords (change to a different key), remember that every fret is a half-step. The key of “G” is three (3) half-steps up from “E.” To transcribe to this key, each chord in the key of “E” would move up three (3) half-steps.

Worship Together released 2 How To Songbooks, Volume 1 & 2. Most of the songs included in this book were tabbed to match the key of the CD so that it would be easy to play along. However, some of the songs were transposed to a key that works best with the cut capo. Remember that songs can often be transcribed to make them easier to play or sing. Specifically, songs in the key of “D” are easier to play with the capo in the key of “E.”