Using a capo on a guitar raises the tuning of the guitar from one pitch or key to a higher pitch or key other than the standard tuning of the instrument. It acts in place of the index finger of your hand when forming barre chords.
Barre chords can be difficult for new, beginner or even established guitarists and can take a lot of practice and effort to do well.
Using a capo is not cheating. A capo is just a tool that can be used to make playing a particular song in any key an easy option. This is an important factor when playing with singers who may siing in a different key.
Instead of having to rewrite the whole piece of music to suit the new key. Using a capo can save a lot of time and effort by simply adding it on to the relevent fret on the guitar. It is an essential tool in any guitarists toolkit.
Many of the biggest guitar bands of the 1970's and later used capos on 12 string guitars as it has a very unique sound.
Notable bands that used capos and 12 string guitars include
The Eagles
America
Pink floyd
Genesis
To name just a few.
Some people think that using a capo is cheating. These are usually non guitar players who have no clue what they are talking about. The capo is just a very useful tool and doesn't replace barre chords. It just adds more options.
Barre chords vs Capos is an old chestnut that comes up from time to time but now you know. They are not in competition. They are just alternative options for guitarists to use in whatever way they choose.
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