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actually most tend not to, that way they have a longer fretboard to work on... but some things are infinitely easier to play when you have a capo on, allowing for more difficult material to be played...of course if they have a singer too, their voice range decides where the capo should be put...
Playing for singing requires this more frequently than not. THe largest misconception of flamenco guitar is that soloists play PIECES or songs structured as in classical music or fully composed contemporary works. Actually it is normally a mix of falsetas bridged by rhythmic strumming. So Falsetas being the base of the guitar music, guitarists tend to work things out to functional ie used when accompanying dance or singing. As already stated the capo is normally on so it can take getting used to doing the left hand grips depending on different capo positions. After some experiment most guitarists settle on a position where MOST of the falsetas sound the most "flamenco" and are still comfortable enough to play.
Guitarists that use the capo in lower positions such as 2 or 1 want to make use of some falsetas they worked out higher up on the fingerboard. Obviously falsetas worked out for singers that require a high capo position, will be in the lower positions on the fingerboard. Hope that makes sense.
Good point ,.......... I want to ask the players here .... assuming that you are on your own just messing about or practicing ....Do you have a prefered fret to put a capo on ?? ............ and why?
Me i use no capo a lot , but often then I use fret 2 more than anything , occasionally 3 . i dont like it too high cos you get that 'Chipmonks ' effect i think . although I have a tarantos which is on 4 ,,,. Thats another thing , if I learn something by someone else , and it happens to have a capo on 3 for example , then of course I will to but even after learning it when I could change , I tend not too , like the song is linked to a fret in my head ..... So I suppose 2 , fairly normal I think , I see the 2nd fret as a 'Bulerias 'fret ..........
Oh yeah , one other thing I move from 2nd to 3rd also to spread out the wear on the strings ..............
i prefer capo on 2, i hate to play without a capo, my wrist kills me, but i've composed more for no capo interestingly... for bulerías, i prefer 3-4, for soleá, the higher the better :)
Posts: 2697
Joined: Jun. 7 2010
From: The South Ireland
RE: Stupid Question No1 (in reply to xirdneH_imiJ)
quote:
3-4, for soleá, the higher the better :)
strange that you say that , i think solea the lower the better ,so . , no capo for that. maybe because its slower and you can get the big bottom E string bass. especially on the intro , or ending .... However I may use a capo to learn something and then uncapo ( is that a verb? ) to play it as i have a reasonably good stretch . and i like to know that I can do things without a capo if need be, , I do force myself to do that and always have ....., years of stretching for jazz guitar chords may have something to do with it ...... But yeah then when I re-capo (another new verb) the whole thing becomes easier , and sounds brighter ,... makes you wonder why not just have a smaller guitar ..........
@RTC ...never open ...?/?? everything is soooo high for you then ? I would try especially Soleares, Granaina, and Farruca with no capo for the bigg full sound ,....
It's also possible that one might stumble upon a great sounding guitar which happens to have been built for slightly larger hands. In that case, one might capo on the first or second fret to make it feel like a standard guitar.
Personally, I always prefer to play without a capo. There is something cool about the sound of capoing up. But, in general, when I play I'm inclined to think: Why limit the space available on the fret board?
I've heard Antonio Rey always practices without a capo for the simple reason that it's more challenging for the left hand, even if he inevitably uses a capo for a performance.
stupid question no2 is: how do you protect your nails?
no3: I'm looking for tab of composition x, could you send it too xxx@xxx.x?
no4: Which strings are the best for flamenco?
no5: Can I fail at flamenco?
Because everybody tends to say, there are no stupid questions but only stupid answers hurrdurr... Here the most stupid answers:
No1: All answers that are longer than a page.
No2: Answers that are signed by the person who wrote it.
No3: All answers that start with:
actually And the tone Some palos like Some solos can Playing for singing requires A capo will make you look cool you'll lose quantity, but I Mario Escudero used to Good point ,.......... i prefer You guys hate quality women not true, i Alternate tunings? Oh, This works for me: strange that you say that @RTC Kiko: Stupid <-- pretty self explanatory.. lol It's also possible that altered tastes are for dancers stupid question no2 is:
It all depends on the guitar... Some palos seem to sound better on one fret over another on some guitars.
It seems that more flamenco soloists play without a capo now than ever before... Maybe its because of influences from other music? Maybe its because of exploring a sound and area of the fretboard which was mostly ignored in some earlier flamenco? Maybe its because in jazz and classical a capo is frowned upon most of the time? Maybe players are just to damn lazy to put it on...
When composing you will hear a complete difference which I refer to as tone color, from key to key... If you don't have a cutaway and start putting in licks above the 12th fret, you'll probably choose to play without a capo or capo low on the fretboard...
If your working with a singer who is doing solea out of the true key of A, would you rather play capoed at the 5th fret and play from E? Or would you rather play open and play in A? I'll choose E at the 5th fret 99 times out of 100... Some times its just about the sound which you like best, and which chord you like for the palo. For solea E is my favorite over all, so I'll gravitate to it when I can. If I can't I don't mind, but when I have a choice I'll bust that E chord... Having said that, the 6th fret is pretty much my cutoff point. When using a capo and having a choice, I stick between the 2nd fret and the 5th fret...
Stoopid answer #4 - Classical guitarists play mostly without a capo, also - Doitsujin = Japanese colloquilisim meaning "No ***king cejilla" 'Nuff said? (Stoopid question#6)
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