Australian acoustic guitar virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel has issued a public service announcement by demonstrating what he believes is the best way to put on a capo in order to eliminate tuning woes.
“I try to make people aware of things that are important on stage,” he says in a new in-depth chat with Guitar World, during which he warns players of the tuning issues that can come with capos.
“I think tuning is the most important thing. You’ve got to be in tune. Every time you put the capo on wrong, you are going to pull the guitar out of tune.”
For Emmanuel, who incorporates lots of percussive techniques into his wide-ranging and ever-expansive sound, correct capo technique is paramount to his performances.
After all, for some of his arrangements, he equips and removes his capo mid-song. His inventive reimagining of George Harrison’s Beatles hit Here Comes the Sun is an example of that.
However, because capos apply extra pressure on the strings when depressed, it's all-too-easy for them to pull your guitar out of tune.
So, what is the correct way of doing it, and how does Emmanuel avoid such issues? For his GW demonstration, Emmanuel uses a Kyber-style capo with top-mounted levers. This, he says, helps with the mid-song changes.
“The capo has a spring in it, so it's going to push down on the strings a little bit,” he prefaces. “The best way you can get as accurate as possible is, put the guitar on an angle [slightly flatter against your knee].
“You look down at the fret where you want to put it, squeeze it, drop it on, and you'll feel it sit kind of flat. Now, take your right hand and with your palm just push down on the strings.”
Pushing down on the strings helps ensure all strings are being put under even pressure by the capo.
Check the video above at the 01:01:00 mark to see the technique in action.
For more valuable insights from Emmanuel, find out what he thinks is the difference between a guitarist and a guitar player – and why that matters – and how knocking on his hero's door helped kickstart his career.
