I love playing in open tunings. When I first discovered them as a teenager, I spent hours exploring them and I still do so today. Open tunings allow you to create chord voicings that are more mysterious and colorful than you can get with normal guitar tuning. But there are a couple of downsides to open tunings. For one thing, if you want to switch between normal tuning and open tuning you either need two instruments or take the time to re-tune your guitar between songs. Another problem is that if you re-tune your instrument frequently the strings stretch out and lose their vibrant sound.
That’s why I’m excited about this new development in capos. The fine designers at Creative Tunings have given us the SpiderCapo, the first capo that allows you to capo each string individually. Think of the vast number of tunings that are possible when you multiply all the fret placements by all the combinations of strings capo’d or not capo’d—there are hundreds of them. The SpiderCapo also allows you to finger strings above and below the capo—awesome! What’s more, you can change the individual string settings while you’re playing. It makes your head spin with possibilities.
Find it at Guitar Center, $29.95.
“Sweet Chords” are first-position chords that have in common the notes D and G (fret 3) on the two high strings. These chords tie together well because of the commonality of the two pedal tones on top. They’re also considerably easier than normal first-position chords to switch between because the switches involve only the first and second fingers.