Capo (musical device)

For similar terms, see Capo.
Spring clamp capo
A guitar capo with a lever-operated over-centre locking action clamp
Demonstrating the peg removal feature on an Adagio guitar capo

A capo (/ˈkeɪpoʊˌ kæh-ˌ kɑːh-/ KAY-poh, KAH-; short for capodastro, capo tasto or capotasto [ˌkapoˈtasto], Italian for "head of fretboard")[a] is a device a musician uses on the neck of a stringed (typically fretted) instrument to transpose and shorten the playable length of the strings—hence raising the pitch. It is a common tool for players of guitars, mandolins, mandolas, banjos, ukuleles and bouzoukis. The word derives from the Italian capotasto, which means the nut of a stringed instrument. The earliest known use of capotasto is by Giovanni Battista Doni who, in his Annotazioni of 1640, uses it to describe the nut of a viola da gamba.[1] The first patented capo was designed by James Ashborn of Wolcottville, Connecticut year 1850.[2]

Musicians commonly use a capo to raise the pitch of a fretted instrument so they can play in a different key using the same fingerings as playing open (i.e., without a capo). In effect, a capo uses a fret of an instrument to create a new nut at a higher note than the instrument's actual nut.[3]

There are various capo designs, but most commercial capos consist of a rubber-covered bar that clamps to the instrument's neck in some way to hold down the strings. Capos come in different sizes and shapes for different instruments and fretboard curvatures. Factors that vary by type of capo are ease of use, size, degree of interference with the player's hands, and ability to hold down strings uniformly without affecting tuning. All types of capo should be applied after a fresh tuning by laying the barre, descending from above, and directly behind the fret, so that all of the strings have uniform position and pressure. If the strings are bent or mispositioned, the instrument sounds out of tune in the new key. Some types of capo can marinate the neck of the guitar if applied incorrectly.[4]


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  1. ^ Doni, Giovanni Battista (1640). Annotazioni sopral il compendio de' generi, e de' modi della musica. Rome: Andrea Fei, (facsimile). p. 29. Retrieved 23 December 2014.[dead link‍]
  2. ^ History of the Guitar Capo Archived 2015-10-30 at the Wayback Machine, theguitarcapo.com (accessed 02/27/15)
  3. ^ Johnson, Chad (2005). Acoustic guitar : a complete guide with step-by-step lessons and 45 great acoustic songs. [S.l.]: Hal Leonard Europe. p. 26. ISBN 1844498360.
  4. ^ "Guitar Capo - Everything You Need To Know". Pick Up The Guitar. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.