Yes, there is no debate, and no "either or" for some of us.

I still try to keep comfortable in every key, and still stay away from the Easy Fake Books, yet, sometimes, using the transposer, especially to transpose down a key during a tune, sounds really cool to me, not to mention it's appeal to my laziness.

Ian

I have no problems using the transpose button. I play often with a tenor sax and trumpet player using songs from fakebooks. I transpose down a whole step and these guys can read right off the chart as is.

Also my vocal range is considered 2nd bass. By transposing down a whole step it makes most tunes singable for me. This works well most of the time. The execption to this is Beatles tunes, Yesterday and Something. I have to move these down 2 whole steps.

I would rather spend my limited time honing my performance than learning the tune in a different key.

I still have trouble using a capo on guitar, I'm just not used to it. None of the professional guitar players I know would ever use a capo.

Tom

Tom

Since when did making playing easier for the player by any means a crime? Why such animosity toward anything that strays away from so called purism in playing an instrument?
Who made these rules?

I've never SEEN a professional JAZZ guitarist use one. Whether they WOULD or not might be a different story. I know that a great many legendary bluesmen used them, but I would think that they may have been less 'schooled' in terms of formal training. Of course, this is only speculation on my part.

chas

Donny, what's with you and "egos". I thought we already had a consensus on the board that YOU weren't allowed to use that word .

chas

Sorry Chas but there's NO other word that can be substituted....think about it!

Tom, Tommy Emmanuel, John Mayer, Vince Gil and others do...there's even a clip of Chet Atkins using a capo. But, in every case, these guys use the capo when playing an acoustic guitar, when they need to use an open bass note(s). It's generally a different story when they switch to electric.

All these guys know more than I. I never use a capo, but I rarely, if ever use steel string acoustics or play the kind of material where that style is required, so, for me and the style(s) I play, power chords are the norm. As a sax player, your popular keys are probably Eb, Ab, Bb, etc...no right open notes without a capo. If either of us were trying to accompany ourselves on a vocal in a style that required strong open-note chords, you or I would use a capo to play in the right key. If you'll notice, acoustic specialists use close to the nut structures. High on the neck power chords on, say a Martin just don't work well on tunes written for a traditional acoustic guitar.

It is a fact, however, that a large number of players use a capo because they cannot do it any other way. Then, it becomes a crutch, not a tool.

Didn't know you were a "picker". Just wish that you could have joined your family here in Lexington a few years ago so we could have "picked and grinned" together.

Russ (still "pick" well, just don't "grin" as much) Lay

P.S. Chas, damn, you're getting to be a polite, eloquent old dude. Now, THAT'S a little hard to get used to (LOL). Seriously, good solid points, with the appropriate amount of fun directed at that "singer from hell" all of us old timers have run into.


See you soon,


R.

Chas, you'll probably never see a real jazz guitarist playing JAZZ using a capo. That would be a real cop-out and an indication of a real lack of ability. But you might see a jazz player switching to acoustic, accompanying, say a (UGH) country artist, a folk or, in some instance, a pop artist use a capo. You're right about the old blues guys. They played in G and D...that's about it. A basic open G played with a capo on the first fret obviously produces an Ab with the same fingering.

A good example is the guy who backs up all the contestants on America's got Talent and American Idol, Paul Jackson, Jr. He currently has a light jazz version of Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" on heavy rotation on the smooth jazz stations and is actually a seasoned jazz star in Europe and Asia (Regularly tours with George Benson and the like). When he backs up performers on acoustic, he uses a capo. Otherwise... FAGETABOUTIT! For good players the capo is a tool required for certain styles, not to compensate for lack of ability.

And when our friend, Rory uses a capo, you can bet the farm that it isn't to compensate for a lack of ability. He's simply, "re-tuning" his instrument to provide the appropriate open bass notes for the song, key and style he's playing.

Russ (no capo for me) Lay


[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 06-03-2010).]

Russ,

I'm not a picker I'm a strummer. I play rhythm guitar with the praise band in my church. I only know the basic chords and struggle playing in flats. I have limited abilities on guitar so I DO use a capo when playing in Bb or Eb. And yes I'm playing an Ibanez electric. I know it is a crutch and I still don't feel comfortable doing it but I do. I've played in a band with two older jazz guys and they didn't care what key you played in, no capo. My buddy says once you know the changes it's all position anyway. You are right these guys were playing electrics. The one guy is dead and he died ON THE BANDSTAND at a jazz festival in one of those south eastern coastal states VA NC or SC I don't remember anymore. I could go that way rather than being shot by a jealous husband.

My wife and I will get to Lexington one of these days to see her cousin and you can be sure I will try to look you up. I'm an old organ player and wouldn't think of picking with you. I'll play your Sd5 B3 or whatever and you can play the guitar.

Tom

[This message has been edited by Tom Cavanaugh (edited 06-03-2010).]

[This message has been edited by Tom Cavanaugh (edited 06-03-2010).]

So Mo, what you're saying is, you can play in more keys, but just not comfortably. So if the bridge mods to a different key, you aren't hitting the transpose button in order to play the bridge in C in the middle of the tune, and then hit the transpose button again so you can play in C over the release. So if you're playing Sentimental mood in F, you'll transpose so you can play it in C, but over the bridge you will play in A flat? Or will you also use the transpose in the middle of the tune to get you into the bridge key and back out? If so, how on earth do you do that smoothly and get all the transition chords?