A Capo For Two: Jamming for Beginners

[Richard_close2u]

Hello @btabler and welcome to the community.

@Btabler

In the earlier beginner courses, we learned a capo can be used to increase the octave

Your use of the word octave reveals some of your confusion. Octave is a specific gap between two musical places (notes or chords). To play the same chords an octave higher using a capo, you would be going from open chords to placing the capo at fret 12 and playing the exact same chord shapes. 12 frets up all the notes on a guitar neck repeat those that begin with the open strings. The open strings are EADGBE and the notes at fret 12 are EADGBE also.
The capo is not used to play an octave higher on 99.9% of cases. It is used to change key and everything will be higher, but not 12 frets (= 12 semitones) higher. Playing the chords an octave up does not change the key at all so does not benefit the singer. Playing the chords in a higher position (therefore in a different key) will benefit the singer.

There are two basic paths.

Capo path 1
Playing with the same shapes as open chords = playing in a different key up to including capo at fret 11. At fret 12 you reach the octave repeat of the open chords chords.

Capo path 2
Playing in the same key as the open chord progression = capo plus a different set of chord shapes.
@stitch gives an example.
I have a full topic on this path

Using a capo to stay in the same key

Using a capo – playing different chord shapes and staying in the same key A capo is a guitarist’s friend. A capo can be used to change the key of any given chord progression. This involves playing the exact same chord shapes but placing the capo somewhere on the neck away from the nut to change the key. This has the effect of raising the pitch. This is how many people think of using the capo - changing the pitch to suit a vocalist’s range. Of course, if a song already requires a capo, it is po…

Hope that helps.
Cheers
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide & Moderator