Partial capos sound complicated. But – they can make your guitar playing easier and add a unique quality to how your songs sound.
Why try partial capos?
- You want a unique sound to a song for some variety with open tunings. And, you don’t want to be constantly tuning up and down when you’re playing. And what a distraction for an audience!
- You play the same chords or have limited guitar skills.
For example, I have small hands, so chords that stretch across 5 frets are not happening for me. I also like certain chord shapes, but want different sounds to my songs. - Using partial capo chords may only require one or two fingers. If you’re a beginner this is an easy way to start creating songs with good sounding chords quickly.
I’ll review some standard capos I use in combination with my partial capos. And I’ll cover 3-String, 4-String, and 5-String partial capos along with a few chord books for each.
Partial Capos
Because you can combine a partial capo with other capos to give some variety to your music, you’ll want to find the ones that work best for the job you need done.
If you read the standard capo recommendation post, you know I’m a Shubb fan. And, the fact that they make multiple types of partial capos makes me an even bigger fan.
PARTIAL CAPOS WE RECOMMEND
I use this as my 5-String capo for alternate tunings on guitar. It’s a little shorter than the standard Shubb so perfect for the 5-string use. You can also use it for the old “4th fret – reverse capo and leave the 6th string open” trick.
I use this as a 4 string capo as well.
Also known as an Esus Capo, this one allows for center string capoing. It comes with instructions on how to create some unique tunings so you can get up an running easily.
Guitars I’ve used it on: Guild, Gibson, Martin, Breedlove, Santa Cruz, Stone Bridge, Rain Song
Another good one to monkey with for special tunings. This one is similar to the Shubb Short Cut. It also comes with instructions on how to use and create some starter tunings.
Mine went to a friend since the whole Jurassic look bothers me. But, this is a solid capo if you’re already using Kyser and like the brand.
Guitars I’ve used it on: Guild, Gibson, Martin, Rain Song and Taylor.
While you can always back down your 6-string capo, I do like the fact that there’s a 5-string available. By using a dedicated 5-string, you don’t have uneven pressure on the fret board or capo parts hanging over.
Guitars I’ve used it on: Gibson, Martin, Rain Song and Taylor.
PARTIAL CAPO BOOKS
Books are particularly handy for figuring out partial capos. There are some great ones from Harvey Reid. We’ll start with a couple that are helpful for beginners.
