OK, I really should know this but could someone give me an idiot-proof rundown of what's happening when I capo my GDAD bouzouki at the fifth fret? I realise if I want to play D I play Am shapes but how do I work out all the chords I need - is there a chart online (I can't find one)?
Is there a simple formula so I can work out the chords needed for other modes?
Basically Jack, It goes like this. You play a D chord open. You move the Capo up to the 5th fret and play the same shape.. you got a G chord. Just count up the frets. D, D#, E, F, F# G. So A becomes D, Emin - Amin etc
OK bouzoukians, what are your strings tuned to if you put the capo on the fifth fret and it becomes GDAE?
Not a trick question, I'm actually curious. This guy I play with does that, and I don't even think he knows, but with the capo on the fifth fret I can pick out everything I know with fiddle/mando/tenor banjo GDAE fingering.
On the 5th fret you've got a mandola-equivalent in CGDA. So the same fingerings on the top three string as for the bottom three on fiddle/mandolin in GDAE.
Maybe he has a really long scale bouzouki and likes the tone he gets with a thick gauge of strings requiring him to tune low and capo to get into mandolin tuning.
Anyway, to calculate where your capo will put you it's easiest to think of transposing whole keys and the chords that you use to accompany them second. So the key of D open becomes the key of G on the fifth fret, All the chord shapes will stay the same so in time you can get used to the fact that your A chord is now a D chord, because you remembered that the 5 chord of G is an A (if you need to tell somebody what chord you are playing and your capo is on). If you need to do more complicated transpositions when you capo to other places, say the 1st fret, 3rd fret, 4th fret, or 6th fret, it's convenient to know how many sharps or flats are in each key singature, so you can figure out what you've transposed the key to with the order of whole and half steps in the C major scale. So if you play in D and capo on the 1st fret, that puts you in the key of Eb, the 5 chord of which is based on the Bb, because b is flat in the key of Eb.
No offence, Earl, but if the OP didn't know what moving the capo to the fifth fret did, I doubt whether your explanation is 'the easiest way to think of transposing...'
"DAEB is right - an odd choice of tuning. Why not CGDA, and capo up if you want DAEB?
To each his own, I guess."
My guess is that he doesn't want DAEB. What he wants is GDAE without the long stretches, so he is permanently capo'd at the fifth. These instruments tend to lose a bit of intonation up the fretboard, so if that's the case he'd do better to get a short-scale octave mandolin.
"....lose a bit of intonation...."
I'm not really sure if that's actually english - lose a bit of accuracy in the intonation - that might make sense - but not in a well-made instrument, surely ?
Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
OK, I really should know this but could someone give me an idiot-proof rundown of what's happening when I capo my GDAD bouzouki at the fifth fret? I realise if I want to play D I play Am shapes but how do I work out all the chords I need - is there a chart online (I can't find one)?
Is there a simple formula so I can work out the chords needed for other modes?
Help!
# Posted on February 12th 2010 by Sugarfoot Jack
Re: Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
Check out this link:
http://chordlist.brian-amberg.de/en/bouzouki/gdad/
# Posted on February 12th 2010 by Mix O'Lydian
Re: Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
Basically Jack, It goes like this. You play a D chord open. You move the Capo up to the 5th fret and play the same shape.. you got a G chord. Just count up the frets. D, D#, E, F, F# G. So A becomes D, Emin - Amin etc
Hope this helps
# Posted on February 12th 2010 by mumhain abu
Re: Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
OK bouzoukians, what are your strings tuned to if you put the capo on the fifth fret and it becomes GDAE?
Not a trick question, I'm actually curious. This guy I play with does that, and I don't even think he knows, but with the capo on the fifth fret I can pick out everything I know with fiddle/mando/tenor banjo GDAE fingering.
# Posted on February 12th 2010 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
On the 5th fret you've got a mandola-equivalent in CGDA. So the same fingerings on the top three string as for the bottom three on fiddle/mandolin in GDAE.
# Posted on February 12th 2010 by johndsamuels
Re: Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
Sorry, I got your question back to front. The open tuning is then CGDA, the mando-cello tuning.
# Posted on February 12th 2010 by johndsamuels
Re: Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
No, sorry again, one tone up from that in DAEB.
# Posted on February 12th 2010 by johndsamuels
Re: Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
Cool! Thanks John, I'll impress him with my knowledge next time.
# Posted on February 12th 2010 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
Thanks for your help everyone - much appreciated. Off to work it all out now (before tonight's session!)
# Posted on February 12th 2010 by Sugarfoot Jack
Re: Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
DAEB is right - an odd choice of tuning. Why not CGDA, and capo up if you want DAEB?
To each his own, I guess.
# Posted on February 13th 2010 by Jon Kiparsky
Re: Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
Maybe he has a really long scale bouzouki and likes the tone he gets with a thick gauge of strings requiring him to tune low and capo to get into mandolin tuning.
Anyway, to calculate where your capo will put you it's easiest to think of transposing whole keys and the chords that you use to accompany them second. So the key of D open becomes the key of G on the fifth fret, All the chord shapes will stay the same so in time you can get used to the fact that your A chord is now a D chord, because you remembered that the 5 chord of G is an A (if you need to tell somebody what chord you are playing and your capo is on). If you need to do more complicated transpositions when you capo to other places, say the 1st fret, 3rd fret, 4th fret, or 6th fret, it's convenient to know how many sharps or flats are in each key singature, so you can figure out what you've transposed the key to with the order of whole and half steps in the C major scale. So if you play in D and capo on the 1st fret, that puts you in the key of Eb, the 5 chord of which is based on the Bb, because b is flat in the key of Eb.
# Posted on February 13th 2010 by Earl Cameron
Re: Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
No offence, Earl, but if the OP didn't know what moving the capo to the fifth fret did, I doubt whether your explanation is 'the easiest way to think of transposing...'
# Posted on February 13th 2010 by gam
Re: Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
Incidentally, Han Speek provides a comprehensive easy-to-read chart of chords for various tunings.
,http://www.xs4all.nl/~hspeek/bouzouki/
# Posted on February 13th 2010 by gam
Re: Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
"DAEB is right - an odd choice of tuning. Why not CGDA, and capo up if you want DAEB?
To each his own, I guess."
My guess is that he doesn't want DAEB. What he wants is GDAE without the long stretches, so he is permanently capo'd at the fifth. These instruments tend to lose a bit of intonation up the fretboard, so if that's the case he'd do better to get a short-scale octave mandolin.
# Posted on February 13th 2010 by johndsamuels
Re: Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
"....lose a bit of intonation...."
I'm not really sure if that's actually english - lose a bit of accuracy in the intonation - that might make sense - but not in a well-made instrument, surely ?
# Posted on February 13th 2010 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Bouzouki capo on the fifth fret - huh?
Well gam, the OP asked for a simple formula for figuring this stuff out. well actually there is one, it's called the circle of fifths.
# Posted on February 14th 2010 by Earl Cameron