Cut Capo fingerpicking!

First off a cut-capo/short-capo/special-capo is a divice you attach to your guitar neck that holds down strings 3, 4, 5 for you. People use it b/c it makes alot of the more difficult chords seem alot easier, and it makes those simple chords a ton alot easier!

This is what one looks like:

If you don't have one i think you should consider getting one as soon as possible! Or just get your full capo and cut it down with a razor so that it covers strings 3, 4, and 5. Thats what i did and it worked very nicely! This is a full capo if you didn't know...

Now the thing with cut-capos is that you have to have it 1/2 a step up from the full capo like that in the picture or if your not using a full capo then it has to be on the second fret for it to work properly. I don't know why, it just does... if you don't believe me then try it anywhere else and tell me when you find something that dosn't sound like nails on a chalk baord!

Anyway, i'll be posting a tab of a quick little freestyled song i wrote with three easy chords. Here are the chords of this song, and the names:

F#m: 244200

G#m: 422400

A2: 542200

I highlighted the roots for yall again so you can kinda understand how they get there names. Ok so know for the tab! Well, i think i'm going to show you my first sketch of it in my small spiral that i write guitar stuff in. You can see where i wrote out the chords, the time signiture, the fingering for the pattern with your right hand and the tab itself.

Here is the tab typed out, this will be a bit easier to read and understand.

F#m G#m A2 A2

e----------0-------------0--------------0--------(7)--
B--0---------0---0---------0----0--------0----------
G----2---------2---4----------4----2--------2---------
D-------4-------------2---------------2---------------
A-----------------------------------------------4-----
E--2--------------4--------------5--------------------

So... you can now see the chords placed on time wich is 4/4 time, seeing it this way looks tuff, but its quite simple once you take it apart... The whole song is centered on the roots, or the bass line, and the rest are just rolls going downward, u see it now? Just try it out and see what you think... Get to the point where you don't have to think about it... don't worry this may take severl days, weeks, even months before you can be able to do this real smooth... this exersice is just to get your fingers used to there rightful places. REMEMBER the thumb has control of all the bass strings and the three other fingers stay on there strings all the time!

2
T1T321

The (7) is a harmonic... its a technique when you touch a certain part on a string without pressing down, you pluck it and release and it makes a resonating frequency throughout the string. You don't have to try this if you don't want to. It takes lots of practice to get.

Just take your time and go through it slowly! In the next lesson i'll be posting tons of pictures of chords, all the different kindas and stuff... it'll be way fun!

Well keep workin on your chords and strumming, you got to find your own rythum... honestly i'm still trying to find mine, haha.

<======(==@ (sword) gabe