TOPIC: NO CAPO!!!!

So Hogpaws and I did our third "Sing-Along" at my mom's Assisted Living Facility. This is a "family event" as my sisters and brother and their families come too. This year an in-law of my younger sister asked if he could come and play with us...our philosphy being "the more the merrier" we welcomed him with opened arms. However when we got to a particular song that we capo so we can hit the notes, we found out that HE DIDN'T HAVE A CAPO! What???? Can this be true???? I thought capos were our best friends...but not to worry...I had 2 so I lent him one....which I made sure to retrieve at the end...Live and Learn...guess he hasn't met FM yet!

I'll sometimes try to play our songs in another key (without the capo). It can be a challenge but a helpful practice tool. Especial for those times you leave your "friend" at home.

It really helps to understand the numerical sequence of chords (like we covered in class one time) when transposing. Ex: Key of C, a 1-4-5 is C,F,G... now it's easy to do the brain work while playing. Bam!... key of A, 1-4-5= A,D,E. Still the physical approach is challenging.

Well I lost my Capo (confession time)...but..in last weeks class...F.M. was going over how you can move the C or D or A up and down the neck...he called it thinking out of the box...that was really cool to me as he made it appear easy. As a relatively new player...my practicing has been limited to playing from the base (of the neck)....the mandolin sounds so beutiful higher up the neck (when played properly which I don't do)....but I have been practicing some this week...it feels so un-constraining to be able to ramble up and the neck like that.

I enjoyed that teaching. Barre chords are really the most economical way to play most tunes. They are harder to learn, they require more pressure typically to get them to ring correctly,which is why i don't practice them much. I desparately need to get off my duff and take private lessons....

I understand the use of the Capo but it causes me to fumble a bit. Lack of practice I am sure.... All in time I suppose.