Can someone just explain why you would use a capo. Also when one is used does the name of the chord change?

...a capo allows you to temporarily change the "open string" key for a given chord shape or fingering.

...for instance, the normal open string tuning of a "C" chord has the notes X,C,E,G,C,E and the frets X,3,2,0,1,0; but placing a capo across the neck at fret two raises the key to "D" but you'll be using the same fingering as you did for the "C" chord, except now, you'll be playing the notes X,D,F#,A,D,F#.

...typically, capos are almost only used by folk singers...they allow the "key" of the song to be changed without having to totally relearn new chords, just slip on the capo and play as you did before, but now in the newer (and higher pitched) key.

...rock or jazz players typically never use capos, however, some blues players will use a capo, especially the singers.

Also singer songwriters could use a capo to raise the song to a ideal pitch for the vocals, maybe after you've written a song late one night and then decided to make it a higher pitched song where you can sing higher and give it more energy but still playing some simple chords so you can concentrate on the feel of the song.

Another use is when you've written a song for male vocals and then you want to try it out with female vocals, move the capo up 4 or 5 frets to use the same chord pattern.

GOFFO

To answer the second part of your question.   Yes the chord names change ( although the forms  remain the same )  IE:   Capo at 5th fret,   open forms become,
                                                                            C = F
                                                                            A = D
                                                                            G = B
                                                                            E = A
                                                                            D = F#
Hope this helps alittle..

Jim

how, with what can i clean a classical guitar? its old and dirty

Hi Ariell, welcome to the board ! Din't mean to take so long getting back to you but I was out of town...ok so if I came into a dirty dusty old guitar first I'd take a very soft bristled paint brush and gently brush away the loose dust and debris. Then I'd use a vacuum cleaner with a clean brush attachment set on low to remove the somewhat heavier and kind of 'stuck on' dirt and debris, again being gentle. At this point I would use a clean soft cotton cloth, (old T shirt) dampened and wrung out, to gently begin cleaning away the more stubborn deposits of dirt and crud build up.

Once the worst of the cleaning is done, I would work on the fretboard with an old toothbrush, another clean bit of soft cotten, dampened very slightly to remove more buildup along the sides of the frets. I'd use a wax/cleaner on the tuning machines if polished metal and at last I'd treat the fretboard with the appropriate cleaner/preserver kit...(there are different ones)... that can be found at your music store for your type of fretboard. Finally the top, back and sides can be treated with the again appropriate cleaner/preserver from your music store or that which is recommended by your guitars maker. This is a fun process and when completed (my Fender American Deluxe and my Taylor acoustic for example) you'll be really glad you took the time, plus you'll stave off the aging process that an otherwise unattended guitar would suffer. Good luck and let us know how things turn out...heck, post some 'before and after pics' for us to see !

Cheers,

GuitarZen

i have allready cleaned up the guitar buth thanx any way. Zen can you expalain me the meaning of the
aug, sus, etc.(the tipes of the chords) and whit what should i begin mi practice?

You're welcome Ariell, well aug means 'augmented' and  sus means 'suspended'. There are longer answers that would explain what to do, say for example, to make an 'A' chord into an 'Aaug' or 'Asus' chord.

If you take a look at the 'Guitar Chords' page here in chordbook you'll be able to see what happens when you select the various chords as aug or sus.  I don't want to jump off too far into theory with you right now, but maybe later on we can and I'd be happy to do so. What would be helpful is if I knew where you're at with your playing. In other words, are you new with a clean slate, are you a beginner that can play a few chords or are you already playing open chords like C, A, G, E, D or more and ready to move up a notch or two? This would help us help you Ariell, so let us know and we'll go from there !

Cheers,

GuitarZen

Iam playing the chords C, A, G, E, D and trying to change them faster as i can its going good by now, buth what should i practise biside that?

Ok, well if you're changing chords fairly fast using CAGED open chords you could add Em, Am open shapes and F, either open or barre. Also, something that worked really well for me and others I would imagine, is begin practicing songs you know that you've found the chords for online along with lyrics...there are many sites available for just that. And finally but not wanting to overwhelm you, start checking out the scales here in the 'scales' section at least once during a practice, presuming you practice about an hour.

What else...let's see...oh, try this...even if you don't know the chords in a song you find online to practice, try it anyway only have the 'guitar chords' section open here to refer to chords...that way you'll be exposed to new chords each new song you find even if they aren't just CAGED, Em, Am and F chord songs...I found this really useful and it got my chord library built up fast. I found that if I went back to the songs that I din't know the chords for, but looked them up here, played them, that soon I was able to remember them. Main thing, have fun.

Cheers,

GuitarZen