PLAYING THE PART

DROP-D CAPO

its name describes, this neat invention (pictured far right) covers the guitar’s top five strings only, allowing the player to conveniently achieve a de facto “drop-D tuning,” transposed up a whole # # step (low to high: E, B, E, A, C , F ), by placing the capo behind the 2nd fret. What’s cool about this 2nd fret, either right in front of or behind the capo. I myself prefer to set my finger down in front of the capo, which is closer to the other fingers and feels less awkward than jumping the finger over the capo and reach back even farther to fret the string behind it. (You’ll need to place the capo a little farther away from the strings to do this.)