The scale length of the strings of an instrument affects the timbre of the strings, and thus the use of a capo may alter the tone of the instrument.

Every other fret remains unaffected (e.g., the seventh fret of an E-string still plays a B note for any capo position at or below the seventh fret), and thus a performer does not need to adjust for or relearn the entire fretboard as they might with retuning. However, using a capo only affects the open note of each string. Playing with a capo creates the same musical effect as retuning all strings up the same number of steps. For example, if they play a simple I IV V chord progression together in E the first guitarist plays E A B7 while the second plays the same progression capoed at the fourth fret using C F G7 chord-shapes. This creates a fuller sound than two guitars playing in unison. With this concept in mind, if two players want to play a chord progression in a more interesting way, one can play first position chord-shapes with no capo, while the second player places the capo further up the fretboard and plays different voicings of the same chords. For this reason, the phrase 'chord-shape' is commonly used to clarify that the fingering shape and not the audible pitch is being referred to. Neither method strongly prevails over the other. Similarly, a D-shaped chord can be referred to as 'D' (based on the shape relative to the capo), or E (based on the absolute audible chord produced). In tablature, for example, a note played on the fifth fret of an instrument capoed at the second fret can be listed as '5' (absolute) or '3' (relative to capo). When referencing fingerings for a song that uses a capo, the player determines whether the chart references absolute finger positions, or positions relative to the capo. Song arrangements may cite capo position just as they cite alternative tunings. Some types of capo can mar the neck of the guitar if applied incorrectly. If the strings are bent or mispositioned, the instrument sounds out of tune in the new key. All types of capo should be applied after a fresh tuning by laying the barre, descending from above, and directly behind the fret, so that all of the strings have uniform position and pressure. Factors that vary by type of capo are ease of use, size, degree of interference with the player's hands, and ability to hold down strings uniformly without affecting tuning. Capos come in different sizes and shapes for different instruments and fretboard curvatures. There are various capo designs, but most commercial capos consist of a rubber-covered bar that clamps to the instrument's neck in some way to hold down the strings. In effect, a capo uses a fret of an instrument to create a new nut at a higher note than the instrument's actual nut. Musicians commonly use a capo to raise the pitch of a fretted instrument so they can play in a different key using the same fingerings as playing open (i.e., without a capo). The first patented capo was designed by James Ashborn of Wolcottville, Connecticut year 1850.

The earliest known use of capotasto is by Giovanni Battista Doni who, in his Annotazioni of 1640, uses it to describe the nut of a viola da gamba. The word derives from the Italian capotasto, which means the nut of a stringed instrument. It is a common tool for players of guitars, mandolins, mandolas, banjos, ukuleles and bouzoukis. Demonstrating the peg removal feature on an Adagio guitar capoДЄ capo (short for capodastro, capo tasto or capotasto, Italian for 'head of fretboard') is a device a musician uses on the neck of a stringed (typically fretted) instrument to transpose and shorten the playable length of the strings-hence raising the pitch.

Night changes chords no capo