Welcome from your host Harvey Reid...

About me.. I have been using various kinds of partial capos for both songs and instrumentals in my music since the mid 1970's, and I am probably the first modern person to write, publish and record music for the partially-capoed guitar. I won the National Fingerpicking Guitar Contest in 1981 (without using one) and since then have recorded close to 200 different songs and instrumentals in several dozen different capo configurations. I have done thousands of concerts using them, and I probably know more about this mysterious subject than anyone. I want to be your guide to this fascinating musical world, to show you what they can do for your music, help you find the capos that work best for you, and help you learn to use them. I am trying to assemble the information, tools and instructional materials that can open up this amazing new world of music that is hiding inside every guitar.

I am now working hard on several books that will cover most of the known ways to use partial capos, and trying to assemble a lot of information and contacts here in this web site...The first book is now done! Capo Voodoo: Book 1- The "Cut Capo" Chord Book is available July 1, 2010 in our store. Please look around this web site and see what you can find. What seems to be a harmless guitar gadget is actually a surprisingly deep subject that can keep you busy for decades...

Here at PartialCapo.com...

• We sell all the different kinds of partial capos, and I'll carefully explain their advantages and drawbacks. We currently carry 13 different models, including Shubb c7b and c8b, Kyser Short Cut, Dropped D, L-Lever Open G, Kyser K-Lever Double Drop D, K-Lever Dropped D, Woodie's G-Band Model 1 and Model 2, Third Hand Capo, Spider Capo, and the amazing Harmonic Capo . We also carry a number of full capos from Shubb, Kyser and others.
• We carry books and videos and recordings that use partial capos. There are not many yet.
• We are building a list of artists who use partial capos, to help you get musical ideas
• We present the only thorough history of this amazing idea. Wikipedia is currently not correct.
• We provide a list of relevant links
• If you are a guitar teacher, I can show you some surprising ways a partial capo can help you

Using a partial capo creates open-string effects similar to those achieved by non-standard tunings of the guitar. Changing the length of an open string with a partial capo yields a similar kind of musical results as you get by retuning. It is, however, fundamentally different than retuning the guitar, and you usually can't play the same music both ways. Since you generally stay in standard tuning when you use a partial capo, the geometry of the scales and chords on your fingerboard remains familiar. This is the primary advantage of using a partial capo. You get more sound from the skills you already have.

You can play many things just as you would in standard tuning, but also achieve the sound of an open tuning.

There are many interesting and very useful ways to use a partial capo and an altered tuning simultaneously. Even if you are experienced with tunings, the place to begin understanding the surprisingly confusing world of partial capos is to think of it as a "parallel universe" to the world of altered tunings. Start with standard tuning configurations before you "jump off the cliff" and do both at once. There are over 11 million ways to partially capo a guitar in each different tuning! Only a few of them have real musical value, but it's a vast world to explore.

If you are the kind of player who has found uses for altered or open tunings, then it is almost certain that you will find uses for a partial capo.

A partial capo allows you to play good-sounding things on your guitar that are not possible any other way

Partial capos are equally useful to a total beginner, a recreational player or songwriter, and to a serious guitarist and composer. They allows drone-string resonances and chord voicings that are very useful and desirable, and open up a new world of guitar sounds to be explored by both serious guitarists and people who just accompany songs with their guitar.

It is also an extremely useful tool for teaching guitar, and allows young children and those with learning disabilities to have a very successful guitar experience. It may be the best way ever devised for teaching fingerpicking.

I have worked for over 35 years exploring the possibilities of the partially capo-ed guitar, and I have only become more convinced that it is an idea of tremendous importance, and one that will eventually become universal. There are many useful ways to partially capo a guitar, and there are often many different uses for particular configurations. The same Esus configuration that makes guitar very easy for beginners is also the one most widely used for composing and arranging by some of the world's most accomplished fingerstyle guitarists

We sell the Third Hand Capo wholesale and retail, all other types of partial capos and materials. We also write and publish books of arrangements for partially capo-ed guitar.