Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post - Lightfoot At The Count Basie Theater In Red Bank, NJ (10/6/10)

gretschviking1967 · 10-09-2010, 12:27 PM

Interesting responses.

I am a musician and I use the capo sparingly myself but Lightfoot never takes the thing off his guitars. He wants to keep the integrity of the original sound which is a nice idea but lowering the key is the right way to handle it.

Here's an example for those who may not understand the capo scenario:

The 1968 version of "Did She Mention My Name" was recorded in the key of "G". There was no capo involved. In 1975, he re-recorded the song as part of a medley which has the capo on the second fret. He still played it in the "G" chord position but because the capo was on the second fret, it pulled the key up to "A" which is way too high for him now. He opened the show with the original complete version of that song- which, remember, was originally in the key of "G"- but since the capo was on the second fret- he sang it in "A" which is way too high. If he drops the capo entirely, a song like "Canadian Railroad Trilogy"- which he plays with the capo on the third fret- would sound warm and confident. The song is played in the "D" chord position and because of the capo on the third fret, he is singing it in "F" which, again, is way too high. Get rid of the capo, play the song in the happy key of "D" and the problem is solved. I don't know if he feels that it would be confusing but all he would do is play the same exact chords on lower frets. Also, there were a few moments where I heard his full, rich voice of yesteryear peek through only to see it disappear as he tried to climb ladders he should be avoiding. That voice is waiting patiently to surface again- it's still there, albeit in a lower range- but the only way he is going to see that is if the capo is discarded. It really is a simple task that he and his band would adjust to very quickly.

Sorry if this post was a bit confusing to anyone. It can be kind of hard to explain the glorious world of capos! LOL!

10-09-2010, 12:27 PM	#14
gretschviking1967 Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Northeastern ,USA Posts: 40	Re: Lightfoot At The Count Basie Theater In Red Bank, NJ (10/6/10) Interesting responses. I am a musician and I use the capo sparingly myself but Lightfoot never takes the thing off his guitars. He wants to keep the integrity of the original sound which is a nice idea but lowering the key is the right way to handle it. Here's an example for those who may not understand the capo scenario: The 1968 version of "Did She Mention My Name" was recorded in the key of "G". There was no capo involved. In 1975, he re-recorded the song as part of a medley which has the capo on the second fret. He still played it in the "G" chord position but because the capo was on the second fret, it pulled the key up to "A" which is way too high for him now. He opened the show with the original complete version of that song- which, remember, was originally in the key of "G"- but since the capo was on the second fret- he sang it in "A" which is way too high. If he drops the capo entirely, a song like "Canadian Railroad Trilogy"- which he plays with the capo on the third fret- would sound warm and confident. The song is played in the "D" chord position and because of the capo on the third fret, he is singing it in "F" which, again, is way too high. Get rid of the capo, play the song in the happy key of "D" and the problem is solved. I don't know if he feels that it would be confusing but all he would do is play the same exact chords on lower frets. Also, there were a few moments where I heard his full, rich voice of yesteryear peek through only to see it disappear as he tried to climb ladders he should be avoiding. That voice is waiting patiently to surface again- it's still there, albeit in a lower range- but the only way he is going to see that is if the capo is discarded. It really is a simple task that he and his band would adjust to very quickly. Sorry if this post was a bit confusing to anyone. It can be kind of hard to explain the glorious world of capos! LOL! __________________ \"Do what you must. No man can criticize you as long as what you're doing is your best\" - Michael Nesmith, 1972 Last edited by gretschviking1967; 10-09-2010 at 12:38 PM.