[New 12 String Mike]

I've caught Gord in concert this year and last year. The capos didn't move. D-18 stayed at 2 and the Gibsons were at 2 and 3. Just as they are on the Live at Reno DVD.

While this discussion is interesting, I believe those that want to play guitar on Gord's songs should try and stick with what fits their vocal range and favorite fingering patterns first.

Fingerstyle playing a song in A, but in G at the 2nd fret, provides fingering choices that just aren't there for open A. There was a thread here, within the last year, showing a photo of Gord from the interactive TV show playing an A chord with using the first finger only across the strings. I've always played the A chord the same way and got quite a chuckle from the "3-finger A" folks. Playing a song in standard A and using 3 fingers to play the chord really limits any augmentation of the chord for a song. You've only got 1 finger left. While you use 3 fingers to play a standard G chord, the fingering is more open, spread across all 6 strings, and makes hammer-on and lift off notes much easier to do. So A in G with the capo at the 2nd fret makes lots of sense.

But, to each his own. What ever you're comfortable with.

Then there's the point someone else touched on regarding a capo that's up a fret or two, puts the frets closer together and can change the way you play a song too. For a player with small hands, that could be just the trick.

Finally, the capo figures a lot when performing with other players. Those who will soon see a concert, watch Terry. He's moving capos on his acoustic and electric a lot. While I can't say this is why Terry does it, often having one guitar capoed and the other "open" creates a much nicer blend of notes and a better variety of sound. That was often the case in my gigging days.

So, capo moves can be for lots of different things. If you want to try and play it as Gord and crew do, JJ's list is a great help. Thanks, JJ. If you want to give a different shot, try that too. Its all fun.