Ukulele Capo

A capo will allow you to play in different keys much more easily. It will hold down all the strings at a certain fret – like having an extra finger. For example, if you are in C-tuning, putting a capo at the second fret will mean your uke is in D-tuning.

There are two broad types of capo.

Elasticated capos: These are attached to your uke by elasticated fabric. This type is much cheaper but less pleasant to use. I’ve fumbled and stumbled with this type of capo on many occasions – but I am clumsy, so you might not have the same problem.

Lever capos: This type of capo is attached by a lever which clamps onto your uke. They are quicker to put on and take off and tend to create fewer buzzing problems. There are more of these type of capo for ukulele but they’re rarer.

It is possible to use a guitar capo on the ukulele. However, it is much larger and will restrict your playing particularly on the lower frets.

On eBay

[phpbay]capo ukulele, 3, “”, “formby”[/phpbay]
[phpbay]capo ukulele, 3, “”, “formby” “elastic”[/phpbay]

On Video

7 Comments

  1. Jean-Louis Gaudet May 17th, 2011 1:39 pm

    FYI, Shubb has recently put out a capo specifically for the uke. I just picked one up at Long and McQuade (music store in Canada) – I haven’t tested it out much yet, but it seems solidly built. http://www.shubb.com/uke/index.html

  2. David Layton July 18th, 2011 4:40 pm

    I’m a banjo player so i tune my uke to open G so i can play all my banjo tunes on my uke without havin to learn new chord shapes What do you think?

  3. Kate October 20th, 2011 2:56 am

    I’m a fairly new ukulele player, so I don’t know much about ukulele stuff.

    Is this a good capo? http://www.kalaukulele.com/Capo.asp

    Thanks!

  4. Starkey December 7th, 2011 7:38 pm

    Can you use a guitar lever capo on a ukulele? I’m poor

  5. Ian April 3rd, 2013 4:29 am

    Kate, that is an amazing capo. I picked one up the other day. They’re a little more expensive that the one listed on eBay, but I have a feeling it will last longer than one that is only $8.

  6. Nathan A July 9th, 2013 8:57 pm

    Just ordered this

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tiger-Trigger-Guitar-Capo-Chrome/dp/B004PA5T5M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1373398759&sr=8-2&keywords=ukulele+capo

    Apparently it fits on Soprano ukes, so i’ll let you guys know how it performs in a couple days/weeks (^^)

  7. Mezza January 9th, 2016 4:24 pm

    Will the capo i use on my soprano ukulele fit on the concert ukulele without damaging it? I tried it out but was too scared as it seemed a bit tight and haven’t tried since.

    Thanks!

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