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I would appreciate your help in understating the the notation: "Guitar 3rd to F sharp Capo III". I attached a picture of the music sheets.
I understand the idea of a capo and the fact that I should put it on the 3rd fret. However, I'm having trouble in understanding if/how it shifts the written notes.
In order to further understand it, I was looking for tabs but I was unable to find ones for the same notes.
The instruction means to tune G string down to F# ("lute tuning": see, for example https://www.guitar-chord.org/alternate-tunings.html), then apply the capo. This has the effect of tuning the guitar to G C F A D G, or, more importantly, up a minor third.
Notice that the guitar part is written in E major, but the vocal part is in G major. This means that the guitar must be raised by a minor third.
Third string from G to F♯ is simple - it changes the tuning, slightly, from standard guitar tuning.
Then capo on the third fret then moves all the written guitar notes from where they are on the lower stave, to sound in the same key as the vox. To me that's odd, as they could have been written out in the appropriate new key of G major rather than left in E major. The dots are there - it's not as if it's in tab. So any reader will have to still assume the capo is where the nut should be, but still compensate for the different tuning of that 3rd string. So, seeing a note cluster and recognising it as a certain chord, becomes difficult for a guitarist used to reading dots.
Albeit lutenists may benefit, although tenor lutes are tuned G>G, with the M3 between 4th and 3rd strings (as re-tuning indicates), as opposed to guitars, with M3 between strings 3 and 2.
