I completely agree with the "breaking out of the creative rut" idea... I've played electric guitar for ages, but just started getting back into acoustic and just a few days ago bought the Planet Waves NS Pro capo... it works great, and allows you to mess around with just 1 and 2 fingerings while practicing picking patterns. Just because you're a beginner doesn't mean you're not ready for a capo. I'd definitely recommend the Planet Waves one.. its really slick.