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Free chord transposer and capo chart
Updated
Paste a song's chords, pick the key you want, and get the chart back in the new key, ready to copy or print. Chords above the lyrics stay in line, and the capo helper shows how to play it with the open shapes you know.
Key
Or by semitones
Or keep the chords you have and put a capo on fret 2: it sounds in A.
Chords above the lyrics, or ChordPro's inline [C]. Lyrics and section names stay as they are.
Transposed chart
Transposed from G to A
[Verse] A A/C# Dmaj7 E Load the van at six, we're on at nine, F#m7 E/G# D E Everybody knows the songs but not the time. [Chorus] D E A A/C# F#m Call me from the car park, call me from the road, D E Asus4 A Somebody bring the setlist and the chart. [Bridge] [Bm7]One more song, the [E7]room is getting [A]late
Capo helper
Pick the key you want to sound in: these are the capo frets and open shapes that get you there.
In C, the 1, 4, 5 and 6m chords are C F G Am. To play them with open shapes:
In D♭, the 1, 4, 5 and 6m chords are D♭ G♭ A♭ B♭m. To play them with open shapes:
In D, the 1, 4, 5 and 6m chords are D G A Bm. To play them with open shapes:
In E♭, the 1, 4, 5 and 6m chords are E♭ A♭ B♭ Cm. To play them with open shapes:
In E, the 1, 4, 5 and 6m chords are E A B C♯m. To play them with open shapes:
In F, the 1, 4, 5 and 6m chords are F B♭ C Dm. To play them with open shapes:
In F♯, the 1, 4, 5 and 6m chords are F♯ B C♯ D♯m. To play them with open shapes:
In G, the 1, 4, 5 and 6m chords are G C D Em. To play them with open shapes:
In A♭, the 1, 4, 5 and 6m chords are A♭ D♭ E♭ Fm. To play them with open shapes:
In A, the 1, 4, 5 and 6m chords are A D E F♯m. To play them with open shapes:
In B♭, the 1, 4, 5 and 6m chords are B♭ E♭ F Gm. To play them with open shapes:
In B, the 1, 4, 5 and 6m chords are B E F♯ G♯m. To play them with open shapes:
How to transpose chords
Transposing moves every chord in a song by the same distance, so the song keeps its shape in a new key. Count the distance in semitones (half steps, one fret on a guitar) from the old key to the new one, then move each chord's root note that far. From G to A is up two semitones: G becomes A, C becomes D, Em becomes F♯m and D becomes E.
The kind of chord doesn't change. A Cmaj7 moved up two is a Dmaj7, and Bbm7b5 becomes Cm7b5: the b5 is part of the chord, not a note to move. In a slash chord both notes move, so G/B up two is A/C♯.
Sharps or flats?
Every black key on the piano has two names, so a transposed chord can be spelled either way: C♯ or D♭. Keys have a habit. F, B♭, E♭, A♭ and D♭ are written with flats; G, D, A, E, B and F♯ with sharps. The transposer spells the chart the way its new key is usually written, and you can switch it if your band reads it the other way. A minor key is spelled like its relative major: Dm with flats, like F, and Em with sharps, like G.
What you can paste
- Chords above the lyrics. Any line made only of chords moves, and each chord keeps its place over the words. Lyric lines are left alone.
- ChordPro. Chords in square brackets, like [G]this, move wherever they are, and so does a
{key: G}line. - Bar lines, repeats and labels. |, /, x2, N.C. and a label like Intro: stay where they are, between the chords. So does a form line such as A A B A.
When to use a capo
A capo clamps across the strings and raises every open string by one semitone per fret. Guitarists use it to play in a key that's awkward in open position with the chord shapes they know: put a capo on fret 3 and play G, C and D shapes, and the band hears B♭, E♭ and F.
It also keeps a song's sound when the singer moves the key. If the guitar part rings out in G and the singer wants it in A, a capo on fret 2 with the same G shapes keeps those open voicings, where the chart transposed to A on paper means new shapes. Past the seventh fret the neck gets cramped and the tone thin, so the chart below stops there.
Capo chart
Find the shape you're playing on the left; the column under the capo fret is the key it sounds in. Minor shapes work the same way: an Am shape with a capo on fret 2 sounds as Bm.
| Shape | Capo 1 | Capo 2 | Capo 3 | Capo 4 | Capo 5 | Capo 6 | Capo 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | D♭ | D | E♭ | E | F | F♯ | G |
| D♭ | D | E♭ | E | F | F♯ | G | A♭ |
| D | E♭ | E | F | F♯ | G | A♭ | A |
| E♭ | E | F | F♯ | G | A♭ | A | B♭ |
| E | F | F♯ | G | A♭ | A | B♭ | B |
| F | F♯ | G | A♭ | A | B♭ | B | C |
| F♯ | G | A♭ | A | B♭ | B | C | D♭ |
| G | A♭ | A | B♭ | B | C | D♭ | D |
| A♭ | A | B♭ | B | C | D♭ | D | E♭ |
| A | B♭ | B | C | D♭ | D | E♭ | E |
| B♭ | B | C | D♭ | D | E♭ | E | F |
| B | C | D♭ | D | E♭ | E | F | F♯ |
Charts in Nashville numbers
A chart written in numbers instead of letters never needs transposing: a 4 is the 4 chord in every key, so you only change the key at the top. The Nashville Number System guide explains how, with a chord chart for every key.
Getting the new chart to the band
Once the singer has picked a key, everyone needs the new chart, not the old one buried in a group chat. With GigPenguin you attach charts to the gig, and each player opens them from their own gig sheet link, along with the call time, the address and their answer. Building the set too? The free setlist maker prints each song's key on the band copy.
Made with GigPenguin, free at gigpenguin.com/chord-transposer
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