Capo Chart
Type the chords of a song and a capo fret, and the capo chart shows the shapes to play. Or pick the key you want to sound in and get the capo positions that let you use open chords.
Keyboard: ← → move the capo one fret. Standard tuning; shapes are the chord shapes you finger behind the capo.
Capo chart
Find the shape on the left, the capo fret on top: the cell is the chord that sounds.
How to use the capo chart
A capo chart tells you which chord shapes to play with a capo on each fret: type the song's chords and the capo fret here and you get the shapes, or pick a key and see every capo position that lets you play it with open chords. The capo chart has three tabs. In Song chords to shapes, type the chords as they are written for the song, such as Bb Eb F Gm, and pick the fret your capo is on. The shapes to play appear underneath, each under the chord it replaces: with the capo on fret 3, those chords become G, C, D and Em. Shapes to sounding chords works the other way: type the shapes you finger and it tells you what the band hears, which is what you tell a piano player or a bass player. The − and + buttons, or the left and right arrow keys, move the capo one fret. Slash chords such as D/F# and extensions such as Cmaj7 or Asus4 keep their suffix and move with the root. Used this way it is a capo transposer: it can transpose chords for a whole song in one go.
Best capo for a key is the capo calculator: choose the key you want to sound in and it lists every capo fret with the key of the shapes you would play there, and marks the ones that use open chords. The full capo chart under the tool shows common shapes on every fret from 1 to 11.
How a capo transposes
Each fret raises a string by one semitone, and a capo is a movable nut: it raises every string at once. So a shape played behind the capo sounds higher by the number of the capo fret. A G shape with the capo on fret 2 sounds as A, because A is two semitones above G. Guitarists name the shape by the chord it would be without a capo, which is why a chord sheet may say "capo 2, G shapes".
Two rules cover every case. Sounding chord = shape + capo fret, and shape = song chord − capo fret, both counted in semitones. The quality never changes: a minor shape stays minor and a 7th stays a 7th. Capo 12 puts you back on the same chord names, an octave up.
Choosing the capo for a key
Open shapes (C, A, G, E and D, plus Am, Em and Dm) use the open strings, so the usual aim is a capo fret that turns the song's key into one of them. Keys with many flats are where a capo helps most:
| Song key (major) | Capo and open shapes to play |
|---|---|
| Db | capo 1: C, capo 4: A, capo 6: G |
| Eb | capo 1: D, capo 3: C, capo 6: A |
| F | capo 1: E, capo 3: D, capo 5: C |
| F# | capo 2: E, capo 4: D, capo 6: C |
| Ab | capo 1: G, capo 4: E, capo 6: D |
| Bb | capo 1: A, capo 3: G, capo 6: E |
| B | capo 2: A, capo 4: G, capo 7: E |
A lower capo fret leaves more of the neck, and more low notes, below your hands; a higher one gives a higher, lighter sound. If two options work, try both. Not sure what key a recording is in? The song key finder reads it from an audio file. The guitar chords page has the shapes, and the guitar chord finder names anything you finger behind the capo if you count frets from the capo as the nut.
Transposing to fit your voice
A capo only moves chords up. To sing a song lower, you have two choices: play it without a capo in a lower key, or put the capo on a fret and pick shapes from a lower key. For example, a song in G with no capo can go down a whole step to F, then played as capo 1 with E shapes or capo 3 with D shapes. To try a progression in several keys first, the chord progression generator works as a key transposer, moving it a semitone at a time, and the vocal range test shows where your voice sits.
More for guitar: Guitar Tuner · Guitar Chords · Guitar Chord Finder · Guitar Scales · Fretboard Notes · Virtual Guitar · Guitar Tab Maker · Chord Chart Maker · Online Guitar Amp · Guitar Effects · Online Looper
Questions
What does capo 2 mean?
Put the capo across all strings just behind the 2nd fret and play the shapes as written. Every chord sounds two semitones higher than its shape: a G shape sounds as A, a C shape as D.
How do I work out what chord I am playing with a capo?
Add the capo fret number, in semitones, to the shape. With the capo on fret 3, an Em shape is Gm and a C shape is Eb. The Shapes to sounding chords tab does this for a whole song.
What capo fret should I use to play in Bb?
Capo 1 with A shapes, capo 3 with G shapes, or capo 6 with E shapes. Capo 1 and capo 3 leave more of the low range of the guitar.
Can a capo lower the key of a song?
No, a capo only raises the pitch. To go lower, choose a lower key and play it without a capo, or tune the guitar down.
Does the capo chart work with ukulele?
Yes, the chord names work the same way on any fretted instrument. A capo on fret 2 of a ukulele turns a C shape into D, just as on guitar.