Want to play in Bb or F# with easy open chords? Pick the key you need and see which capo fret works for each chord shape, then convert a whole progression.
| Chord shapes to play | Capo fret | Example chords (I IV V) | Notes |
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Shapes to play:
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Move a song to the key that suits your voice without learning new chord shapes.
Play Bb, Eb or F# songs with friendly open shapes and a capo.
Many songs are played with a capo; find the shapes that match the original key.
Each fret raises the pitch by one semitone. If you play C chord shapes with a capo on fret 3, every chord sounds three semitones higher, so C becomes Eb, F becomes Ab and G becomes Bb. To find the fret, count the semitones from the shape key up to the key you want.
The calculator does this for five popular major shape families (C, G, D, A and E) and three minor families (Am, Em and Dm). Capo positions above the 7th fret work but sound thin and bright, so you can set the highest fret you are happy to use.
Shapes stay the same; the sound moves up one semitone per fret.
Subtract the capo fret from each real chord to find the shape.
Add the capo fret to each shape to find what it really sounds like.
Fret 1 with A shapes, fret 3 with G shapes or fret 8 with D shapes. Fret 3 with G shapes is a popular choice.
No. A capo only raises pitch. To go lower, use a lower shape family, or tune down your guitar.
Output uses the spellings most guitarists see on charts, such as Bb and Eb rather than A# and D#, and F# rather than Gb.
Yes. Only the root and any slash bass note change, so Am7 or D/F# keep their quality.
The math is the same on any fretted instrument, though the shape names here are for guitar.
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