Tools
Chord Transposer and Capo Calculator
Paste or type a chord progression, choose the new key or the number of semitones, and the transposer rewrites every chord correctly, including sharps and flats that fit the key. The capo calculator shows which capo position lets you keep playing simple open chord shapes in the new key. Works with any chord symbol.
How to use it
- Type or paste your chords, for example: G D Em C.
- Choose the target key, or transpose up/down by semitones.
- Read the transposed chords.
- Open the capo tab to see which fret and shapes to use.
- Click a chord to see its diagram.
When to transpose
- To fit a voice. If a melody is too high or too low for a singer, moving it a few semitones can make it comfortable.
- To play with other instruments. Horns and some woodwinds read in other keys; a band may prefer flat keys, a guitarist sharp keys.
- To make it easier to play. A progression in Eb is awkward on guitar; with a capo on fret 3 you can play it with C-shapes.
How transposition works
Transposing moves every note by the same interval. Each chord keeps its quality: a minor chord stays minor, a maj7 stays a maj7. Only the root (and the bass note of slash chords) changes. Thinking in Roman numerals makes this easy: in any major key, the I–V–vi–IV progression has the same function, only the letter names change.
The capo
A capo raises the pitch of all open strings. With the capo on fret 2, a G shape sounds as A. The calculator works backwards: you choose the key you need, and it suggests capo positions with the friendliest shapes (usually C, G, D, A, E and their minor forms).
Related
Read the lesson on transposition and the capo and the one on chord progressions. Find the key of your progression first with the key finder, and hear progressions in any key with the progression player. The open chords chart shows the shapes the capo calculator uses.