Capo transposer
Paste a chord sheet, with chords above the lyrics or in square brackets, and pick what to do. Show the shapes to play with a capo on a given fret, the chords you hear when you play shapes with a capo, shift every chord by some semitones, or let the tool find the capo fret that gives the easiest open chords.
Runs in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to use it
- Paste the song. Chords can sit above the lyrics, or inside the lyrics in square brackets.
- Choose what to do. For a capo, pick “Shapes to play with a capo” and enter the fret. To see which capo makes a song easy, pick “Find the best capo”.
- Choose sharps or flats, or leave Auto, which uses flats when the sheet already contains flat chords.
- Copy the result.
How it works
Each chord is split into a root, the quality (m, 7, maj7, sus4 …) and an optional bass note after a slash. The root and the bass are moved by the number of semitones and the quality stays as it is. With a capo on fret N, the shapes are the written chords moved down N semitones.
Worked example
A song in D with chords D, A, Bm and G is awkward for beginners at the Bm. With a capo on fret 2 you play C, G, Am and F. The sheet above with a capo on fret 2 gives exactly those shapes. For B♭, E♭, F and Gm the best capo is fret 3, because the shapes become G, C, D and Em, and fret 10, which also works, is out of the tool’s range.
Tips
- A capo changes pitch, not difficulty of rhythm: choose the fret that suits the singer’s range first, then the one that gives easy shapes.
- Slash chords such as G/B keep their bass note and move with the chord.
Frequently asked questions
What does a capo do to the chords?
A capo on fret N raises every open string by N semitones. If you play a C shape with a capo on fret 2, you hear D. To play a song written in D with that capo, you play the C shape. That is why the "Shapes to play with a capo" mode moves every chord down by N semitones.
How do I use the "Chords heard with a capo" mode?
Use it when you know the shapes you play and the capo fret, and want to know the real chords. Playing G, C, D and Em with a capo on fret 3 sounds like B♭, E♭, F and Gm.
How does the tool choose the best capo?
It tries the capo on frets 0 to 7 and counts the chords that become easy open shapes: C, D, E, G or A major, and A, E or D minor, with any extension such as 7 or sus4. The fret with the most open shapes wins, and the lowest fret wins a tie.
Which lines count as chords?
A line is treated as a chord line when every word on it is a chord symbol such as Am7, F#m, Bb/D or Dsus4. Words in lyric lines are never changed, but chords written in square brackets inside a lyric line are. Section labels such as Verse stay as they are, but a label on the same line as chords (Intro: G C) stops the line from being recognised, so keep labels on their own line.
Why does the spacing stay the same?
When a chord gets longer or shorter, for example E to F♯, the spaces after it are adjusted so the following chords stay above the same syllables. Chords written in brackets in a lyric line do not need that.