Guitar Capo Key Calculator
Pick the key you want to hear and the fret the capo sits on, and see the shapes to play plus every chord that will sound.
Chords in both keys
| Number | Play (shape) | Sounds as |
|---|
Open-chord capo positions
A capo raises every open string by one semitone per fret, so a capo on fret 2 turns G shapes into the sound of A. To sound in a key, play the shapes of the key that many semitones lower: the shape key is the sounding key minus the capo fret, counted around the twelve notes. The seven diatonic chords keep their number and quality, so the same I ii iii IV V vi vii° shapes come out in the sounding key; for example, G Am Bm C D Em F#dim played with a capo on fret 2 sounds as A Bm C#m D E F#m G#dim. Roots are spelled with the fewest accidentals, so the shape key for sounding in F with a capo on fret 2 is Eb rather than D#. Open-chord positions list the capo frets that leave familiar open shapes (C, G, D, A, E for major; A, E, D for minor). Partial and cut capos, alternate tunings, barre versus open voicings, dropped tunings and the octave a capo on fret 12 adds are not modelled. Everything runs in your browser with no storage, uploads or network access.