Guide
Capo chart: what your chord shapes really sound like
A capo is a movable nut. Clamp it at fret 3 and every string is 3 semitones higher, so the shape your fingers know as E comes out of the guitar as G. Nothing about the shape changes; the name of the chord does. This page is the whole lookup table, both directions.
Shape in, chord out
Find the shape you are fingering down the left, then read across to the fret your capo is on. Where a cell shows two names they are the same pitch written two ways — which one a chart uses depends on the key it is written in, and the circle of fifths is what decides that.
| Shape | Capo 1 | Capo 2 | Capo 3 | Capo 4 | Capo 5 | Capo 6 | Capo 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | C♯/D♭ | D | D♯/E♭ | E | F | F♯/G♭ | G |
| A | A♯/B♭ | B | C | C♯/D♭ | D | D♯/E♭ | E |
| G | G♯/A♭ | A | A♯/B♭ | B | C | C♯/D♭ | D |
| E | F | F♯/G♭ | G | G♯/A♭ | A | A♯/B♭ | B |
| D | D♯/E♭ | E | F | F♯/G♭ | G | G♯/A♭ | A |
| Am | A♯/B♭m | Bm | Cm | C♯/D♭m | Dm | D♯/E♭m | Em |
| Em | Fm | F♯/G♭m | Gm | G♯/A♭m | Am | A♯/B♭m | Bm |
| Dm | D♯/E♭m | Em | Fm | F♯/G♭m | Gm | G♯/A♭m | Am |
| A7 | A♯/B♭7 | B7 | C7 | C♯/D♭7 | D7 | D♯/E♭7 | E7 |
| E7 | F7 | F♯/G♭7 | G7 | G♯/A♭7 | A7 | A♯/B♭7 | B7 |
| D7 | D♯/E♭7 | E7 | F7 | F♯/G♭7 | G7 | G♯/A♭7 | A7 |
| G7 | G♯/A♭7 | A7 | A♯/B♭7 | B7 | C7 | C♯/D♭7 | D7 |
| C7 | C♯/D♭7 | D7 | D♯/E♭7 | E7 | F7 | F♯/G♭7 | G7 |
Key in, capo out
The more common problem is the other way round: a singer needs the song in a particular key and you would rather not barre every chord in it. Find the key down the left of this table and read off which fret turns a familiar open shape into it.
| Key you want | C shape | A shape | G shape | E shape | D shape |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | open | 3 | 5 | — | — |
| G | 7 | — | open | 3 | 5 |
| D | 2 | 5 | 7 | — | open |
| A | — | open | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| E | 4 | 7 | — | open | 2 |
| B | — | 2 | 4 | 7 | — |
| F♯ | 6 | — | — | 2 | 4 |
| D♭ | 1 | 4 | 6 | — | — |
| A♭ | — | — | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| E♭ | 3 | 6 | — | — | 1 |
| B♭ | — | 1 | 3 | 6 | — |
| F | 5 | — | — | 1 | 3 |
Three things the chart will not tell you
The chord function does not move
A capo transposes pitch, not harmony. If the song was a I–V–vi–IV before the capo, it still is afterwards — only the letters change. That is exactly why players think in shapes: the pattern of pulls between chords is what they have memorised, and the capo leaves it alone.
The voicing does change
An open G and a capo-3 E shape are both G major, but they are not the same chord. The open strings ring at different pitches, the bass note is different, and the higher the capo the tighter and more mandolin-like the result. Two guitars playing the same progression from different capo positions is the oldest trick in the arrangement book.
Past fret 7 it stops being useful
The frets get closer together and the string length gets short enough that the tone thins out. If a key needs a capo above 7, take the same key from the other end — the table above usually offers a second shape that gets you there lower down the neck.
Check it against your own guitar
The trainer knows where the capo is: set it and the fretboard, the chord diagrams and the circle all re-draw against the capo instead of the nut, so the shape under your fingers and the chord in the air are shown together rather than left for you to translate.
Open the fretboard with a capo
Runs in the browser. Nothing to install.