Capo Calculator
Pick your key or type your chords. We'll find the capo position that turns awkward barre chords into easy open shapes — same sound, easier hand.
Chords in G: G · Am · Bm · C · D · Em
No capo needed — play in G shapes
Without a capo you'd play 1 barre chord in the key of G. Try a capo to swap those for open shapes.
All capo positions, ranked by ease
Without a capo you'd play 1 barre chord in the key of G. Try a capo to swap those for open shapes.
How to use a capo
A capo clamps across the fretboard and raises the pitch of every string. The chord shapes stay the same under your fingers, but they sound higher. That means a song full of hard chords in one key can often be played with simple open chords in a different shape — just by moving the capo.
The calculator above does the math for you. It transposes your chords to every capo position, scores each one by how many chords land on easy open shapes versus barre chords, and tells you which capo fret is the most comfortable while sounding exactly the same.
Capo chart reference
The table below shows what each common open shape sounds like at each capo position. Read down a column to follow one shape up the neck.
| Capo | C shape | A shape | G shape | E shape | D shape | Am shape | Em shape | Dm shape |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | C | A | G | E | D | Am | Em | Dm |
| Fret 1 | C# | A# | G# | F | D# | A#m | Fm | D#m |
| Fret 2 | D | B | A | F# | E | Bm | F#m | Em |
| Fret 3 | D# | C | A# | G | F | Cm | Gm | Fm |
| Fret 4 | E | C# | B | G# | F# | C#m | G#m | F#m |
| Fret 5 | F | D | C | A | G | Dm | Am | Gm |
| Fret 6 | F# | D# | C# | A# | G# | D#m | A#m | G#m |
| Fret 7 | G | E | D | B | A | Em | Bm | Am |
Frequently asked questions
- How does a capo change the key?
- A capo raises every string by the number of frets it sits on. Put it on fret 2 and the shapes you finger sound two semitones higher. The chart's key changes, but the shapes you play get easier — that's the whole trick.
- What capo position is easiest for my song?
- Enter the song's key or its chords above. The calculator tries every capo position, counts how many chords become easy open shapes versus barre chords, and recommends the one that's easiest to play while sounding identical.
- Does a capo make the song sound higher?
- Only if you keep playing the same shapes. The point of this calculator is the opposite: it finds a capo position plus a new shape set that sounds in the original key but is far easier on your hand.
- Is the capo calculator free?
- Yes. It runs entirely in your browser, there's no sign-up, and it's free to use as often as you like.
Have a whole chart to transpose?
Upload a PDF or photo of a chord chart and transpose every chord in place — the layout stays exactly as printed. Get a stage-ready roadmap and the easiest capo for the whole song.
Open the chart transposer