Transpose B♭ Minor to A Minor
Every chord moves 11 semitones up (the same as 1 down). A Minor sits below B♭ Minor here, so a capo cannot make this move — you need the chart rewritten.
Distance
+11 semitones
Capo shortcut
Not possible
Difficulty change
Easier
Chord conversion chart
The chords of B♭ Minor and what each one becomes in A Minor. This is the table to keep next to you while you mark up a chart by hand.
The chords you'll be playing in A Minor
Tap a diagram for its full fingering.
How to transpose from B♭ Minor to A Minor
By hand, in five steps — or in one click at the bottom of this page.
- 1Work out the distance: B♭ Minor to A Minor is 11 semitones up, or 1 semitone down — the same destination either way.
- 2Move every chord root by that distance. B♭ Minor's home chord becomes A, and every other chord shifts by exactly the same amount.
- 3Keep each chord's quality untouched. A minor chord stays minor, a 7th stays a 7th — only the root letter moves.
- 4Respell the accidentals to match the destination key. A Minor carries no sharps or flats, so write the notes the way that key spells them.
- 5Check any bass note written after a slash, and any chord borrowed from outside the key — those move by the same distance as everything else.
Every note, transposed
Charts wander outside the key all the time — a passing major chord, a borrowed minor, a slash bass. Use this chromatic map for anything the table above does not cover: shift 11 semitones and keep the chord's quality as written.
| Original root | Becomes |
|---|---|
| C | B |
| C♯ | C |
| D | D♭ |
| E♭ | D |
| E | E♭ |
| F | E |
| F♯ | F |
| G | F♯ |
| A♭ | G |
| A | A♭ |
| B♭ | A |
| B | B♭ |
Frequently asked questions
- How many semitones from B♭ Minor to A Minor?
- 11 semitones up, which is the same as 1 semitone down — you land on the same chords either way, just in a different octave.
- What do the chords become?
- B♭m becomes Am, D♭ becomes C, E♭m becomes Dm, Fm becomes Em, G♭ becomes F, A♭ becomes G.
- Can I use a capo instead of transposing to A Minor?
- Not directly. A capo can only raise pitch, and A Minor sits below B♭ Minor in this direction, so you would need to rewrite the chart — or capo up to reach it from an octave below, which is rarely practical.
- Is A Minor easier to play than B♭ Minor?
- Yes, noticeably. A Minor averages 2 on our difficulty scale against 4 for B♭ Minor, because more of its chords land on open shapes.
Do it to the whole chart
Rewriting chords by hand is slow and easy to get wrong halfway down page two. Upload the PDF or a photo of your chart and every chord moves from B♭ Minor to A Minor in place — same layout, same spacing, print-ready.
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