Transpose C Major to A Major
Every chord moves 9 semitones up (the same as 3 down). Or skip the rewrite entirely — a capo on fret 9 does it for you.
Distance
+9 semitones
Capo shortcut
Fret 9
Difficulty change
Harder
Chord conversion chart
The chords of C Major and what each one becomes in A Major. 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 Major
Tap a diagram for its full fingering.
How to transpose from C Major to A Major
By hand, in five steps — or in one click at the bottom of this page.
- 1Work out the distance: C Major to A Major is 9 semitones up, or 3 semitones down — the same destination either way.
- 2Move every chord root by that distance. C Major'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 Major carries 3 sharps, 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.
- 6If you only need it to sound higher and want to keep fingering the shapes you already know, skip the rewrite: a capo on fret 9 turns C Major shapes into A Major.
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 9 semitones and keep the chord's quality as written.
| Original root | Becomes |
|---|---|
| C | A |
| C♯ | A♯ |
| D | B |
| E♭ | C |
| E | C♯ |
| F | D |
| F♯ | D♯ |
| G | E |
| A♭ | F |
| A | F♯ |
| B♭ | G |
| B | G♯ |
The capo shortcut: fret 9
Transposing rewrites the chart. A capo gets you the same sound without touching a pencil.
Clamp a capo on fret 9 and keep playing the C Major shapes exactly as printed. Every string is now 9 semitones higher, so the band hears A Major while your hands do something they already know. This is the fastest fix when a singer needs the song lifted at short notice.
One caveat: the voicings sit higher and brighter than they would if you genuinely played in A Major. For a full band that difference matters less than getting the singer into a comfortable range.
Check it against your songFrequently asked questions
- How many semitones from C Major to A Major?
- 9 semitones up, which is the same as 3 semitones down — you land on the same chords either way, just in a different octave.
- What do the chords become?
- C becomes A, Dm becomes Bm, Em becomes C♯m, F becomes D, G becomes E, Am becomes F♯m.
- Can I use a capo instead of transposing to A Major?
- Yes. A capo on fret 9 raises everything by 9 semitones, so the C Major shapes you already know come out sounding in A Major — no rewriting at all.
- Is A Major easier to play than C Major?
- No — A Major is the harder of the two (2.67 against 2), so expect more barre chords. A capo is worth considering.
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 C Major to A Major in place — same layout, same spacing, print-ready.
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