Capo Position Calculator
Work out which capo fret to use for any key, and translate a song's chords into the shapes you actually play.
1. Which capo position should I use?
Pick the key the song actually sounds in.
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| Capo | Play shapes in | Ease | Main chord shapes | Use this position |
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2. Chord translator
Shapes to play
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How it works
A capo raises every string by one semitone per fret, so a capo on fret N makes the shape you finger sound N semitones higher. That is the whole calculation: shape key = sounding key − capo fret (wrapped around the 12 semitones of the octave), and going the other way, sounding key = shape key + capo fret. So a G shape with the capo on fret 3 sounds as B♭, and a song in B♭ can be played with familiar G shapes by clamping the capo on fret 3.
The chart rates each position by how guitar-friendly the resulting shape key is. Major keys of C, G, D, A and E are marked Easy because their main chords are open shapes (CAGED); F is Playable thanks to the common F barre; everything else is marked Awkward. For minor keys, Am, Em and Dm are Easy and Bm, F♯m and C♯m are Playable. The recommendation is simply the lowest fret that lands on an Easy shape key — low frets keep the tone and the string spacing closest to normal.
The chord translator transposes each chord by the capo amount, keeping suffixes and slash
basses intact (Ebmaj7/Bb becomes Cmaj7/G at capo 3). Switch the
spelling between sharps and flats to match the chart you are reading from. Everything runs in
JavaScript in your browser — nothing is uploaded, there is no sign-up and there are no ads.
Frequently asked questions
How do I work out which capo position to use?
A capo raises every string by one semitone per fret, so the shape you finger sounds higher than it looks: shape key = sounding key minus the capo fret, and sounding key = shape key plus the capo fret. Pick the key the song actually sounds in and the chart lists all twelve positions, showing the key your shapes would be in at each fret. A song in E flat major, for example, comes out as D major shapes at capo 1 and C major shapes at capo 3 — both far easier than barring E flat.
Which capo positions count as 'easy'?
The chart marks a position Easy when the resulting shape key gives you open chords. For major keys that means C, G, D, A and E (the CAGED keys); F is marked Playable because the F barre is so common; everything else is Awkward. For minor keys, A minor, E minor and D minor are Easy while B minor, F sharp minor and C sharp minor are Playable. The recommendation is always the lowest Easy fret, because low capo positions keep the tone and string spacing closest to normal.
Can I use a capo to sing a song in a different key?
Yes — that is the other half of this page. Keep the shapes you already know and move the capo up one fret per semitone you want to rise; the chord translator's second mode shows exactly what those shapes sound like at any fret. To go lower, transpose the chords down instead and then add a capo to fine-tune, since a capo can only raise the pitch. Above the seventh fret the frets get cramped and the tone gets thin, so it is usually better to re-transpose than to keep climbing.