Guitar Capo Chart: Chord Shapes and Sounding Keys
On this page
When you put a capo on, you play the same chord shapes but every note sounds higher. The chart below shows which key each common open shape sounds in at frets 0 to 5. Use it to match a singer, a recording or another player without learning new fingerings.
How a capo changes the key
A capo works like a movable nut. Each fret raises the pitch of every string by one semitone, so a capo at fret 2 raises everything by two semitones. Your hands still play the shapes you know, but the sound moves up.
So every chord has two names:
- Shape name: the chord your fingers make, counted from the capo as if it were the nut.
- Sounding name: the chord the listener hears.
Bandmates who are not using a capo need the sounding names. You read the shape names. Mixing the two up is a common reason a capo song sounds wrong in a group.
Capo chart for C, D, E, G and A shapes
Find your shape in the left column, then move right to the capo fret. The cell shows the root of the chord you will hear.
| Shape | Open | Capo 1 | Capo 2 | Capo 3 | Capo 4 | Capo 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | C | C# | D | D# | E | F |
| D | D | D# | E | F | F# | G |
| E | E | F | F# | G | G# | A |
| G | G | G# | A | A# | B | C |
| A | A | A# | B | C | C# | D |
The chart uses sharps throughout so every row reads the same way. Each sharp also has a flat name for the same pitch: C# is Db, D# is Eb, F# is Gb, G# is Ab and A# is Bb. Music written in a flat key may use the flat name, but the sound is the same.
The chord type does not change. A minor shape stays minor and a seventh stays a seventh. An Em shape at capo 2 sounds as F#m, because the E row shows E becoming F# at fret 2.
Worked example: G, D, Em, C at capo 2
Say a song uses G, D, Em and C, and a singer wants it two semitones higher. Put the capo at fret 2 and keep the same shapes.
| Shape you play | Sounding chord |
|---|---|
| G | A |
| D | E |
| Em | F#m |
| C | D |
The progression now sounds in A major. Tell a piano player A, E, F#m and D, and you will both be in the same key.
Going past fret 5
There are only 12 note names, so the pattern wraps around. Count 12 semitones from any note and you reach the same name an octave higher. That is why a G shape at capo 5 sounds as C: once the G row passes B, the names start again at C.
To work it out without the chart, find the shape’s root in the list C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B. Count one step for each capo fret. If you run off the end of the list, carry on from C.
Most players keep the capo in the lower frets. Higher up, the frets get closer together and shapes feel cramped.
Choosing a capo position
Two habits make choosing easier:
- Start from the key you need. If a song must sound in A, look for A in the chart. You can play G shapes at capo 2 or E shapes at capo 5.
- Pick shapes that suit the song. Different shapes and capo positions give different voicings, so try both options and keep the one you like.
To skip the counting, the capo transposer can shift chord-only lines, or chords written in brackets within lyrics. To change key without a capo, read how to transpose guitar chords. If you are not sure whether your guitar works with one, see can you use a capo on a guitar.
The chart tells you which key a shape sounds in, but picking a fret also depends on how the capo sits and what you want from it musically. This introduction to what a guitar capo is covers placement, tension, and other uses such as alternate tunings and new voicings. That helps when two capo positions give the same sounding key.
