Guide · Guitar theory
Capo chart: what key am I playing in?
Each A clamp across all six strings at one fret. It raises every open string, so familiar shapes play in a higher key. The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. raises every chord by a The smallest distance in Western music: one fret on the guitar, such as E to F or F to F♯., so the key is the A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em.'s name moved up that many half steps. G shapes with capo 2 play in A; C shapes with capo 3 play in E♭; D shapes with capo 1 play in E♭.
How a capo changes the key
A A clamp across all six strings at one fret. It raises every open string, so familiar shapes play in a higher key. is a clamp that acts as a new The slotted strip at the top of the neck where the strings leave the headstock. Open strings ring from the nut., so every open string, and every shape you play, sounds higher by one The smallest distance in Western music: one fret on the guitar, such as E to F or F to F♯. per The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step..
Your fingers still make the shapes you know, and you still call them by those names, but the sound moves up. Play a G shape with the capo at fret 2 and you hear an A chord. Every chord in the song moves by the same amount, so the whole song changes key while staying easy to play.
Guitarists talk about the shapes, not the sounding chords: 'capo 2, G shapes' tells another player exactly what to do. When you play with a bass player or a pianist, though, give them the real key.
The capo chart
Find the shape family you are playing, then read along to the A clamp across all six strings at one fret. It raises every open string, so familiar shapes play in a higher key. The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step..
With C shapes: capo 1 plays in D♭, capo 2 in D, capo 3 in E♭, capo 4 in E, capo 5 in F, capo 6 in F♯ and capo 7 in G.
With A shapes: capo 1 plays in B♭, capo 2 in B, capo 3 in C, capo 4 in D♭, capo 5 in D, capo 6 in E♭ and capo 7 in E.
With G shapes: capo 1 plays in A♭, capo 2 in A, capo 3 in B♭, capo 4 in B, capo 5 in C, capo 6 in D♭ and capo 7 in D.
With E shapes: capo 1 plays in F, capo 2 in F♯, capo 3 in G, capo 4 in A♭, capo 5 in A, capo 6 in B♭ and capo 7 in B.
With D shapes: capo 1 plays in E♭, capo 2 in E, capo 3 in F, capo 4 in F♯, capo 5 in G, capo 6 in A♭ and capo 7 in A.
Each family means the key named by its home chord: 'G shapes' is a song in G played with G, C, D and Em, and with a capo all of them move together. Minor keys work the same way: Em shapes with capo 2 play in F♯ minor.
Choosing a capo fret for a song
To play a song in a hard key, pick an easy key below it and put the A clamp across all six strings at one fret. It raises every open string, so familiar shapes play in a higher key. on the difference in The smallest distance in Western music: one fret on the guitar, such as E to F or F to F♯..
A song in E♭ is full of A chord where one finger presses several strings at the same fret, like a movable nut, so the shape works anywhere on the neck.. Count down to an easy key: one half step down is D, so capo 1 with D shapes plays in E♭; three half steps down is C, so capo 3 with C shapes works too. Both sound the same key; choose the one whose shapes suit the song.
For a song in B♭, capo 1 with A shapes gives B♭, and capo 3 with G shapes gives B♭. Higher capo positions sound brighter and thinner, lower ones fuller, which is another reason to choose one over the other.
To find the half steps, count up the Using notes from outside the key, or moving by half steps through all twelve notes. scale: C, C♯/D♭, D, D♯/E♭, E, F, F♯/G♭, G, G♯/A♭, A, A♯/B♭, B. The transposing guide shows the same counting for changing a song's key without a capo.
The capo calculator does the counting for you: type the song's chords and it ranks every capo The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. by how many shapes come out open.
Using a capo to suit your voice
If a song sits too low for you, move the A clamp across all six strings at one fret. It raises every open string, so familiar shapes play in a higher key. up a The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. at a time until the melody feels comfortable, without learning any new shapes.
The key a song was recorded in often sits too high or too low for your voice. Keep the shapes you know and try the capo at frets 1, 2, 3 and so on, singing the highest and lowest parts of the melody each time. When both feel easy, that is your key.
Write it down as shapes and capo, such as 'G shapes, capo 4', and look it up in the chart above when you need to tell other musicians the key.
What a capo cannot do
A A clamp across all six strings at one fret. It raises every open string, so familiar shapes play in a higher key. only raises the pitch. To play lower than the A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em., you need different shapes or a lower tuning.
There is no capo position below the The slotted strip at the top of the neck where the strings leave the headstock. Open strings ring from the nut., so a song in E with E shapes cannot go down to E♭ with a capo. Instead, use D shapes with capo 1, or tune every string down a The smallest distance in Western music: one fret on the guitar, such as E to F or F to F♯..
Above The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 7 the strings get short and the frets close together, so most players stay below it. If you find yourself at capo 9, there is almost always a lower capo position with different shapes that plays in the same key.
A capo also cannot move during a song, so a song that changes key part of the way through still needs barre chords, or open shapes from both keys, for the new section.