Chord transposer
Mark chord-only lines with barlines, like | C Am F G |, or put individual chords in square brackets, like [C]. Choose how many half steps to move. Lyrics and section labels outside that markup stay unchanged. It keeps the chord types (m, 7, sus4, maj7…) and slash bass notes, and you can switch between sharps and flats.
| D A | Bm G | | D A | G D | | Bm F#m | G A7 | | Em7 A7 | D |
The example is a chord chart in C. It starts moved up 2 half steps, to D. Keep chord-only lines between | barlines |, or mark individual chords as [C/E]. Unmarked lyric lines, section labels, N.C., NC and unrecognized tokens are preserved. Choose 0 to restore the original text; your input is never overwritten.
How transposing works
Transposing means moving every chord by the same distance. Because the distance between chords doesn't change, the progression sounds the same, just higher or lower. The distance is counted in half steps: one half step is one fret on a guitar, or one key (black or white) on a piano.
- Find how far you want to move. From C: up 2 is D, up 3 is E♭, up 5 is F, up 7 is G, up 9 is A.
- Move each chord's root letter by that many half steps.
- Keep everything after the root the same: Am stays minor, G7 stays a 7th chord.
- For slash chords, move the bass note too: C/E up 2 becomes D/F♯.
The circle of fifths is a handy map here: keys next to each other share most of their chords, so a move of 5 or 7 half steps (one step around the circle) is often the smoothest change. Each key's full chord set is on the keys pages.
Sharps or flats?
The same key can be spelled two ways (C♯ or D♭). Musicians use the spelling that matches the key signature: flats for keys like F, B♭ and E♭, sharps for G, D, A and E. Tick Use flats when you move into a flat key. See key signatures for which keys use which.
Capo chart for guitar
A capo raises every string by the same number of frets, which is transposing without changing your chord shapes. Find the shape you want to play on the left; the row shows the chord that actually sounds at each capo fret.
| Shape | Capo 1 | Capo 2 | Capo 3 | Capo 4 | Capo 5 | Capo 6 | Capo 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | C♯ | D | E♭ | E | F | F♯ | G |
| G | A♭ | A | B♭ | B | C | C♯ | D |
| D | E♭ | E | F | F♯ | G | A♭ | A |
| A | B♭ | B | C | C♯ | D | E♭ | E |
| E | F | F♯ | G | A♭ | A | B♭ | B |
| Am | B♭m | Bm | Cm | C♯m | Dm | E♭m | Em |
| Em | Fm | F♯m | Gm | G♯m | Am | B♭m | Bm |
Example: a chart in A uses A, D, E, F♯m. With a capo on fret 2 you can play it with the easy shapes G, C, D, Em. Read the table in reverse to go the other way: to play in A with G shapes, find A in the G row: capo 2. The guitar capo guide covers choosing and using one.
When to transpose
- To fit a voice. If the melody is too high or low, move the chords until it sits comfortably. Two or three half steps usually does it.
- To use easier chords. Move a chart full of barre chords into G, C, D or E and it becomes open chords, or keep the key and add a capo.
- To play with other instruments. Some horns read in a different key from guitar and piano, so their parts are written transposed.
To hear a progression in any key before you commit, load it into the progression builder and change the key there. Don't recognize a chord in your chart? Look it up in the chord library or play its notes into the chord finder.
Transposing questions
How do I transpose chords to another key?
Move every chord root up or down by the same number of half steps and keep the chord type. C, Am, F, G moved up 2 half steps becomes D, Bm, G, A. The transposer above does this for a whole chart at once, including slash chords.
How many half steps do I need to move?
Count piano keys (black and white) from the old key to the new key. C to D is 2, C to E is 4, C to G is 7 up (or 5 down). Moving up 7 and down 5 give the same chord names, just in a different octave.
Should the chords use sharps or flats?
Use flats for flat keys (F, B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭) and sharps for sharp keys (G, D, A, E, B). Tick "Use flats" when you transpose into a flat key so the chart reads the way musicians expect.
What capo fret do I need to play in a different key?
Pick the open-chord shapes you want to play, then use the capo chart: find the shape in the left column and move right until you reach the key you need. The column header is the capo fret.
Does transposing change the song?
It changes how high or low it sounds but not the relationships between the chords, so it still sounds like the same progression. That is why transposing is the usual fix when a song is out of a singer's range.
Updated September 2026.