Chord Transposer & Capo Calculator
Paste a chord chart, pick the key you want to play in or choose a capo position, and get the transposed chart instantly - chords stay above the right syllables just like a real lead sheet. Nothing uploaded.
Paste a chord chart on the left to get started.
Learn more: transposing chord charts and capo math
The semitone shift
Every note sits at one of 12 positions on the chromatic scale, numbered 0 to 11 starting from C. Transposing adds the shift to that number and wraps it around with modulo 12, so G at position 7 moved up 5 semitones lands on 0, which is C.
Every chord in the chart moves by the same amount, so the distance between them never changes. Move a C major song up 2 semitones and you get a D major song that sounds identical apart from the pitch.
Chord symbols are not single notes
A symbol like Am7/G splits into three parts: the root (A), the quality (m7), and an optional slash bass (/G). The transposer shifts the root and the bass note, then copies the quality straight across as text.
That is why Am7 raised 3 semitones comes out as Cm7 instead of turning into some other chord type. Slash chords work the same way, so C/E up 2 semitones becomes D/F#.
Capo position vs transposing
A capo at fret N raises every open shape by N semitones, which is the same pitch result as transposing up N. What changes is your left hand. Capo 2 with D shapes and no capo with E shapes produce the same notes, so the only difference is which fingerings you need to know.
Pick a capo fret between 0 and 9 and the tool works backwards from the target key. It subtracts the capo fret from the target and names the shapes to play, so capo 2 aimed at E tells you to finger D shapes.
How a pasted chart gets read
Each line is classified before anything is transposed. A line counts as chords when at least one token is a valid chord symbol, more than half its tokens are chords, and no non-chord token runs longer than five characters.
Lines wrapped in square brackets, like [Verse 1], stay as section labels. Anything else is treated as lyrics and left alone, and the original spacing on chord lines is kept so the chords still sit over the right syllables.
FAQ
Why does one key come out in sharps and another in flats?
The spelling follows the target key rather than each chord on its own. Aim at F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db or Gb and the whole chart is written with flats. Every other target key is written with sharps.
How does the tool know what key the song is already in?
It reads the chart line by line, skips bracketed labels like [Chorus], and takes the root of the first token that looks like a valid chord symbol. If it finds none it falls back to C, and you can override the guess with the key buttons.
Why do some chords show a question mark instead of a diagram?
The diagram library holds 25 named shapes for guitar and 25 for ukulele, covering common majors, minors, sevenths and major sevenths. The six most frequent chords in your transposed chart get diagrams, and anything outside that set, such as Bb or F#m, draws a placeholder instead.