Chord Transposition Chart
Every chord, every key, every semitone. Find what your chords become in a new key — then check the guitar fingering with the free chord transposer.
| Original | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | +7 | +8 | +9 | +10 | +11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | C#Db | D | D#Eb | E | F | F#Gb | G | G#Ab | A | A#Bb | B |
| C#Db | D | D#Eb | E | F | F#Gb | G | G#Ab | A | A#Bb | B | C |
| D | D#Eb | E | F | F#Gb | G | G#Ab | A | A#Bb | B | C | C#Db |
| D#Eb | E | F | F#Gb | G | G#Ab | A | A#Bb | B | C | C#Db | D |
| E | F | F#Gb | G | G#Ab | A | A#Bb | B | C | C#Db | D | D#Eb |
| F | F#Gb | G | G#Ab | A | A#Bb | B | C | C#Db | D | D#Eb | E |
| F#Gb | G | G#Ab | A | A#Bb | B | C | C#Db | D | D#Eb | E | F |
| G | G#Ab | A | A#Bb | B | C | C#Db | D | D#Eb | E | F | F#Gb |
| G#Ab | A | A#Bb | B | C | C#Db | D | D#Eb | E | F | F#Gb | G |
| A | A#Bb | B | C | C#Db | D | D#Eb | E | F | F#Gb | G | G#Ab |
| A#Bb | B | C | C#Db | D | D#Eb | E | F | F#Gb | G | G#Ab | A |
| B | C | C#Db | D | D#Eb | E | F | F#Gb | G | G#Ab | A | A#Bb |
Hover a row or column to trace it. Black keys show both spellings — C♯ and D♭ are the same chord. A suffix comes along unchanged, so if A becomes B, then Am becomes Bm.
Tap a chord to see every key it can move to.
How to read the chart
The left column is the chord you have. The numbered columns are how far you are moving, measured in semitones — one semitone is one fret on a guitar, or one key on a piano counting the black ones. Find your chord, read across to the column you need, and that cell is your new chord.
Only the root moves. Whatever was attached to the chord stays attached: Am shifted up 2 semitones is Bm, G7 shifted up 5 is C7, and Dsus4 shifted up 3 is Fsus4. The intervals inside a chord never change when you transpose, which is exactly why a progression still sounds like itself in a new key.
Shifts wrap around. Going up 7 semitones and going down 5 land on the same chords, an octave apart — so if the number you want is not in the table, subtract it from 12 and use that column instead. Slash chords transpose on both sides: C/G up 2 becomes D/A.
Key-to-key transposition chart
Most of the time you are not moving one chord — you are moving a whole song. This is the transpose key chart for that job: pick where you are and where you want to be, and it converts all seven chords of the key at once, spelled the way a chart in that key would actually write them.
| Degree | G major | C major |
|---|---|---|
| I | Gmajor | C |
| ii | Amminor | Dm |
| iii | Bmminor | Em |
| IV | Cmajor | F |
| V | Dmajor | G |
| vi | Emminor | Am |
| vii° | F#dimdiminished | Bdim |
Capo shortcut
To play in C without learning new shapes, capo fret 3 and play A shapes, or capo fret 5 and play G shapes. See the full capo chart →
Common transpositions
Counting semitones between keys
A semitone is the smallest step in Western music. Twelve of them make an octave, and they run in a fixed loop: C, C♯, D, D♯, E, F, F♯, G, G♯, A, A♯, B, then back to C. Count the steps from your starting root to your target root and you have your shift.
Two spots in that loop catch people out. There is no black key between E and F, and none between B and C — those pairs are already a single semitone apart. E up to F is 1, not 2. Miss that once and every chord after it lands a fret off.
Sharps or flats?
A♯ and B♭ are the same pitch — the same fret, the same piano key. Which name is correct depends on the key you have moved into. Keys built on sharps (G, D, A, E, B, F♯) spell their chords with sharps; keys built on flats (F, B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭) spell theirs with flats. Mixing the two inside one song is what makes a chart hard to read at speed.
The Auto setting above follows that convention for you. Switch to ♯ or ♭ if you are copying into a chart that has already committed to one, or if you simply read one faster — the chords sound identical either way.
Using the transposition chart on guitar
The chart is instrument-neutral — a semitone is a semitone whether you play guitar, piano or ukulele — but guitarists get one extra shortcut out of it, because on a guitar a semitone is simply one fret. Whatever number you read off the top of the chart is the number of frets you are moving. Up 2 semitones is up 2 frets; down 3 is down 3.
That makes two guitar-specific moves fall out of the same table. If you play barre chords, you can leave the chord names alone and just slide the shape: an E-shape barre at fret 3 is G, and the chart tells you where it lands at any other fret. If you play open chords, the shape cannot slide, so you need the new chord names — which is the column you just read.
The catch is that not every key is equally kind to a guitar. C, G, D, A and E are full of open shapes; E♭, A♭ and B are mostly barres. Before you commit to a transposition, it is worth checking what you are landing in — and whether a capo gets you the same sound with easier shapes. Playing a ukulele instead? The ukulele chord transposer does the same thing with uke shapes.
Transposing versus capoing
A capo raises the key without changing your hands. It only goes up, though, and past about the 7th fret the guitar starts to sound thin and cramped. Transposing has no such limit and works in both directions, but you do have to learn the new shapes.
In practice: raising a key for a singer who cannot reach the low notes is usually a capo job. Lowering a key, writing chords out for someone else, or arranging for an instrument that has no capo is a transposition job. The key-to-key chart above gives you both answers at once — the new chords, and the capo fret that would get you the same sound. The full capo chart covers every fret and shape.
Chart questions, answered
How do I use a chord transposition chart?
Find your original chord in the left-hand column, then read across to the column for the number of semitones you are moving. Where the row and column meet is your new chord. If the original chord has a suffix — m, 7, sus4, maj7 — carry it straight over. Only the root note changes.
How many semitones is it from one key to another?
Count the steps up the chromatic scale from the original root to the new root: C, C♯, D, D♯, E, F, F♯, G, G♯, A, A♯, B, then back to C. G up to C is 5 semitones. C up to G is 7. Every shift up by N is also a shift down by 12 minus N, so +5 and −7 give you the same chords in a different octave.
Do minor and seventh chords transpose the same way?
Yes. Transposition only moves the root. Am shifted up 2 semitones is Bm, and G7 shifted up 5 is C7. The chord quality — minor, dominant 7th, sus2, diminished — stays exactly as it was, because the intervals inside the chord never change.
When should I use sharps and when should I use flats?
Follow the key you are transposing into. B, E, A, D, G and F♯ major are written with sharps; F, B♭, E♭, A♭ and D♭ major are written with flats. The Auto setting on this chart does that for you. The pitch is identical either way — A♯ and B♭ are the same fret — so if you are playing rather than reading notation, use whichever you read faster.
Should I transpose or use a capo?
Use a capo when you want to raise the key and keep playing familiar open shapes. Transpose when you need to lower the key, when you are writing chords down for someone else, or when the capo position you would need is past about the 7th fret and the guitar starts to sound thin. The capo shortcut in the key-to-key chart shows which fret keeps your shapes easy for any target key.
What is the most common key change for singers?
There is no single answer, but moving down 2 semitones is the most frequent fix when a song sits too high, and moving up 2 or 3 is common when it sits too low. Most singers land on a comfortable key within 3 semitones of the original, which is why the columns nearest the left of the chart get the most use.
Keep reading
Guitar Capo Chart
What capo do I need for any key — every fret, every shape.
Ukulele Chord Transposer
The same transposing, with ukulele shapes and a baritone converter.
Change the Key for Your Voice
Finding the key that actually fits your range.
Basic Guitar Keys
The five keys that cover most songs you will play.
Transposing FAQ
Common questions about keys, semitones and chord shapes.
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