Capos allow guitarists to play in tricky keys using basic open chords, however figuring out which fret to place the capo at can be confusing. The following guitar capo chart can help make this task simpler.
How to Use This Guitar Capo Chart
To play a song in the original key using simpler chords:
- Find the root of the chords you're trying to play in the left-most column (don't worry about the type of chord - if you're trying to play a B♭ minor chord, just look for B♭)
- Check the columns to the right, and look for a capo fret # that allows you to play all the chords in the original key using open chords
- Place the capo at the specified fret, and play the chords in the column underneath that fret. They will sound like the chords in the left-most column
To know which chords you're playing when using a capo:
If you put a capo somewhere on the neck of the guitar, and play the same chords as you would have without a capo, you're ultimately playing different chords despite not changing the chord shapes. To find out which chords you are playing...
- Find the fret the capo is at in the top row of the chart
- Look down the column to find the chord you're playing (don't worry about the type of chord - if you're playing a D minor chord, just look for D)
- Look over to the first column to see what the chord you're actually playing is.
Guitar Capo Chart
| Chord | Capo Fret # | |||||||
| open | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th |
| A | G | F | E | D | ||||
| A♯ (B♭) | A | G | F | E | D | |||
| B | A | G | F | E | ||||
| C | B | A | G | F | E | |||
| C♯ (D♭) | C | B | A | G | F | |||
| D | C | B | A | G | ||||
| D♯ (E♭) | D | C | B | A | G | |||
| E | D | C | B | A | ||||
| F | E | D | C | B | A | |||
| F♯ (G♭) | F | E | D | C | B | |||
| G | F | E | D | C | B | |||
| G♯ (A♭) | G | F | E | D | C | |||
