Free printable reference
Every open shape at every capo fret, and the fret that puts any key under the shapes you know.
Find the shape you are fingering on the left, read across to the capo fret. The cell is the chord the room actually hears. Every fret raises the pitch one semitone.
| Shape | No capo | Fret 1 | Fret 2 | Fret 3 | Fret 4 | Fret 5 | Fret 6 | Fret 7 | Fret 8 | Fret 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | C | C♯ | D | E♭ | E | F | F♯ | G | A♭ | A |
| A | A | B♭ | B | C | C♯ | D | E♭ | E | F | F♯ |
| G | G | A♭ | A | B♭ | B | C | C♯ | D | E♭ | E |
| E | E | F | F♯ | G | A♭ | A | B♭ | B | C | C♯ |
| D | D | E♭ | E | F | F♯ | G | A♭ | A | B♭ | B |
| Am | Am | B♭m | Bm | Cm | C♯m | Dm | E♭m | Em | Fm | F♯m |
| Em | Em | Fm | F♯m | Gm | A♭m | Am | B♭m | Bm | Cm | C♯m |
| Dm | Dm | E♭m | Em | Fm | F♯m | Gm | A♭m | Am | B♭m | Bm |
Pick the key the song has to be in, then pick a shape family you can already play. The number is the fret to clamp at. Blank cells need a capo past the ninth fret — pick a different family instead.
| Key you need | C shapes | A shapes | G shapes | E shapes | D shapes | Relative minor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C major | open | 3 | 5 | 8 | — | Am |
| C♯ major | 1 | 4 | 6 | 9 | — | B♭m |
| D major | 2 | 5 | 7 | — | open | Bm |
| E♭ major | 3 | 6 | 8 | — | 1 | Cm |
| E major | 4 | 7 | 9 | open | 2 | C♯m |
| F major | 5 | 8 | — | 1 | 3 | Dm |
| F♯ major | 6 | 9 | — | 2 | 4 | E♭m |
| G major | 7 | — | open | 3 | 5 | Em |
| A♭ major | 8 | — | 1 | 4 | 6 | Fm |
| A major | 9 | open | 2 | 5 | 7 | F♯m |
| B♭ major | — | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | Gm |
| B major | — | 2 | 4 | 7 | 9 | A♭m |
Place the capo just behind the fret wire, not on top of it, and clamp only as hard as it takes to stop the buzz — over-tightening pulls the strings sharp. Re-tune after every move.