Song chords
O Come to the Altar chords
Elevation Worship
An altar-call song recorded in B and charted almost everywhere as capo 4 with G shapes. The verse rocks between two chords; the chorus is the only place the full four-chord family turns up.
Before you start
The chords you need.
4 shapes covers the whole song, fretted with the capo at fret 4. Tap any diagram’s play button to hear it, or open its page for every voicing on six instruments.
The chart
Section by section.
Capo 4 with G shapes: G sounds as B, C as E, Am as C#m and Em as G#m. Most charts write the C as an E2 — a Cadd9 shape gets closer to the record's ring than a plain C does. Hit play on any section to hear it walk through at 70 bpm.
Verse
6 barsA I–IV rock that drops to the vi at the end of each line.
Shapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Chorus
8 barsThe ii (Am) appears only here.
Shapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Bridge
4 barsShapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Need it in a different key, or without the capo? Run it through the transposer — move every chord by the same interval and the song is unchanged.
Playing it
What actually trips people up.
The chorus runs G–Am–Em–C twice with no pause between passes. Loop those four changes on their own until the second pass does not slow down.
The chart above is the commonly played arrangement — the version a competent player would hand you, not a bar-for-bar transcription of a specific master. Section labels are there to orient you; live and studio versions repeat, extend and drop sections freely, and none of that changes which chords you need.
About this page
Chord names and song structure are facts; for lyrics and official notation, support the artist. This page carries no lyrics on purpose — O Come to the Altar was written and recorded by Elevation Worship, and the words belong to them. What you get here is the harmony: the key, the capo, the tempo, and which chord goes where.
Next
Songs that sit near this one.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask.
What key is O Come to the Altar in?
O Come to the Altar sounds in B Major. The common arrangement gets there with a capo at fret 4 and G Major shapes, which is why the chords written here are G Major chords rather than B Major ones.
Do I need a capo for O Come to the Altar?
Yes for the standard arrangement: capo 4. Without it you would be playing B Major shapes, which needs barre chords. With the capo on, the shapes are G Major — much friendlier under the hand.
What chords are in O Come to the Altar?
G, C, Em and Am — 4 chords across 3 sections. Capo 4 with G shapes: G sounds as B, C as E, Am as C#m and Em as G#m. Most charts write the C as an E2 — a Cadd9 shape gets closer to the record's ring than a plain C does.
What is the easiest way to play O Come to the Altar?
Beginner overall. The chorus runs G–Am–Em–C twice with no pause between passes. Loop those four changes on their own until the second pass does not slow down.
How fast is O Come to the Altar?
About 70 bpm. Every section on this page plays back at that tempo, so you can hear how long each chord is meant to be held before you try it yourself.
Can I play O Come to the Altar in a different key?
Yes — the progression is the song, not the letters. Move every chord by the same number of semitones and it still works. The transposer will do the arithmetic, or you can move the capo and keep these shapes.