Capo Finder

Paste a chord sheet from anywhere. This reads the chords, finds the capo position that turns them into open shapes, and shows a no-barre way to play anything left over.

Why a capo makes hard chords easy

A capo shortens every string by the same amount, so the shapes you already know produce higher-pitched chords. Put it on the third fret and a G shape sounds as a Bb. That means most songs written in awkward keys can be played with open chords only, at the original pitch, without learning a single barre.

How to play Bm without a barre

Bm7 at x-2-0-2-0-2 is the usual answer. Three fingers, nothing barred, and it works in almost any song that calls for Bm. If you want a plain Bm with no added seventh, x-x-0-4-3-2 uses the open D string and also avoids the barre.

How to play F without a barre

Fmaj7 at x-x-3-2-1-0 is the common substitute and sounds brighter than F. If the song needs a plain F, x-x-3-2-1-1 asks only for a small barre across the top two strings rather than all six.

Songs in Bb, Eb and Ab

These keys are written for horns and piano, which is why they are full of barre chords on guitar. A capo on the third fret turns a Bb song into a G song, and a capo on the first fret turns an Eb song into a D song. Paste the chords above and it will work out the position for you.

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