How to read a capo chart
Each row is a chord shape you already know, played as if the capo were the nut. Each column is the fret the capo sits on. Where they meet is the chord that actually sounds. A G shape with the capo on the 2nd fret sounds as A, because a capo raises every string by one half step per fret.
The capo doesn't change your fingers, only the names. So when a song sheet says "capo 3" and shows G, C and D, the band hears B♭, E♭ and F.
How to use a capo chart to change key
Start from the key you need, then pick the shapes you like playing. To play in E♭ with C shapes, go down the C row until you reach E♭: that's the 3rd fret. With G shapes the same key is on the 8th fret, which is usually too high to sound good, so C shapes win.
That's what the "Key → capo" side of the tool does for you: pick a key and it lists every shape family that reaches it, lowest fret first, with the three main chords you'll play in each.
Which shapes to choose
G, C, D, A and E are the open shapes most players know, and each family has its own sound. G and C shapes ring full and low, D shapes sit higher and brighter, and E and A shapes give you the open low strings. If two families reach the key, take the one with the capo on a lower fret; past the 7th fret the strings get short and thin.
For minor keys, the Am, Em and Dm rows work the same way. Em with the capo on the 2nd fret is F♯m.
Print it
The PDF is the whole chart and the key-to-capo table on one page, large enough to read on a music stand. To move a whole chord sheet to another key without a capo, use the chord transposer.
