Capo 1
With the capo on the first fret, every shape you play sounds 1 semitone higher than it is written. Here is what each open chord really is, and what key you have landed in.
What key is capo 1?
There is no single answer — it depends which family of open shapes you are fingering. These are the five that matter.
- C
- D♭
- F
- G♭
- G
- A♭
- Am
- B♭m
- A
- B♭
- D
- E♭
- E
- F
- F♯m
- Gm
- G
- A♭
- C
- D♭
- D
- E♭
- Em
- Fm
- E
- F
- A
- B♭
- B
- C
- C♯m
- Dm
- D
- E♭
- G
- A♭
- A
- B♭
- Bm
- Cm
Every open shape at capo 1
Tap any shape to hear what it actually sounds like with the capo on.
Major shapes
Minor shapes
Seventh shapes
Why players use capo 1
Capo 1 is the half-step page. It exists mostly because a singer needs one more semitone, or because the recording was made on a guitar tuned a half step down and you are playing along with it in standard tuning.
Mechanically, none of this is complicated. A capo is a movable nut. Clamp it at fret 1 and the open strings now ring 1 semitone higher, which means every shape built on those open strings does too. Your fingers do not learn anything new; the paper does. A G shape is still a G shape — it just writes as A♭.
A capo only ever raises the pitch of what you play, so it cannot rescue a key that is already too high for your voice — moving it up only makes things higher. Pick the key that suits you first, then use the full capo chart to find which fret lets you play your target key with shapes you already know.
Common questions
What key is capo 1?
It depends on the shapes you play. With a capo on fret 1, C shapes sound in D♭, A shapes sound in B♭, G shapes sound in A♭, E shapes sound in F, D shapes sound in E♭. A capo does not have a key of its own — it raises whatever you finger by 1 semitone.
What chord is a G shape with a capo on fret 1?
A♭. Every open shape moves up by the same 1 semitone, so the relationships between your chords stay exactly the same — only the pitch changes.
Does a capo change the chord shapes I play?
No. You finger the same shapes you already know; the capo becomes the new nut and the open strings ring at the capo fret. What changes is the sounding pitch, and therefore the name of the chord on paper.