Ukulele Capo & Transpose Calculator

Find what key a shape sounds in with a capo on, or what a chord shape sounds like on a baritone ukulele.

How it works

Pick the shape you already know how to play, and a capo fret, and the calculator tells you what note actually comes out. A capo shortens the strings, so every shape you play above it sounds higher, one semitone per fret. The math is simple: take the shape's letter name, count forward that many steps around the twelve notes, and wrap back to C after B.

Worked example: you know a G shape cold, but the singer needs the song in C. Clamp a capo on fret 5 and play the same G shape you already have under your fingers. Count five steps up from G (G, G#/Ab, A, A#/Bb, B, C) and you land on C, which matches what the calculator shows. You get the sound of C without learning a single new chord shape.

Baritone mode works the other way. A baritone ukulele is tuned DGBE, which sits a perfect fourth (five semitones) below the GCEA re-entrant tuning every soprano, concert, and tenor uses. So a C shape on a baritone does not sound like C, it sounds like G, five semitones lower. If you already play guitar chord shapes and pick up a baritone, this is the piece that keeps tripping people up until they see it laid out plainly.

FAQ

Why bother with a capo instead of just learning the new chords?

Some keys use awkward shapes low on the neck, especially ones with lots of sharps or flats. A capo lets you keep the easy, open shapes you already play well and just shift where they land, which is faster than relearning a whole song's worth of chords in a new key.

Does a capo change the chord shape itself?

No. Your fingers do exactly the same shape they always do. The capo acts like a movable nut, so the strings above it are shorter and everything sounds higher, but the shape underneath your fingers never changes.

Why does my baritone sound so different from my other ukes?

Because it is tuned like the top four strings of a guitar (DGBE) instead of the re-entrant GCEA every other size uses. A shape you know from soprano, concert, or tenor will sound five semitones lower on a baritone, even though your fingers land on the exact same frets.

Can I use this for songs written for guitar with a capo?

Yes, the logic is identical. A guitarist's capo chart and this calculator both count semitones from the open shape, so you can borrow a guitar tab's capo position directly if you are playing standard GCEA tuning.

For more on finding a comfortable key and using a capo, see how to find the right key and use a capo on ukulele, and if the DGBE math above was new to you, our guide to ukulele sizes covers how baritone tuning differs from the rest. Brand new to these shapes? Start with the first ukulele chords to learn.