Free Chord Transposer — Move Any Progression to Any Key — WriteHook
WriteHook

Free Chord Transposer

Paste a chord progression, pick a target key or semitone offset, and get the transposed chords instantly. Works with any chord name — from simple Am and G to F#m7, Cmaj7/E, and Ebsus4. No signup, no delay.

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+3 semitones
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Transposition examples

CG
C G Am FG D Em C
AE
Am Dm G CEm Am D G
CD
Cmaj7 Am7 Fmaj7 G7Dmaj7 Bm7 Gmaj7 A7

When to use this

  • When a song is in the wrong key for your vocal range and you need to move it down (or up)
  • When you learned a song in one key and want to play it alongside someone in a different key
  • When you wrote a song on guitar and want to play it on piano in a more natural key
  • When you're learning music theory and want to see how transposition works across all 12 keys

How transposition works

Transposing a chord progression means moving every chord up or down by the same interval — keeping the relationships between chords identical, just at a different pitch. If a song goes C G Am F, transposing it up 2 semitones gives D A Bm G. The chord sequence feels the same because the intervals between chords haven't changed.

The most common reason to transpose is vocal range. If a song sits uncomfortably high or low for your voice, moving it down 1–3 semitones often fixes it without changing anything about the song's feel. Most singers are comfortable within about an octave and a half range — if a song's highest note is out of reach, transpose down until it isn't.

The other common reason is guitar-friendly keys. If you wrote something in Ab major, you're fighting awkward barre chords or needing a capo. Moving it to G or A makes it much more playable in open position. The key-to-key mode makes this simple — pick Ab on the left, pick G on the right, paste your chords, and you're done.

A note on spelling: when transposing up, the tool uses sharp spellings (C#, F#, G#). When transposing down, it uses flat spellings (Db, Gb, Ab). This follows standard music notation conventions. If you see C# and prefer Db, they sound identical — just call it what feels natural to you.

Common questions

What does transposing a chord progression mean?

Transposing moves every chord up or down by the same number of semitones. The relationship between chords stays identical — only the pitch level changes. A progression in C major transposed up 2 semitones becomes the same progression in D major.

Why would I want to transpose a song?

The most common reasons: fitting a vocalist's range, playing in a more guitar-friendly key (open-position keys like G, D, A, E, C), or matching the key of another song you're working on alongside it.

What chord formats does this support?

Any chord starting with A–G: major (C, G), minor (Am, Em), dominant (G7), major 7 (Cmaj7), minor 7 (Am7), suspended (Gsus4), diminished (Bdim), slash chords (G/B, Am/E), and complex extensions. Non-chord words (like bar lines | or repetition markers ×4) pass through unchanged.

What is the difference between key-to-key and semitone mode?

Key-to-key lets you pick a starting and target key — the tool calculates the semitone shift automatically. Semitone mode lets you set an exact number of semitones up or down. Both produce the same result; use whichever feels more natural.

What is a semitone?

A semitone is the smallest musical interval — the distance between adjacent notes (e.g., C to C#, or E to F). There are 12 semitones in an octave. Moving up 2 semitones from C gives D; up 5 from C gives F.

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WriteHook is a forever-free songwriting app

Transpose in-app and the change applies to all your chord placements, diagrams, and tab automatically. Plus lyrics, rhymes, drum machine, and more. Free forever.

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