Transpose, I suppose

Many times, a song isn't written in the right key for a singer and requires transposing. If you're a guitar player, you can always use a capo to get the song in the right key for your singer, or for yourself in order to make it a more familiar progression. However, bass players and keyboard players sometimes have a hard time with capos.

So here's a little chart I created that you can use to transpose the song into the key you need it to be in. I just put this together, so there may be a few glitches. If you find any, let me know and I'll fix it.

Here's how it works. The top row is the root key of your song. Let's say for instance the song is in the key of C and you want to transpose it to G. It's easy breezy. If the song is a typical 1-4-5 progression with a minor in the 6 position, we have 1=C, 4=F, 5=G and the minor will be A. (We're not counting the half-steps when they're sharps.)

Obviously, if the 1 position (root key) is changing from C to G, those are the only two rows you need to use. Now, go down the C column until you get to F and look across that row and see what we find in the G column. That shows the corresponding chord to be a C. Do the same with the 5 position and you'll find a D in the G column. Now, for the minor. In the key of C, it's an A-minor. When we transpose to G, it becomes an E-minor. See? I told you it was easy.

Try it out and see how it works for you. Click on the chart and it will give you a large example. You can print it out for reference if you'd like. Let me know if you find any issues. Enjoy!