What Is a Chord Transposer?

A chord transposer is a book or software application that converts chords from one key to another. A simple chord transposer chart allows you to transpose individual chords, whereas a software application can transpose an entire piece of music. Chord wheels are an example of an in-between solution. A chord transposer is a simple way for musicians who can’t transpose on the fly to change the key of a song to suit a performer, such as a vocalist who needs a specific range.

A simple chord transposer chart is a grid with horizontally oriented rows and vertically oriented columns. The 12 keys are listed across the top row, and the chords of each scale are listed down the columns. To use a chord transposer to change from one key to another, find the key the music is written in on the left, then go to the column of the key you want to rewrite the chords for and find the replacement chord in that key. This process can be used to find replacements for all of the chords in a song repeating it for each instance of a chord in each music sheet.

Any music store that sells guitar accessories will have a chord transposer wheel. However, you can make one out of card stock cutting out two wheels, one of which is smaller and superimposed on the other. The smaller wheel can spin around over the larger wheel thanks to a hole punched in the middle. The outer wheel contains all 12 chord scale keys, while the inner wheel contains the same 12 keys. The original key can be found on the outer wheel, and aligning it with the desired key beneath it, all of the chords for that scale can be seen in their order for transposition of all the chords in the song.

There are software-based chord transposers available for computer users that allow them to enter the key of a piece of music and the key to which they want to transpose it. A user may have to transpose a piece one chord at a time or all at once, depending on the software. Some software is local, meaning it is installed on the user’s computer, while others is online, requiring the user to simply visit a website.

The 12 keys are divided into major, minor, and diminished chords on the simple chord transposer grid chart and chord wheel. The three types of chord key scales are as follows. If a song is written in Cmaj, it is necessary to transpose to a Cmaj, as transposing to a Cmin or Cdim would not result in the correct transposition chords. To use a chord transposer correctly, make a note of the major, minor, and diminished designations on the sheet music.