12 distinct chords · 70 changes · 3:21 long
Timeline
Chord timeline
Chords in this song
- F♯
- B
- D♯
- C♯
- A♯m
- D♯m
- G♯m
- D
- G
- C
- Bm
- Em
What you are playing
Chords for When a Child Is Born, laid out across its 3:21 exactly where they fall. Most of it sits in F♯ major. It leans on barre chords — with a capo on fret 6 the same song becomes C F A G Em Am Dm G♯ C♯ F♯ Fm A♯m, which sits easier under the hand. Every one of its 12 chords is a plain triad, so three notes under the right hand covers the whole song.
Play it in another key
The same song, moved. Every row is When a Child Is Born shifted by that many semitones — useful when the recording sits too high or too low for your voice. The chords keep their relationships, so the song is unchanged apart from its pitch.
| Shift | Key | Chords |
|---|---|---|
| C♯ major | C♯F♯A♯G♯FmA♯mD♯mADGF♯mBm | |
| D major | DGBAF♯mBmEmA♯D♯G♯GmCm | |
| D♯ major | D♯G♯CA♯GmCmFmBEAG♯mC♯m | |
| E major | EAC♯BG♯mC♯mF♯mCFA♯AmDm | |
| F major | FA♯DCAmDmGmC♯F♯BA♯mD♯m | |
| F♯ major | F♯BD♯C♯A♯mD♯mG♯mDGCBmEm | |
| G major | GCEDBmEmAmD♯G♯C♯CmFm | |
| G♯ major | G♯C♯FD♯CmFmA♯mEADC♯mF♯m | |
| A major | ADF♯EC♯mF♯mBmFA♯D♯DmGm | |
| A♯ major | A♯D♯GFDmGmCmF♯BED♯mG♯m | |
| B major | BEG♯F♯D♯mG♯mC♯mGCFEmAm | |
| C major | CFAGEmAmDmG♯C♯F♯FmA♯m |
On a guitar there is a shortcut in one direction: transpose down by n and put a capo on fret n, and you are back at the original pitch while playing the easier shapes. That is what the capo line above is doing.
