Where to capo for Db Aeolian
Put the capo at fret 4 and play Db Aeolian using Bbb Aeolian shapes. That is the easiest of the eight positions ranked below, and it is what most players reach for. Against playing Db Aeolian open, it drops the mean difficulty of the key's seven chords from 4.4 to 3.4 and gains 9 ringing open strings.
You want Db Aeolian. Capo 4 and play in Bbb Aeolian.
All eight positions, ranked
Each row transposes Db Aeolian down by that many frets to find the shapes your hand would actually make, then scores the best voicing of all seven chords — fewer fingers, less stretch, closer to the nut, fewer muted strings. Lower is easier. Standard tuning (E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4).
| Capo | Shapes you play | Open strings | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Bbb Aeolian | 19 | 3.4 |
| 2 | Cb Aeolian | 19 | 3.9 |
| 7 | Gb Aeolian | 14 | 4.3 |
| None | Db Aeolian | 10 | 4.4 |
| 5 | Ab Aeolian | 8 | 5.2 |
| 6 | G Aeolian | 6 | 5.6 |
| 1 | C Aeolian | 4 | 5.6 |
| 3 | Bb Aeolian | 0 | 6.3 |
What you are playing
The seven seventh chords of Db Aeolian are Dbm7, Ebm7b5, Fbmaj7, Gbm7, Abm7, Bbbmaj7, Cb7 — the ones the ranking above is scored against. Explore this key on the Db Aeolian key page.