Key finder
Drop an MP3 or WAV to see what key this song is in. This song key finder estimates a major or minor candidate from pitched audio on your device; it does not listen to a microphone, open a link, or look up a title.
Drop a file to find the key
MP3 or WAV · Up to 40 MB and 10 minutes · One file at a time
Reading your audio
Preparing the file
Longer files take more time. You can cancel at any point.
Labeled A minor teaching clip. Listen and compare the printed key. This clip is not a real-song accuracy test.
Key candidate
Camelot unavailable
Check against your audio
How to read this key result
The printed name is a home, not a chord list
A musical key finder returns a root plus major or minor, such as A minor. That is a candidate for where phrases want to rest, not a list of every note in the file. Camelot is the same choice written for DJ libraries; it is not a second analysis. The map is in Camelot wheel explained.
Unclear and tentative are usable answers
Unclear means there was not enough pitched evidence for a major or minor home. That is the right label for drums, speech, or a single unchanging pitch. Tentative means a nearby key still fits; compare both by ear before you file one name.
Where a printed key goes wrong
One chord cannot name the key
A triad belongs to more than one key. C major is I in C major, III in A minor, and IV in G major. Hearing one chord, even the opening chord, does not settle the home. First, last, and most-common chord often agree, and they also fail: a song can start on the relative minor and still live in the major key.
Counting matching chords can tie, then lie
If you list every chord and ask which key contains the most of them, relative major and minor will often tie because they share the same set. G, C, and D sit in both G major and E minor. The missing relative tonic is a vote, not a proof.
A second tie happens between neighboring majors. G–C–D–F matches three chords in G major and three in C major. Break those ties by asking which chord would stop the song if you played it as an ending. A fade-out has no last chord on the recording, so you have to test that ending yourself. One outsider, such as B♭ among G, D, and C, does not rename the home; the best fit can still be G major with B♭ borrowed.
Start-and-end on D with D, C, and G is not D major
Some songs start and end on D while the chords are D, C, and G. That collection is the G major set, not the D major set — D major wants A, not C. The home can still be D: Mixolydian on D uses the same notes as G major. This finder compares pitched notes with major and minor templates, so a D Mixolydian track can surface as G major. If the phrases keep landing on D, keep D as home and treat G major as the parent collection, not the key.
The miss can be one semitone below the tonic
On one string, climb the twelve pitches and ask: if the track stopped, would this note sound finished? Notes that merely fit the current chord feel stable on some changes and restless on others. The pitch one semitone below the tonic belongs to the key and pulls toward the real home, so it is easy to stop there and call it the key.
After you have a tonic pitch, test major versus minor from that same root. A minor pentatonic off the tonic will sound off if the song is major, and the other way around. That parallel test does not decide between C major and A minor; those two share a collection and need phrase endings, not a pentatonic from C.
A dominant seventh does not automatically name the home
A dominant seventh is either V7 of the home key or a secondary dominant pointing somewhere else. Look at the chords on both sides. E7 into A minor can still be inside G major (V of ii). One V7 does not name the key, and the same 6–2–5–1 loop can appear in a new key later in the file. This page labels one file; a modulation needs a clip per section.
On a long file the estimate comes from the start, middle, and end, so a key change in one section can make the label tentative or unclear. Unusual tuning, stacked vocals, and heavy distortion can still mislead. Listen, then copy.
Using this musical key finder
What key is this song in?
Choose a local MP3 or WAV above. The printed name is a candidate for the tonal home, not a lookup by title or artist. Listen to a pitched passage and check whether that root feels finished. If two related keys still fit, keep both until a phrase ending decides. Ear, chords, and guitar steps are in how to find the key of a song.
Can a song key finder work from a title or a microphone?
No. This page reads one MP3 or WAV on your device. It does not listen to the room, open YouTube or Spotify, or search a catalog. If you have chords but no file, use key from chords. If you have neither, the ear steps in the key guide still apply.
Why did a song that feels like D come back as G major?
Check whether the chords are D, C, and G rather than D, G, and A. The first set is the G major collection with D as home (Mixolydian), which a pitch-class template can label G major. If phrases rest on D, keep D and ignore the parent-major label.
Does this key finder also detect BPM?
No. This page prints key and Camelot only. Tempo lives on the key and BPM finder and on how to find the BPM of a song.