Ever found yourself writing music or listening to a song you love and want to know which key the song is in? Maybe also the tempo of the song or the chord progression? Well, look no further; with plenty of online websites, apps, and plug-ins that can do just that, there is no need to have superhuman hearing or years of training to know the key or tempo of a song anymore.
The only issue is to find a reliable application or website that you can trust. That’s why I’ve gone through countless apps and websites, testing their trustworthiness, so you don’t have to. Today, I’ll be listing the 7 best music key finder websites, VST Plugins & apps.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a DJ, musician, or just a music aficionado; there is a website or app for each of you.
Online key finders
Getsongkey
Getsonkey is easily the biggest key finder on the web, with over six million songs already in the database.
It’s great if you just want to know the key of a song, but also superb for people who enjoy creating playlists that are built on a specific key. The reverse song feature is able to pull other music that has the same key as the song you searched, helping you quickly find more music in the same key.
The website itself is easy to understand and use, making it a great fit for users who are less computer literate. It can also identify chord progressions within songs, which as a producer myself, I find extremely useful when remixing music or producing my own. Getsongkey can also transpose a chord progression into a different key and also displays the BPM of the songs.
And the best part about Getsongkey is that it is free to use!
Tunebat
Tunebat is another website that you can use to find information about songs. You can look up the key, BPM, and other stuff like writers and producers. Their database is much larger than Getsongkey, with over 40 million songs to choose from. It can find the info on any song in Spotify, with easy integration.
The website also comes with a great refined filter search option that gives you the option of choosing up to five tracks to compare and search similar tracks with. The coolest part is that you can listen to the song on their website without having to go to your Spotify app or other streaming services.
Quality filters…
The website also categorizes music by feeling/emotions, vibe, and how danceable the track is. Making it easy to filter songs for playlists. If you’re a DJ creating playlists, you need to be able to quickly search for songs in the same key or even the same vibe; this makes Tunebat an excellent choice.
The reason Tunebat is not on top is because of the overbearing ads, and you have no option of turning them off. It does mean that Tunebat is free, though, which is always a plus.
Audio keychain
Audio keychain is the last online website for finding the key of a song that I’ll be featuring, and for a good reason.
Unlike the previous two websites, Audio keychain needs you to upload the song you want to know the key of. It’s great if you’re making your own music and don’t know what key your song is in. However, finding the key of a well-known song quickly is harder work than it should be.
The website is free to use, which is great. But without a search filter to look up songs, it won’t be of much use for regular folks. However, if you are a DJ, it could be a great way to find the key of a song you’re mixing, and the analyzer works great to find the BPM, key, and chords of a song.
Apps and Plug-Ins
Song Key Finder App
This is a free app that will help you find the key to any song. Whether it’s a song you’re listening to and want to know its key, or maybe you’ve been playing some chords and have written an original song and want to know what key it is in.
Song Key Finder can determine the key of your song in three ways
- Add Live – where you play the song on your phone’s microphone with the app open for analysis
- Scan MP3 – which inviolves you uploading the song to the song key finder app and running it for analysis
- Add MP3 – or by manually entering your chords into the app and running an analysis
Song finder is free to use but has in-app purchases at around $4.49 per item. It runs on Android 5.0 and above.
Virtual DJ
Next in my rundown of the Best Music Key Finder Websites, VST Plugins & Apps, we have Virtual DJ. It has been around since 2003 and is still used and as relevant as it was at its inception. And is pretty much everything the name says it is, i.e., a virtual DJ mixer that you can use on your computer.
The thing that really sets it apart is that it can be used to mix audio and video. It’s also easy to use but has a sharp learning curve. Just playing some songs on it and mixing between them is easy, but actually using it to perform comes with a lot of dedication and practice.
It comes with plenty of great features like separating stems from tracks, finding the key and tempo of a song, synchronizing tracks automatically as well as scratching tracks. It also comes with a waveform reader with a beat grid that can be edited with the provided EQ.
If you’re a bedroom artist, you can use it for free. It can also be licensed by DJs who want to use it commercially.
Edison – Fruity Loops plug-in
If you own Fruity Loops, or FL Studio for short, you might have seen this plug-in before. Edison is the ultimate clip editor and comes free with any FL Studio version.
Edison can be used to read and edit any recorded audio. Once an audio clip is loaded into Edison, you will be able to find the exact key, chord progression, and BPM of the track. Not only that but Edison can be used to edit the audio as well. It can cut, stretch or alter the audio in any way you’d like.
It can also export the edited audio back into the DAW or as an audio file.
Scaler 2 (AU/VST Plugin)
If you don’t own FL studio, but own another DAW, then Scaler 2 from PluginBoutique will be the perfect option for you. Scaler 2, just like Edison, will load any midi or audio file and analyze it, providing you with the key, scale, and BPM of the audio.
It provides a keyboard layout, which will show you all the notes that match the given scale, helping you write melodies or chord progressions within the key.
It is not the cheapest VST and costs $19, but it is worth the money if you are looking to spice up your songwriting with some new and interesting scales.
Best Music Key Finder Websites, VST Plugins & Apps – Conclusion
Whether you are a producer, songwriter, performer, or music lover, there are plenty of apps to help you find the key of a song. The websites are great for those who just want some extra info about a song, or maybe want to know the key to help them play the song in an easier way or change the key to suit their voice.
The VSTs are perfect for producers and songwriters looking for inspiration from other music or who want to experiment with new scales and chord progressions.
Happy music-making!