Song key & BPM finder
Find out what key a song is in and its tempo in BPM. The Camelot code tells you what it mixes with.
How the key and tempo are found
Tempo. The track is scanned for the moments where new sounds start (drum hits, plucked notes, chord changes), and the tool looks for the interval at which they repeat most strongly. It leans towards the tempos most music is played at, so a half-time or double-time reading does not win by accident, and both alternatives are shown next to the answer. It assumes a steady tempo: a song that speeds up or slows down gets its average.
Key. The tool measures how much of each of the twelve notes sounds across the whole track and compares that balance with the profiles of all 24 major and minor keys. The closest profile is the answer, and how far it is ahead of the runner-up is the confidence. You get one key for the whole file, so a song that modulates shows the key that dominates it.
Other tools
Questions about key and tempo
How accurate is the key finder?
It is most reliable on songs that stay in one key and have clear chords. Read the confidence figure next to the key: when it is low, two keys scored almost the same, which is common with modal songs, songs that change key, and tracks that are mostly drums or a single riff. Check a doubtful answer by ear: play the root note over the track and hear whether it feels like home.
Why does it say minor when the song sounds major?
A major key and its relative minor use the same seven notes, C major and A minor for example, and differ only in which note feels like home, so their profiles score close. If the answer sounds wrong, try the relative key: it keeps the same Camelot number and swaps the letter (8B is C major, 8A is A minor).
What does the Camelot code mean?
It is DJ shorthand for the circle of fifths: 12 numbers like a clock face, A for minor keys and B for major. Tracks that share a code, sit one number apart, or share a number with the other letter mix without clashing: 8A goes with 7A, 9A and 8B.
Why does it show a half and a double tempo?
Tempo is how a listener counts the beat, and the same song can honestly be counted at 70 or at 140 BPM. The tool picks the reading most music sits near and shows the other two so you can choose: for some styles the half or double figure is the one a musician would count.
Is it free, and what happens to my file?
It is free and needs no account. The file is analysed on our own server and deleted as soon as the result comes back; nothing is stored or passed to another company. Files up to 60 MB and 6 minutes: MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, OGG, or a video to read the soundtrack from.