Find the key of a song
Drop a song onto the box above, or choose one. StemVocal reads it from start to end, up to the first 10 minutes, and shows the key, its Camelot code and its relative key, with the tempo in BPM beside them. Choose many songs at once, or drop a whole folder, and each song gets a row in a table. Select a row to see its full result, including the keys that mix well with it.
Reading the result
- Key. One of the 24 major and minor keys, such as A minor or E♭ major. Keys are spelled the way sheet music usually writes them: D♭ major rather than C♯ major, G♯ minor rather than A♭ minor.
- Camelot code. The key's place on the DJ wheel: a number from 1 to 12 and a letter, A for minor, B for major.
- Relative key. The major or minor key with the same notes. A minor and C major share every note, so a song can sound like either. Both have Camelot number 8.
- Mixes well with. Three keys that usually blend without a clash: the relative key, and the keys one step either way around the wheel in the same mode.
Harmonic mixing with Camelot codes
Two songs in compatible keys can overlap in a mix without their notes rubbing. On the Camelot wheel, neighbours are compatible: stay on the same code, move one number up or down with the same letter, or swap between A and B on the same number. Moving up one number raises the key by a fifth, and moving down one lowers it by a fifth.
| Camelot | Key | Relative key |
|---|---|---|
| 1A | G♯ minor | B major |
| 1B | B major | G♯ minor |
| 2A | E♭ minor | F♯ major |
| 2B | F♯ major | E♭ minor |
| 3A | B♭ minor | D♭ major |
| 3B | D♭ major | B♭ minor |
| 4A | F minor | A♭ major |
| 4B | A♭ major | F minor |
| 5A | C minor | E♭ major |
| 5B | E♭ major | C minor |
| 6A | G minor | B♭ major |
| 6B | B♭ major | G minor |
| 7A | D minor | F major |
| 7B | F major | D minor |
| 8A | A minor | C major |
| 8B | C major | A minor |
| 9A | E minor | G major |
| 9B | G major | E minor |
| 10A | B minor | D major |
| 10B | D major | B minor |
| 11A | F♯ minor | A major |
| 11B | A major | F♯ minor |
| 12A | C♯ minor | E major |
| 12B | E major | C♯ minor |
Some keys have a second spelling: E♭ minor is also written D♯ minor, F♯ major G♭ major, G♯ minor A♭ minor and D♭ major C♯ major. They are the same keys and share a code.
Singing or playing in another key
Once you know the key, you can move it. The key changer moves a whole song up or down in semitone steps without changing its tempo and downloads the result. StemVocal's practice player, on the acapella extractor and the other separation pages, also changes the key while the song plays. Take out the lead vocal with the vocal remover first to sing over the instrumental.
Why a key reading can differ
- Relative keys. A major key and its relative minor share their notes. Which one a song is in depends on where it comes to rest, and short or looping songs may not say.
- Key changes. A song that modulates gets the key it spends most time in.
- Modes and blues. Dorian, Mixolydian and blues-based songs borrow notes from outside a major or minor scale, so the nearest major or minor key is shown.
- Tuning. Recordings tuned slightly off concert pitch are measured against their own tuning, so a song a little flat of A = 440 Hz is still compared with the right notes.
How accurate is the key finder
We measured it on two public research collections whose keys were checked by musicians, using songs it had not learned from. The key finder named the exact key for 66.4% of 604 electronic tracks and 64.7% of 417 clips across nine genres. Counting a relative, fifth or parallel key as partly right with the standard research weights, it scores 0.73 out of 1 on both. Use the BPM finder to check the tempo on its own, with a tap pad.