Tap every note you hear in your melody, bass line or chords. You do not need to pick them in order, and each note only counts once. After three notes the finder shows the most likely key with its full scale, plus close alternatives and the notes that fall outside each one. If you know which note feels like home, usually the last note or the root of the first chord, choose it as the home note to tell a major key apart from its relative minor.
It compares your notes with all 36 major, natural minor and harmonic minor scales. Keys that contain the most of your notes rank highest, with a bonus when the tonic chord and your home note are in the set.
They are relative keys and use exactly the same seven notes. The difference is which note feels like home. Set the home note to A for A minor or C for C major.
Songs often borrow notes from other keys, so the finder still shows the closest match and lists the outside notes. A raised seventh, such as G# in A minor, usually points to harmonic minor.
At least three, but five to seven distinct notes give a much clearer answer. With only a few notes several keys can fit equally well.
This tool works from notes you pick. To detect the key of a recording, use our BPM and Key Finder, which analyses an audio file in your browser.