How to change the key of a song
Changing the key of a song means moving every note up or down by the same amount. A key changer does that for a finished recording. Keep pitch mode keeps the tempo exactly where it was, so the song still feels the same, just higher or lower.
Each step is one semitone. You can transpose up to 12 semitones in either direction, a full octave.
You hear the new key live while the song plays, so you can sing along and adjust before you export anything.
Who changes the key of songs
Transposing a recording helps in lots of situations:
- Singers moving a song into their range for practice or a gig.
- Karaoke fans making a backing track easier to sing.
- Guitarists matching a song without retuning or using a capo.
- Horn and wind players matching a track to their instrument.
- Teachers setting songs at the right pitch for young voices.
- Choirs rehearsing with a recording in the key they perform.
Semitones, keys and capo positions
If you play guitar, a capo raises the pitch of your open chords by one semitone per fret. That gives you two options. Change the key of the song to match your open chords, or keep the song as it is and use a capo. This table shows how they relate.
| Shift | Song in C becomes | Capo equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| +1 | C sharp | Capo 1 |
| +2 | D | Capo 2 |
| +3 | E flat | Capo 3 |
| −1 | B | Tune down a half step |
| −2 | B flat | Tune down a whole step |
| −5 | G | Play in G shapes |
Tips for singers
Find the hardest note first. Go to the highest part of the chorus and change the key until you can hit it without straining. Then check the lowest verse note still sounds full.
Most singers only need 1 to 3 semitones. Larger changes work, but the track starts to sound processed.
Want a karaoke version in your key? Use the vocal remover or karaoke maker first, download the backing track, then change its key here.
Not sure what key the song is in now? The key finder gives you an estimate to start from.
Record a quick test. Sing the hardest section in two or three keys and listen back. The right key is the one where you sound relaxed, not the one where you can only just reach the notes.
Limitations
Big key changes on full mixes can make voices and drums sound unnatural, because their natural resonances move too. Keep changes small where you can. The control works in whole semitones, so it is not designed for fine tuning of a few cents.
Change the key of a song on your phone
Singers often want to try a new key right before practice. The key changer works on iPhone in Safari and on Android in Chrome. Pick the song from your files, move the semitones while it plays, and export when it feels right.
Keep the original too. Songs are easy to transpose again from the original, and each new change from an already changed file adds a little more processing.
If you are working with a band, agree on the key first and then make one version for everyone. A shared practice track in the performance key saves a lot of confusion at rehearsal.
Guitarists can use this the other way round too. If you learned a song with open chords in G but the recording is in A, shift the recording down 2 semitones and play along in the shapes you already know.
Free key changer that runs locally
Your song never leaves your device. The key changer runs entirely in your browser, with no account, no watermark and no limit. You hear the new key live, and the export applies it to the whole song. It works on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android.