Your range · the song's notes · a capo for guitar
Vocal key finder
What key should you sing this song in? Set your voice and the song's lowest and highest notes, and get the key, how far to move it, and the capo for guitar.
How to use it
- Pick your voice: your own range if you've saved one with the vocal range test on this device, or a voice type. Then pick a song from the list (each with a link to learn it in Stackapella), or set your own: its key with Song key at the top, Major or Minor, and its lowest and highest melody notes.
- Read the answer: the key to sing it in, how many semitones to move, and where a guitarist puts the capo. "Hear it in" plays the new bottom note, the top note and the key's chord, and the 12 keys underneath show which fit, which are a stretch and which are out of reach: tap one to try it.
How the finder picks a key
It moves the song as little as it can until its lowest and highest notes both sit inside your range, trying your own octave first, so a man isn't told to sing a woman's tune seven semitones down when an octave down in the same key fits. When nothing fits, it picks the key that leaves the fewest semitones outside your range.
The 12 keys under the answer each say how the song sits in that key: it fits, it's a stretch (the top or the bottom goes 1 or 2 semitones past your range), or it's out of reach. A stretch can work for a short note or one that comes only once.
Which key for which voice: two examples
What the finder suggests for each voice type, against the usual ranges the vocal range test uses. Amazing Grace, as Stackapella's library has it, spans one octave, so every voice sings it in G, the men an octave down. The Star-Spangled Banner spans an octave and a fifth, so each voice needs its own key.
Take it as a rule of thumb: the ranges are typical, not limits, and your own range is what counts. Many keys can fit; the finder names the closest to the written one.
| Voice type | Usual range | Amazing Grace (D4 to D5, in G) | The Star-Spangled Banner (B♭3 to F5, in B♭) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bass | E2 to E4 | G, an octave down | A, an octave down |
| Baritone | G2 to G4 | G, an octave down | B♭, an octave down |
| Tenor | C3 to A4 | G, an octave down | C, an octave down |
| Alto | F3 to D5 | G | G |
| Mezzo-soprano | A3 to F5 | G | B♭ |
| Soprano | C4 to A5 | G | C |
The highest note matters most
Two songs with the same range can feel very different. One that touches its top note once is easy; one that sits near the top for a whole chorus wears you out. Look at where the melody spends its time, how long the high notes are held, and whether they land on your break.
The finder judges the lowest and highest notes, because those are the ones that decide whether you can sing it at all. Then trust your voice: sing a verse and the chorus in the key it gives, and move a semitone if it tires you.
Guitar, duets and choirs
The guitar line uses the lowest capo, up to the 7th fret, that lets you play open chord shapes: C, G, D, A or E, or Am, Em or Dm in minor. So a song in E♭ becomes "capo 1, play D shapes". If the key is already an open one, it says so.
When a man sings a song first sung by a woman, or the other way round, an octave can sit too low or too high, so singers often move it a fourth or fifth instead: work out each voice separately. In a choir the key is set, and you find your part instead: the part whose range fits yours.
Free tools by Stackapella
You know your key. Every song in the app can move to fit it.
Stackapella teaches you to sing harmony one part at a time, right in your browser.
- A guide sings your partHear your line over the others, slow it down, then take your turn.
- Your notes light upEach note shows where you landed, and a hint when to go up or down.
- Record every part yourselfStack your takes in time until you're the whole choir.
- Every course free
- Open source
- No ads, no tracking
Questions
What key should I sing in?
There's no one key for a voice: it depends on the song. A key only says where a song's notes sit, and two songs in the same key can reach very different heights. The right key is the one that puts this song's lowest and highest notes inside your range.
How do I find the best key for my voice?
Know your range, find the song's lowest and highest melody notes, then move the song up or down until both fit inside your range. The finder does the moving: it picks the smallest change that fits, says how many semitones that is, and lets you hear it. Then sing a verse in it, and try a semitone either way if it doesn't feel right.
How do I find a song's lowest and highest notes?
Look at the melody in the sheet music: the lowest and highest notes of the tune, not of the accompaniment. Without music, step Lowest and Highest here while you play the recording, until each note you hear matches the song's; each note plays as you set it. If the song is in the finder's list, pick it and its notes fill in.
What key should altos, tenors, baritones or sopranos sing in?
No key belongs to a voice type, because songs span different ranges. A song that spans an octave fits almost any voice in many keys, while a wide one leaves only a few. The table above shows what the finder suggests for each voice type with two well-known songs.
What is the easiest key to sing in?
For your voice, the easiest key is the one that keeps a song's notes in the comfortable middle of your range, and that differs from song to song. For a guitarist, the easy keys are the open-chord ones, C, G, D, A and E (Am, Em and Dm in minor), which is why the finder gives a capo and chord shapes for every key.
Should I pick the key where I'm comfortable or where I sound best?
Start where it's comfortable, then try a semitone or two higher: many voices sound brighter a little up, as long as the high notes stay easy. Look at where the melody spends its time, not only its top note, and keep long, loud notes away from your break, where your voice changes gear. If the top note comes only once, the "top note is only once" setting under More lets it go 2 semitones over your range.
How do I change the key of a song?
Move every chord by the number of semitones the finder gives: 2 semitones up turns G into A and C into D. A guitarist can use a capo instead, and the finder's guitar line says which fret and which chord shapes to play. Many backing tracks and music apps have a key setting that does the same.
What's the difference between my vocal range and a key?
Your range is the notes you can sing, from your lowest to your highest. A key is where a song's notes sit: the same song in A sits a whole tone higher than in G. You don't have a key of your own; a song has one, and you choose the one that puts its notes inside your range.
Why does it say "an octave lower than written"?
Because one tune is sung in two octaves. A tenor or baritone singing a tune written for a high voice sings it an octave lower, often in the same key, and that's normal. The finder fits the song in your own octave first, and says so when it moves an octave.
Does it record me?
No. The key finder never uses the microphone. If the vocal range test saved your range on this device, it reads it from there, and your settings stay on this device too.
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