How to find the BPM and key of a song: 5 easy ways
Before you sample a song, remix it, mix it into a DJ set or play along, you need two numbers: its tempo in BPM and its key.
Here are five ways to find them, from a few seconds with a file to doing it all by ear. Plus the two traps that confuse everyone: half or double tempo, and a minor key that looks like a major one.
1. Drop the file into a finder
The fastest way when you have the song as a file. Drop an MP3 or WAV into the Beatloo BPM and Key Finder and in a few seconds you get:
- the tempo in BPM, with the half and double values under it;
- the key, like F minor;
- the Camelot code, like 4A, and the relative key, for DJ mixing.
It runs in your browser, so the file never leaves your device. It works best on songs with clear chords and a steady beat. A drum loop has no key to find, and a song that changes key gets the key that fits it best overall.
2. Tap along to the beat
When the song is only playing, on the radio, in a video or in a club, tap along to it. Open Tap Tempo and tap the pad or any key on the kick or the snare:
- after four or five taps you see a first number;
- after eight or more taps it is exact;
- a pause of two seconds starts over.
Tap on every beat, not every bar. If the number feels too slow or too fast for the style, use ½ or ×2.
3. Count the beats yourself
No app at all? A clock is enough. Count the beats for 15 seconds and multiply by four: 30 beats in 15 seconds is 120 BPM.
Counting for 30 seconds and multiplying by two is more exact, because one missed beat changes the result by 2 BPM instead of 4. Start counting from zero on the first beat, not from one.
4. Use your DAW
If the song is already in your project, the DAW can help:
- Ableton Live warps a long file when you drop it in and guesses its tempo. The Tap button next to the tempo in the control bar works like tap tempo.
- Logic Pro has Smart Tempo: it analyzes an imported file and can set the project tempo to match it.
- Many other DAWs have a tap tempo button too.
Check the guess by playing the metronome over the song. If the clicks drift away after a few bars, the tempo is not right yet.
5. Find the key by ear
Finding the key by ear takes a little practice, but it trains your ear for good. You need a keyboard or any piano app.
Then check the key with a finder, or the other way round: let the finder give you an answer and confirm it by ear.
Why the BPM can be half or double
Many songs can be counted two ways, and both are right. A trap beat at 140 BPM often feels like 70, because the snare lands only on the third beat. Drum and bass at 174 BPM can feel like 87.
That is why every tool, ours included, sometimes gives half or double what you expected. Pick the value that matches how the style is usually written: trap and drum and bass at the fast value, boom bap at the slow one.
Minor or major: the relative key
A minor and C major use exactly the same notes. So do F minor and A♭ major, and every other relative pair. A finder, or your ear, can mix them up.
The difference is which note feels like home. If the song comes to rest on A, it is A minor; if it rests on C, it is C major. For DJ mixing the difference matters less: relative keys sit next to each other on the Camelot wheel, like 8A and 8B, and mix smoothly either way.
Typical tempos by genre
A rough guide to check your result against. Songs outside these ranges are common, so treat them as a hint, not a rule.
| Genre | Typical BPM |
|---|---|
| Hip hop, boom bap | 80–100 |
| R&B | 60–90 |
| Pop | 90–130 |
| House | 120–130 |
| Techno | 125–140 |
| Trap | 130–160 |
| Dubstep | 140 |
| Drum and bass | 160–180 |
Got both numbers? Beatloo has loops and one-shots you can search by key and tempo, so whatever you add to the song fits it.