Pitch shifter and key changerBeta
Pitch shifter online
Drop a song, move it up or down in semitones and hear it right away. The tempo stays put, and we show the key you land in.
- Free
- No sign-up
- Runs in your browser
- Nothing is uploaded
Loading the tool
How it works
- 01
Drop the song
MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4A, OGG or a video with sound, up to 8 minutes. It is read on your device.
- 02
Pick the new key
Move the semitone slider, fine tune in cents if you need to. We find the original key and show where you land, like C major to D major.
- 03
Download it
Compare with the original at the same level, then save a WAV of the whole song in the new key.
Why people change the key of a song
Most of the time it is a voice. A song written for a tenor sits too high for a baritone, and two or three semitones down make it singable without strain. Choirs, wedding singers and karaoke nights do this all the time.
Players do it too. A guitarist learning a song tuned half a step down can bring it back to standard tuning. A horn player can move a track into a key that suits the instrument. A DJ can shift one track a semitone so two songs blend in key.
Producers use it to try a sample in a different key before building on it, or to check how a whole demo feels a tone higher. Because the tempo stays the same, the groove does not change, only the colour.
How it works: semitones, cents and the key
A semitone is one step on a piano, from C to C sharp. Twelve semitones make an octave. Moving a song up two semitones takes C major to D major and A minor to B minor. The slider counts in semitones because that is how musicians think about keys.
Cents are hundredths of a semitone. Some recordings were made on instruments tuned a little sharp or flat, or on tape that ran at a slightly different speed. A few cents bring them in line with a tuned instrument before you play along.
To show the key, we listen to the whole song, add up which notes are heard most and compare that with the shape of every major and minor key. Then we add the shift you chose. A song that changes key or has no clear centre may get a less certain answer, and we say so.
Sound quality and what to expect
The pitch is moved by your browser's high quality resampler, and signalsmith-stretch, an open source time and pitch library that we also use in our own audio software, puts the song back to its original length. Moving pitch this way keeps notes exactly in tune.
Small shifts of up to three or four semitones usually sound natural on a full mix. Large shifts change the character of voices, because the resonances of the throat move with the notes: a voice an octave up sounds smaller, an octave down sounds bigger. That is physics, not a bug, and it happens with every pitch shifter.
The file you download is rendered the same way you heard it, matched to the loudness of the original and held under minus one decibel true peak, so it is ready to play or import into a project.
What you get
- Transpose a song up to 12 semitones up or down
- Fine tuning in cents, for songs that sit between two keys
- The original key detected and the new key shown as you shift
- Tempo and length stay exactly the same
- Live preview while you move the slider, with an A/B against the original
- WAV download at the loudness of the original, limited so it never clips
- Free, no sign-up, nothing uploaded
Ways to change the key of a song
| OBRA pitch shifter | Speeding the file up or down | Typical upload converters | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tempo | Unchanged | Changes with the pitch | Usually unchanged |
| Where the audio goes | Nowhere, it stays in your browser | Nowhere, if you do it in a player | Sent to a server |
| New key shown | Yes, detected from the song | No | Rarely |
| Fine tuning | Cents, live | No | Varies |
| Output | WAV at the original loudness | Whatever the player saves | Often MP3 only |
A plain speed change is the cleanest way to move pitch, but it moves the tempo too. A pitch shifter keeps the tempo, which is what you need to sing or play along.
Frequently asked questions
Does the pitch shifter change the speed of the song?
No. The tempo and the length stay exactly the same. Only the pitch moves. If you want a song faster or slower, use our tempo changer.
How many semitones can I shift?
Up to 12 semitones up or down, which is a full octave, plus fine tuning of 50 cents either way.
How do I know which key the song ends up in?
We detect the original key from the audio and show the new one as you move the slider, for example A minor to C minor. If the song has no clear key, we tell you instead of guessing.
Is my song uploaded?
No. The song is read, played and processed in your browser. Nothing is sent to us or anyone else.
What file do I get?
A 16-bit WAV of the whole song at its original sample rate, with the same loudness as the file you dropped.
Will a big shift sound strange?
Shifts of a few semitones are usually clean. A whole octave changes the character of voices, as it does with any pitch shifter. Try a smaller shift if the vocal sounds too thin or too deep.
Can I change the key of a YouTube or Spotify song?
This tool works on audio files you have on your device. Use your own recordings or files you have the right to edit.
More free music tools
- BetaTempo changerSlow down or speed up a song without changing its pitch, and see the new BPM.
- BetaKey finderFind the key of a song with its Camelot code and the keys that mix well.
- BetaVocal removerRemove the vocals from a song and keep the instrumental.
- BetaNightcore makerMake a nightcore or sped up version of a song: faster, higher, brighter.
- BetaBPM finderFind the BPM of any song, with half and double time and a click to check it.
Finish the track
Learn more, or get a person on it
Read the mastering guides, comparisons and data, or send your tracks to an engineer with OBRA ULTRA.
Happy with the result?
Master it on OBRA Audio Mastering: three masters measured in LUFS, free to listen, in your browser.