Key Finder
Find the key from a few notes, then see every chord that fits it, with the trance favourites first. Pick four and open them in the Chord Lab.
Find the key from notes
Chords in your key
Your progression
Borrowed chords for lifts and drama
Sounds to load your MIDI into
Supersaw Essentials: 25 free trance presets for Vital, the free synth. Leads, plucks, pads and gated stabs, voiced for every tool on this site.
How to find the key of a song
A key is a set of seven notes that sound settled together, with one of them as "home". To find it, play along with the track and note down the pitches that fit: the bassline is the best place to start, because it usually spells out the chord roots. Click each note above and the Key Finder lists the keys that contain all of them.
Every major key shares its notes with a minor key, its relative minor (C major and A minor, for example), so you'll often see both at the top. To tell them apart, listen for the chord the track keeps returning to and resolving on. Most trance is written in a minor key, so if in doubt, try the minor one first.
The chords trance producers use most
In a minor key, the four chords that carry most of trance are the i (home), VI, III and VII. Together they give the bittersweet, euphoric feel the genre is known for: think i–VI–III–VII, or VI–VII–i for a big lift. In a major key, it's the familiar I, vi, IV and V.
Borrowed chords come from outside the key and add drama. The most important in trance is the major V in a minor key: it pulls hard back to the home chord, which is why so many tracks use it in the bar before the drop. In major keys, the ♭VI and ♭VII borrowed from the minor key give an instant anthemic lift.
Pick four chords with Add and open them in the Chord Lab to hear them as a supersaw trancegate, then add an arp and a bassline.
Questions
How many notes do I need to find the key?
Usually five or six different notes are enough to narrow it to one or two keys. With fewer, many keys fit, so the Key Finder ranks the ones whose home note you've played highest.
What's the most popular key for trance?
Minor keys dominate. A minor, F minor and G minor are especially common, partly because their root notes give a kick and bass that sit well on club systems. You can check the kick and sub frequencies for any key in the Note to Hz chart.
Why can't some borrowed chords be added to the Chord Lab?
The Chord Lab builds progressions from the chords in the key plus the raised V, which covers most trance. The other borrowed chords are here to listen to and try in your DAW.
What does "sus2" or "add9" mean?
Sus2 swaps the third of the chord for the second, which sounds open and airy. Add9 keeps the chord and adds the ninth on top for a lush, emotional colour. Both are common in trance pads and plucks.