HoRNet SongKey MK4

Realtime chord, tempo and key finder plugin

HoRNet SongKey MK4 is the fourth version of our key recognition tool, but it doesn’t do simple key recognition, it’s also capable of detecting the chord being played and the song tempo. We thought it was a good idea to also add MIDI input (to be able to detect chords and key of midi tracks) and MIDI output for the recognised chords so you can record them and edit the track for your own needs, also SongKey MK4 provides new standalone version that is able to generate midi clock to keep all your other M;IDI gear in sync with a live audio input. 

Of course this new SongKey provides better accuracy in every aspect: key recognition is faster and more precise, chords are detected more precisely and the bpm finder is more accurate.

We have put great attention improving the “chromagram” a level representation of the intensity of each note playing in the song taking into consideration a wider range of octaves and filtering out some slight out of tune sounds. The data extracted from the audio is used to feed a simple artificial intelligence unit that is used to detect each chord, and SongKey MK4’s chord detection extends to sevenths, fifths and suspended chords.

The new key detection engine builds on the chromagram and expands it with another artificial intelligence unit based around a statistical chord progression model that analysing the chord sequence is able to understand the key of the song, this has the great advantage that the key recognition is always realtime so you can change song without the need to reset the plugin, or if the song changes key in some part of it, the plugin will simply be able to detect the new chord sequence and follow the key change, all of this working just on your DAW, with no need for an internet connection.

The two chromagrams (the one used for chord recognition and the one for key recognition) are shown on the GUI so that you can know which notes are playing and which ones you can use for your track, also we added a handy keyboard display that allows you to see which keys are being played. This is extremely useful if you use SongKey MK4 for acapellas or other samples, with a quick look you can know the key of your samples and which notes to use in your tracks to complement those samples.

Finally we have an accelerated and resizable vector GUI that looks good on any display, even if you double its size.

The new SongKey MK4 also comes as a standalone App for macOS and Windows, this allows you to feed it with any sound from your other apps and see SongKey’s analysis in real-time, you can also use a live recording or a band playing live as its input, since it generates MIDI clock from the detected tempo, it can drive another DAW or sequencer and keep it in time with the live sound.

SongKey is very useful in those situation in which you don’t have an instrument at hand to find out the chord, key and bpm (beats per minute) of a song you are working on or if you are a DJ and want to make a mash up but you don’t know in which key a song is written. The chord detection feature gives you insights on the chord progression of the song so that you can better design your bass lines and pads.