This tool tells you exactly what musical note you’re singing — in real time, as you sing. Sustain a note and the finder shows the note name (C, D, E♭, F♯, etc.), the octave, and how close your pitch is to the true note in cents.

How the Note Finder Works

The finder listens through your microphone and analyses the fundamental frequency of your voice. Every musical note corresponds to a specific frequency, so once it identifies the frequency, it can match it to the nearest note name.

For example:

• If you sing at 440 Hz, the finder shows A4
• If you sing at 261.6 Hz, it shows C4 (middle C)
• If you sing at 523 Hz, it shows C5

Beyond just the note name, the finder also shows whether you’re slightly sharp or flat — measured in cents (one twentieth of a semitone). A reading of “A4 +12 cents” means you’re singing a note that’s still recognised as A4, but it’s 12 cents sharp of perfect tuning.

How to Use the Tool

1. Allow microphone access in your browser
2. Sing or hum a sustained note for at least one second
3. The finder displays the note name + octave + cents deviation
4. Slide between notes and watch the display update in real time

For the cleanest reading, use a vowel like “Ah” or “Ee” and sustain it. Quick, percussive sounds (consonants, talking) don’t give the tool enough sustained pitch to identify reliably.

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What Are the Musical Notes?

There are 12 notes in Western music, repeating across multiple octaves:

C, C♯/D♭, D, D♯/E♭, E, F, F♯/G♭, G, G♯/A♭, A, A♯/B♭, B

Each note appears in multiple octaves. The note name is followed by an octave number: A0 is the lowest A on a piano (27.5 Hz), A4 is the international tuning reference (440 Hz), and A8 is the highest A on a piano (7,040 Hz).

Singing range typically covers notes from about E2 (the deepest male bass) up to C6 or above (high soprano). For exact note-to-frequency mapping, see the voice frequency test.

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Note Finder vs Pitch Detector vs Singing Note Detector

These three tools are related but answer different questions:

Tool	What It Tells You	Best For
Note Finder	What note you’re singing right now	Quick lookups, “what note is this?”
Singing Note Detector	Live detection of notes during a sung phrase	Tracking notes across a melody
Pitch Detector	Precise pitch reading with cents deviation	Tuning and pitch correction
Pitch Accuracy Test	Whether you hit reference notes correctly	Ear training and practice

If you only want to know what note you’re producing, the note finder is the simplest tool. If you want to compare your pitch to a target and get a precision score, use the pitch accuracy test.

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What Key Am I Singing In?

A common related question. The note finder identifies single notes, but a “key” is a collection of notes that work together harmonically.

To figure out the key of a song you’re singing:

1. Sing the first note or the last note of the song’s main melody (these are usually the tonic — the “home” note of the key)
2. Use the note finder to identify that note
3. The note name (plus whether the song sounds major or minor) tells you the key

For example, if the first/last note is C and the song sounds major, you’re likely in C major. If it sounds sad or darker, you’re likely in C minor or A minor (which shares C’s notes).

For a deeper tool that identifies key from a recording, see our song key finder.

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Why Knowing Your Note Matters

Identifying notes by ear (or with a tool while learning) helps with:

• Transposing songs — if you know the original key and your comfortable singing range, you can shift a song up or down to fit your voice
• Harmonising — singing harmony requires knowing what note the lead is on
• Songwriting — composing melodies that work in a chosen key
• Vocal practice — checking that you’re hitting the notes you intend
• Learning instruments — matching the notes you sing to notes on a piano or guitar

Over time, regular use trains your ear so you can identify notes without the tool — the start of what musicians call relative pitch (recognising notes by their relationship to a reference). To test the rarer skill of identifying notes with no reference, try our perfect pitch test.

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Related Vocal Tools

• Vocal range test — find your lowest and highest notes
• Voice frequency test — see your voice in Hz
• Pitch accuracy test — test how precisely you hit target notes
• Voice type test — identify your voice classification
• Song key finder — identify the key of any recorded song

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Frequently Asked Questions

What note am I singing right now? Use this note finder. Allow microphone access, sustain a note, and the tool displays the note name (C, D♯, F, etc.) and octave in real time.

How accurate is the note finder? The tool detects pitch within ±1 cent (one hundredth of a semitone), more than enough to identify the correct note. It works most reliably on sustained vowels in a quiet room.

Why does the tool show the wrong note? The most common causes: background noise, weak or breathy vocal tone, or singing too short a note. Try sustaining a clear “Ah” for 2 seconds in a quiet room. Singing between two notes can also confuse the tool — hold steady on one pitch.

Can the note finder identify multiple notes at once? No — it identifies one note at a time. It detects the fundamental frequency of your voice. To analyse chords or harmonies in a recording, you need a different type of tool.

What’s the difference between a note and a key? A note is a single pitch (like C or F♯). A key is a group of notes that work together (like “C major” — which uses the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B). The note finder identifies notes. A key finder identifies the group.

How do I improve my ability to recognise notes by ear? Practice with this tool, then test yourself without it using the pitch accuracy test. Over weeks, you’ll begin to recognise notes by their feel and sound. This skill is called relative pitch.