The Advanced window lets you get under the bonnet with all kinds of esoteric options that can fine-tune how to analyse your music – one for the anoraks, for sure, but proof that there’s magic going on under the surface. One intriguing function of this software is that if you right-click on a file, you can show a detailed analysis window. It also lets you specify custom codes to write as well as or instead of standard key information. The basic preferences window allows you to specific PC load when analysing (good for whole-collection background jobs) to skip files that have already got key information in them, and to auto-write to files, or do so at the end. You can’t drag tunes directly from iTunes playlists, so you need to use the actual music files, which is a bit of a pain if you use iTunes to organise your music, but apart from that using it is straightforward.

The Keyfinder main window: It’s similar to Mixed In Key, though not as attractive. You drag your tunes onto a window, it analyses them, writing the results to a field of your choice in your MP3’s metadata (grouping, key or comment field), and – well, that’s it. Like Mixed in Key, Keyfinder is very simple.

This way you can execute smoother, more musical mixes. The theory behind this kind of software is that you let it analyse your music, it decides the musical key of each piece of music, and then you can use this information to improve your mixes if you mix into a piece of music in the same key the mix will likely sound great, likewise if you choose a related key. (There is also a PC version, but it’s still in beta and as of the time of writing not as stable as the Mac version, by the author’s own admission. Keyfinder started life as a university project but has turned into a perfectly usable key detection program, at least if you’re a Mac user. Let’s take a closer look… First impressions/setting up Intrigued by key mixing, or “harmonic mixing”? Want to try it out without spending money on an established piece of software such as Mixed in Key or beaTunes? If so, you may be interested in Keyfinder, an open-source key detection program for Mac and (in beta) for Windows too. It’s not as polished as Mixed in Key or beaTunes, but it’s easy enough to use, and anecdotally produced results which are in the same ballpark as far as accuracy goes.

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