Methodology

This page is a working reference for how MusicReason arrives at its answers, not a credibility statement. Where a specific engine's method differs from the general convention described here, that engine's own limitations section takes precedence.

Notation and pitch conventions

Octave numbering follows scientific pitch notation (middle C is C4). Enharmonic spelling is chosen by musical context, key signature, and voice-leading convention rather than a fixed sharp-or-flat default; where a result is genuinely ambiguous between two correct spellings, both are shown rather than picking one silently.

Tuning and reference pitch

Unless a tool exposes its own reference-pitch control, A4 is treated as 440 Hz. Cents are calculated as 1200 times the base-2 logarithm of the ratio between the measured and reference frequency. Equal temperament is the default tuning assumption; any tool that supports a historical or alternative temperament states that explicitly rather than silently mixing conventions.

Tempo and meter

BPM values are reported as whole beats per minute unless a tool's own precision requirements call for a decimal. Where a detected tempo could plausibly be read as its half or double value (a common ambiguity in tempo detection), the tool says so rather than presenting one value as certain.

Deterministic calculation and rounding

Music-theory and production-math results (intervals, chord spellings, delay times, frequency conversions) are computed with fixed, documented formulas, not estimated. Where rounding affects a displayed value, the tool states the precision it's using so the number stays checkable against its own formula.

Audio analysis and recognition

Any tool that listens to a microphone or a local audio file processes that audio inside your browser, using standard signal-analysis techniques appropriate to the job (pitch detection, tempo estimation, spectral analysis). A result that involves genuine interpretation, such as naming a chord from a recording rather than from typed notes, carries one of three labels depending on what the underlying method actually supports: a calibrated confidence percentage, a match score, or a confidence band (high, moderate, low). These labels are never interchangeable, and a tool never claims more certainty than its method earns. Where more than one interpretation is musically plausible, alternatives are shown rather than collapsed into a single answer.

What this site does not attempt

No tool here claims to identify a specific commercial recording, its artist, or its copyright status, and none extracts or reproduces a copyrighted score. Audio recognition tools are built to help you understand your own playing or your own recordings, not to function as a music-identification service.

Local processing and privacy

See the Privacy page for exactly what does and does not leave your browser, including why raw audio, waveform data, and file names are never sent anywhere.