Key Detection vs Web Ground Truth

Fraud check: every music21-detected key validated against web sources (Tunebat, Hooktheory, GetSongKey, Songsterr) · big/long songs skipped · updated 2026-07-04

Songs scored

28%

Exact match

39%

Exact or relative

Real errors

Big songs skipped

The Life and Times 2/8 exact-or-relative · 19 songs

Song	Detected	Web key	Verdict	Source	Note
A Chorus Of Crickets	C major	—	no web key found	open.spotify.com	No key-database entry found. No Tunebat, SongBPM, GetSongKey, Musicstax, or Chordify page surfaces for this track (The Life and Times, from Suburban Hymns, 2005). Only lyrics/streaming pages exist; key not findable without guessing from memory.
Catching Crumbs	A major	—	no web key found	open.spotify.com	No key-database entry found. No Tunebat/SongBPM/GetSongKey/Musicstax/Chordify result for this track (from Tragic Boogie, 2009). Only lyrics/streaming pages surface; key not sourceable.
Charlotte St	G major	—	no web key found	open.spotify.com	No key-database entry found. 'Charlotte St.' (Suburban Hymns, 2005) appears only on Spotify/Apple Music, no Tunebat/SongBPM/Chordify key data indexed. Key not sourceable without guessing.
Coat Of Arms	F major	G minor	mismatch	songbpm.com	Only one of the five with real DB entries, but sources disagree. SongBPM artist page: Key G, ~157 BPM. A Tunebat search snippet reported F major / 158 BPM. Reported chords (Gm, Eb, F, Bb) fit a Bb-major/G-minor center, not F, so I report G (minor) as consensus and flag the F-major Tunebat disagreement. Verify at Tunebat: https://tunebat.com/Info/Coat-Of-Arms-The-Life-And-Times/6pnGykdhFsJGvf8JQN9wye
Coda	F major	—	no web key found	thelifeandtimes.bandcamp.com	No key-database entry found. 'Coda' is a Japan-only bonus track on Suburban Hymns; not indexed on Tunebat/SongBPM/Chordify (search only returns unrelated 'Coda' tracks by other artists). Key not sourceable without guessing.
Confetti	e minor	C major	mismatch	songbpm.com	SongBPM artist page lists two Confetti entries both in key C (168 and 169 BPM). Only one source found; no explicit minor flag (SongBPM marks minor tracks as minor, e.g. Dull Knives), so read as C major. Tunebat/Musicstax do not index this obscure KC band's track — collisions with same-title songs by Ken Carson, Little Mix, etc.
Dull Knives	d minor	Bb minor	mismatch	songbpm.com	SongBPM track page explicitly states key A#/Bb with 'a minor mode', 75 BPM, 4:12 duration. Single authoritative source; other databases only index the Imagine Dragons / The Warning songs of the same name.
Fall Of The Angry Clowns	e minor	—	no web key found	songbpm.com	SongBPM has a track page (130 BPM, 4:43) but the Key field is blank/unpopulated. No other key database (Tunebat, Musicstax, GetSongBPM, Hooktheory) indexes this track. Key not findable from any source; not guessed from memory.
Little 4 Notes	F major	—	no web key found	thelifeandtimes.bandcamp.com	Confirmed as track 12 on Tragic Boogie (2009) via Bandcamp/Discogs/Amazge, but no key database (SongBPM 404, Tunebat, Musicstax, GetSongBPM, Hooktheory, Chordify) has a key for it. Key not findable; not guessed.
Mea Culpa	d minor	—	no web key found	thelifeandtimes.bandcamp.com	Confirmed as track 9 on Suburban Hymns (2005) via Bandcamp, but SongBPM track page 404s and all indexed 'Mea Culpa' key results belong to other artists (Enigma, Gojira, The Human Abstract, ELLE RICH). No key found for The Life and Times' version; not guessed.
Muscle Cars	D major	B minor	relative key	tunebat.com	Strong consensus: Tunebat AND SongBPM both give B minor, 130 BPM, 3:16. No disagreement.
Old Souls	f# minor	D major	mismatch	songbpm.com	SongBPM gives D major, 80 BPM, 4:01. Not indexed on Tunebat; single-source but clear.
Pain Dont Hurt	D major	D major	exact match	tunebat.com	Tunebat gives D major, 107 BPM, 2:27 (Tragic Boogie, 2009). Single authoritative source, no conflict found.
Running Redlights	e minor	C major	mismatch	songbpm.com	SongBPM gives C major, 161 BPM, 3:51. Not indexed on Tunebat; single-source.
Shift Your Gaze	c minor	Ab major	mismatch	tunebat.com	Tunebat gives Ab major, 80 BPM, 3:07; corroborated by the same value appearing in Tunebat's harmonic-mixing tables on other tracks. Consistent.
Skateland	D major	—	no web key found	thelifeandtimes.bandcamp.com	No key found on any authoritative key database. Tunebat/GetSongKey/Musicstax/SongBPM/Hooktheory/Chordify return no match or 403 for this obscure Suburban Hymns (2005) track; only Bandcamp/Spotify/lyrics pages exist, none stating a key. Not guessing from memory.
The Lucid Dream	Bb major	—	no web key found	thelifeandtimes.bandcamp.com	Confirmed track 8 on Tragic Boogie (2009), but no key on any key database. SongBPM/GetSongKey/Musicstax/Tunebat/Chordify return only unrelated 'Lucid Dream(s)' songs (Juice WRLD, aespa, Topic). No key found for the Life and Times version. Not guessing from memory.
The Politics Of Driving	A major	—	no web key found	thelifeandtimes.bandcamp.com	Confirmed track 10 on Tragic Boogie (2009). No key on any authoritative database; searches only return the unrelated Daniel Pemberton film cue 'The Politics & The Life'. No key data indexed for this track. Not guessing from memory.
Thrill Ride	e minor	—	no web key found	thelifeandtimes.bandcamp.com	Confirmed track on Suburban Hymns (2005). No key on any database; every 'Thrill Ride' result is a different artist (THE BOYZ, Brian Balmages, Ragan Whiteside). No key data indexed for the Life and Times track. Not guessing from memory.

The Mars Volta 0/2 exact-or-relative · 3 songs

Song	Detected	Web key	Verdict	Source	Note
Inertiatic ESP	b minor	F# minor	off by a fifth	songbpm.com	Consensus across sources: SongBPM (direct fetch) and Tunebat both list F#/Gb, minor mode, 170 BPM, 3/4 time, 4:24. Sources agree; reported as F# minor (Gb minor is the enharmonic equivalent).
Roulette Dares	G major	A major	big song — skipped	tunebat.com	Tunebat lists key A (major), 162 BPM, 7:31. Long-form Mars Volta prog track over 7 min with multiple modal sections, so a single key label is not fully fair; is_big flagged. SongBPM corroborates the same track.
Son Et Lumiere	d minor	B minor	mismatch	tunebat.com	Tunebat and SongBPM both give B minor, 87 BPM, ~1:35 (short atmospheric intro track). One snippet floated an 'Ebm' alternate but B minor is the dominant/consensus reading.

Radiohead 9/20 exact-or-relative · 20 songs

Song	Detected	Web key	Verdict	Source	Note
All I Need	e minor	E minor	exact match	tunebat.com	Strong consensus E minor across Tunebat, GetSongKey, Chordify, and Hooktheory (i-iv-v: Em, Am, Bm). 88 BPM. No meaningful disagreement.
Bodysnatchers	F major	D major	mismatch	musicstax.com	Musicstax gives D major, 167 BPM, 4:02; Tunebat and GetSongKey corroborate. Consensus D major (relative pair B minor).
Faust Arp	f# minor	B minor	off by a fifth	www.hooktheory.com	Hooktheory (authoritative theory DB) analyzes it in B minor (chords Bm, G, B, A#). One aggregator listed C major, an outlier. Majority read is B minor; relative pair is D major.
House Of Cards	a minor	F major	mismatch	musicstax.com	Strong consensus: Musicstax, Tunebat, GetSongKey and Musicnotes official sheet music all give F major at ~112 BPM.
Jigsaw Falling Into Place	b minor	B minor	exact match	musicstax.com	Consensus B minor from Musicstax and Chordify; relative pair is D major but both sources give B minor. Tempo ~166 BPM.
Nude	E major	E major	exact match	musicstax.com	Musicstax lists E major at 128 BPM; commonly heard as modal/minor-tinged but the database consensus is E major.
Reckoner	e minor	E minor	exact match	musicstax.com	Consensus E minor: Tunebat (Em), Musicstax (E min) and GetSongKey all agree; relative pair G major. Tempo ~104 BPM.
Videotape	c# minor	C# minor	exact match	www.musicnotes.com	Disputed: Musicstax and Musicnotes official sheet music give C# minor (majority), while Hooktheory analyzes it in the relative A major (I/IV/V = A/D/E); some cite E major. Reported the majority C# minor, relative pair A major.
Weird Fishes / Arpeggi	D major	B minor	relative key	tunebat.com	Strong consensus: Tunebat, GetSongKey, Chordify, and Musicnotes sheet music (guitar + ukulele tabs) all give B minor; chord set Em7/F#m7/A/Gmaj7 fits B minor. Relative pair is D major.
Burn The Witch	f# minor	B major	off by a fifth	getsongkey.com	Majority give B major (GetSongKey, Chordify, Musicnotes sheet music). Hooktheory labels it F# Mixolydian, the same five-sharp collection, so it is a modal restatement of B major rather than a true disagreement.
Daydreaming	C major	A minor	relative key	tunebat.com	Full consensus across Tunebat, GetSongKey, Musicstax, and SongBPM: A minor. Relative pair is C major. Long (6:24) but under the ~7:00 epic threshold.
Decks Dark	D major	D minor	parallel (wrong mode)	tunebat.com	Tunebat and Musicstax agree on D minor at ~139 BPM. Relative pair is F major. No meaningful disagreement across sources.
Desert Island Disk	C major	G major	off by a fifth	tunebat.com	Majority give G major (Tunebat, FindSongTempo, King of Gear tuning breakdown: DADGAD capo 5, progression G-C-G). Outlier is Musicnotes sheet music transposed to C major, a publisher transposition, not the recording's key. Relative pair is E minor.
Ful Stop	f# minor	C major	mismatch	getsongkey.com	Consensus C major (GetSongKey, SongBPM, Tunebat). Hooktheory theorytab shows Bm/Em/F#m chords (an A-eolian/modal read of the same pitch set); MusicNotes sheet is transposed to D major. Databases agree on C major.
Glass Eyes	c minor	C minor	exact match	www.musicnotes.com	Harmony sources agree C minor: MusicNotes sheet in C minor, Chordify chords Cm/Fm/Abmaj7/Ebmaj. GetSongKey's algorithmic 'G#' (Ab major) is the relative-major outlier. Consensus C minor.
Identikit	F# major	B minor	off by a fifth	getsongkey.com	GetSongKey and SongBPM both give B minor; MusicNotes sheet is in F# minor. Majority B minor (F#m is the dominant-key relation).
Present Tense	g# minor	C# minor	off by a fifth	getsongkey.com	Strong consensus C# minor across Tunebat and GetSongKey (chords C#m/G#m/E); E is the relative major. No meaningful disagreement.
The Numbers	C major	F major	off by a fifth	getsongkey.com	Sources split: GetSongKey F major, MusicNotes sheet Bb major, Hooktheory C Mixolydian (song uses alternate tuning and shifts). Database majority is F major.
Tinker Tailor	c# minor	Db major	parallel (wrong mode)	www.hooktheory.com	Recording sits in Db; Hooktheory analyzes it as C# Mixolydian/Db (all triads majorized over a C-minor-derived structure), Musicnotes sheet = Db major. Tunebat/Musicstax algorithm outputs B major, an algorithmic outlier. Relative/enharmonic ambiguity (Db major vs Bb minor); theory reads a C-minor written center transposed up a half step.
True Love Waits	C major	C major	exact match	www.hooktheory.com	Consensus across Hooktheory, Tunebat and SongBPM is C major; no meaningful disagreement (relative minor would be A minor).

The Smashing Pumpkins 3/6 exact-or-relative · 6 songs

Song	Detected	Web key	Verdict	Source	Note
Disarm	D major	E minor	mismatch	www.songkeyfinder.com	Song Key Finder and Musicnotes sheet music both give E minor; Hooktheory's auto-label reads G major, which is E minor's relative major. Musicians cite E minor (Em7–Cadd9–G–D/F# progression). Relative pair: E minor / G major.
Hummer	D major	D major	exact match	getsongkey.com	GetSongKey and Tunebat agree on D major. Long (6:57) but under the ~7:00 epic threshold and stays in one tonal center, so a single key label is fair.
Quiet	c# minor	E major	relative key	tunebat.com	Tunebat, SongBPM and Musicstax all report E major with no disagreement across sources.
Rocket	G major	C major	off by a fifth	tunebat.com	Tunebat and SongBPM both give C major (89 BPM, 4:06); MusicNotes prints a G-major arrangement, so sources disagree. C major is the algorithmic-database majority.
Soma	b minor	B minor	exact match	getsongkey.com	Guitar/tab consensus (E-chords, Ultimate Guitar, Chordify) centers on Em-G-B, tonal home B minor; relative pair D major. MusicNotes prints B major. Majority reads as B minor.
Today	g minor	Eb major	mismatch	www.musicnotes.com	Strong consensus Eb major across MusicNotes, tab sites, and the Eb-Bb-Ab progression. Tunebat's snippet label 'G#' is an enharmonic algorithmic mislabel; musicians cite Eb major.

How the check works

Each song's music21-detected key (Krumhansl correlation on the stems) is compared against the consensus key that key databases publish. Verdicts are computed deterministically:

exact — same tonic and mode.
relative key — detector landed on the relative major/minor (e.g. D major vs B minor). A common, defensible confusion; the two share every note.
parallel / off by a fifth / mismatch — genuine errors worth a re-run.
big song skipped — long-form/prog tracks over ~7:00 where one key label is not a fair target.