Interactive Camelot wheel
Click a key to hear it and see which keys mix with it. Work out where a pitch shift or a tempo change moves a track, then practice until you can do it in your head.
Click a key to see what mixes with it.
Minor keys are on the inner ring and major keys on the outer ring. Keys next to each other share six of their seven notes, so tracks in those keys blend without clashing.
Each key plays its chord when you click it. Use the sound button above to turn that off.
Camelot wheel chart
| Camelot | Open Key | Minor key | Camelot | Open Key | Major key |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6m | G♯ minor | 6d | B major | ||
| 7m | E♭ minor | 7d | F♯ major | ||
| 8m | B♭ minor | 8d | D♭ major | ||
| 9m | F minor | 9d | A♭ major | ||
| 10m | C minor | 10d | E♭ major | ||
| 11m | G minor | 11d | B♭ major | ||
| 12m | D minor | 12d | F major | ||
| 1m | A minor | 1d | C major | ||
| 2m | E minor | 2d | G major | ||
| 3m | B minor | 3d | D major | ||
| 4m | F♯ minor | 4d | A major | ||
| 5m | C♯ minor | 5d | E major |
How it works
- Click a key on the wheel to hear it and see which keys mix with it.
- Open the calculator to see where a pitch shift or a tempo change moves a key.
- Switch to practice and answer on the wheel until the moves come without thinking.
How the Camelot wheel works
Most dance and pop tracks stay in one key: a set of seven notes that the melody, chords, and bass line are built from. When two tracks play at once, every note that is in one key but not the other can sound wrong. Harmonic mixing means choosing the next track so that its key shares as many notes as possible with the one that is playing.
The wheel puts the 24 keys in a circle so that neighbours differ by a single note. Moving one step clockwise raises the key by a fifth, and one step anticlockwise lowers it by a fifth. The inner ring holds the minor keys and the outer ring the major keys, and each pair that shares a number uses the same seven notes.
Pitch shifts, tempo changes, and the wheel
Pitching a track is the one move the wheel does not make obvious. A semitone is the smallest step on a keyboard, but on the wheel it is a jump of 7 positions, because the wheel is ordered by fifths and a fifth is 7 semitones. Seven steps one way is 5 steps the other way, so one semitone down from 4A lands on 9A.
This matters as soon as you move the tempo fader with key lock off. Speeding a track up by about 6% raises it a full semitone, so a 124 BPM track in 8A played at 131.4 BPM is in 3A. Anything in between leaves it out of tune with every key, which is why small tempo changes are usually made with key lock on.
The same trick works in reverse. If two tracks clash, shifting one of them by a semitone or two often brings it next to the other on the wheel. The "Match two tracks" calculator lists the smallest shifts that do it.
Related:Pitch ShifterTempo Changer
Camelot, Open Key, and key names
DJ software shows keys in one of three ways. Rekordbox and Serato can show Camelot codes such as 8A, Traktor uses Open Key codes such as 1m, and most other tools show the musical name, such as A minor or Am. All three describe the same 24 keys, so the mixing rules do not change: only the labels do.
Pick the notation your software uses with the buttons above the wheel. The wheel, the calculators, the chart, and the practice questions all follow it, and the wheel turns so that 12 (or C, for key names) is at the top.
Mixing by key with your own tracks
To use the wheel you need the key of each track. Most DJ software analyzes it when you import a song. If yours does not, or you want a second opinion, the BPM & Key Finder gives you the tempo, the key, and the Camelot code of any audio file.
Treat the wheel as a guide, not a rule. Key detection is sometimes wrong, some tracks change key, and drums or spoken vocals have no key to clash with. Trust your ears first: that is what the by-ear questions in practice mode train.
Related:BPM & Key Finder
Frequently asked questions
What is the Camelot wheel?
It is the circle of fifths with simpler labels. Each of the 12 positions has a number, with A for the minor key and B for the major key, so A minor is 8A and C major is 8B. Keys that sit next to each other share almost all of their notes, which is why tracks in those keys mix without clashing.
Which keys can I mix together?
From any key, the safe moves are the same key, one number up, one number down, and the same number with the other letter. From 8A that means 8A, 9A, 7A, and 8B. Turn on "Show energy boosts and mood changes" to see bolder moves, such as two steps up or a full semitone up.
What happens to the key when I pitch a track up or down?
Each semitone moves the key 7 steps round the wheel, which is the same as 5 steps the other way. So 4A down one semitone is 9A, and 8B up one semitone is 3B. The pitch shift calculator shows the result for any key and any number of semitones.
Does changing the tempo change the key?
Only when key lock (also called master tempo) is off. Then the pitch follows the tempo: about 6% faster is one semitone higher. A smaller change leaves the track between two keys and out of tune with both, which the tempo calculator points out.
What is the difference between Camelot and Open Key?
They are two sets of labels for the same wheel. Open Key uses m for minor and d for major, and its numbers start in a different place: subtract 7 from the Camelot number, and add 12 if the result is below 1. So 8A is 1m, 8B is 1d, and 5A is 10m. Use the notation buttons to switch the whole page.
What do the letters A and B mean?
A is a minor key and B is a major key. Two keys with the same number, such as 8A and 8B, are relative keys: they use exactly the same notes, so they always mix.
How does practice mode work?
You get short questions and answer by clicking the wheel: where a key lands after a pitch shift, which keys mix, where a key sits, and its relative major or minor. To make it harder, answer from a plain list of keys instead of the wheel. In the by-ear questions you hear two keys together and say whether they clash. Your streak and score per question type are saved in your browser.
Do I need to upload a song or sign up?
No. The wheel, the calculators, and practice mode run entirely in your browser, with no account. To find the key of a song, use the BPM & Key Finder, which analyzes files on your device without uploading them.