The Camelot wheel: compatible keys at a glance
Pick a key on the wheel. The three that light up mix with it: the relative major or minor, and the neighbors a fifth away. Arrow keys walk the wheel.
C major · 8B pairs with
What is a Camelot key?
A Camelot key renames a musical key as a clock position: a number from 1 to 12 plus a letter, B for major on the outer ring, A for minor on the inner. C major is 8B; its relative minor, A minor, is 8A. The renaming is not cosmetic. The numbers follow the circle of fifths, so musical closeness becomes physical closeness: keys that share a number are built from exactly the same notes, and keys one number apart differ by a single note. Everything a DJ needs from key theory survives the renaming, and nothing else does.
How harmonic mixing works
Mixing harmonically means the melodic content of two tracks shares enough notes not to clash. On the wheel that is a neighborhood: from any position, the compatible moves are the same number with the other letter (the relative key, always a safe blend) and one step around the wheel with the same letter (a fifth away, sharing all but one note). From 8B, anything marked 8A, 7B or 9B works. Staying on the same number is the smoothest ride; walking one step per transition tours the whole night without a clash.
Camelot key chart: all 24 keys
The full wheel as a table: every Camelot code, the musical key it names, and the three codes that mix with it. This chart is rendered from the same tables the analyzer uses for its result cards, so the two can never disagree.
| Camelot | Key | Mixes with |
|---|---|---|
| 1A | G# minor | 1B (B major) · 12A (C# minor) · 2A (Eb minor) |
| 1B | B major | 1A (G# minor) · 12B (E major) · 2B (F# major) |
| 2A | Eb minor | 2B (F# major) · 1A (G# minor) · 3A (Bb minor) |
| 2B | F# major | 2A (Eb minor) · 1B (B major) · 3B (Db major) |
| 3A | Bb minor | 3B (Db major) · 2A (Eb minor) · 4A (F minor) |
| 3B | Db major | 3A (Bb minor) · 2B (F# major) · 4B (Ab major) |
| 4A | F minor | 4B (Ab major) · 3A (Bb minor) · 5A (C minor) |
| 4B | Ab major | 4A (F minor) · 3B (Db major) · 5B (Eb major) |
| 5A | C minor | 5B (Eb major) · 4A (F minor) · 6A (G minor) |
| 5B | Eb major | 5A (C minor) · 4B (Ab major) · 6B (Bb major) |
| 6A | G minor | 6B (Bb major) · 5A (C minor) · 7A (D minor) |
| 6B | Bb major | 6A (G minor) · 5B (Eb major) · 7B (F major) |
| 7A | D minor | 7B (F major) · 6A (G minor) · 8A (A minor) |
| 7B | F major | 7A (D minor) · 6B (Bb major) · 8B (C major) |
| 8A | A minor | 8B (C major) · 7A (D minor) · 9A (E minor) |
| 8B | C major | 8A (A minor) · 7B (F major) · 9B (G major) |
| 9A | E minor | 9B (G major) · 8A (A minor) · 10A (B minor) |
| 9B | G major | 9A (E minor) · 8B (C major) · 10B (D major) |
| 10A | B minor | 10B (D major) · 9A (E minor) · 11A (F# minor) |
| 10B | D major | 10A (B minor) · 9B (G major) · 11B (A major) |
| 11A | F# minor | 11B (A major) · 10A (B minor) · 12A (C# minor) |
| 11B | A major | 11A (F# minor) · 10B (D major) · 12B (E major) |
| 12A | C# minor | 12B (E major) · 11A (F# minor) · 1A (G# minor) |
| 12B | E major | 12A (C# minor) · 11B (A major) · 1B (B major) |
FAQ
What is a Camelot key?
- A Camelot key is a DJ-friendly renaming of a musical key: a number from 1 to 12 plus a letter, B for major and A for minor. C major is 8B, A minor is 8A. The numbering is arranged so that compatible keys sit next to each other on a clock face, which turns harmonic mixing into arithmetic instead of music theory.
What keys mix with 8A?
- From 8A (A minor): 8B (C major, the relative major), 7A (D minor, a fifth down) and 9A (E minor, a fifth up). The rule is the same from any position: same number with the other letter, or one step around the wheel with the same letter.
How do I find the Camelot key of my track?
- Drop the file into the key and BPM analyzer on this site: it reads the musical key and its Camelot code in your browser, free, without uploading the audio anywhere. If you already know the musical key, the chart on this page translates it to its code directly.
What is the difference between Camelot and Open Key notation?
- The same wheel with different labels. Open Key, used by Traktor, writes d for major and m for minor and rotates the numbering so C major is 1d instead of 8B. To convert from Camelot, subtract seven from the number (wrapping around twelve) and swap B for d and A for m: 8B becomes 1d, 9A becomes 2m. The compatibility rules are identical in both systems.
Do I always have to mix in key?
- No. Harmonic mixing is a guardrail, not a law: it guarantees the melodic content of two tracks will not clash, which matters most in long blends with sustained melodies or vocals. Quick cuts, percussion-led transitions and deliberate energy resets can all break the wheel and sound great. Use it when a blend is exposed, ignore it with intent.
What is an energy boost mix?
- A jump of seven positions with the same letter, for example 8A to 3A, moves the music up exactly one semitone. DJs call it an energy boost: the key change reads as a lift, the way a final-chorus key change does in pop. It shares only two notes between the keys, so it works best as a quick, committed transition rather than a long blend.
Find the key of your own tracks
The wheel is only useful once you know the key. The song key & BPM analyzer reads the key, Camelot code and decimal BPM from any audio file in your browser, with the honest confidence and alternates this wheel assumes. When the song is only in your ears, the tap tempo tool counts the BPM from your fingers. And to learn the by-ear method, read how to find the key of a song.
Part of Rotation · the daily momentum chart