Camelot Wheel
Click a key to see what mixes with it — or drop in a track and we'll find it.
Mixing out of
8AA minor
Mixes cleanly with
Energy boost — a judgement call
Don't know the key?
Drop a track in and we'll find it and select it on the wheel. The file never leaves your browser.
How the Camelot wheel works
The Camelot wheel is a relabelling of the circle of fifths built for DJs. Each of the twenty-four keys gets a clock position from 1 to 12 plus a letter — A for minor, B for major — so C major becomes 8B and A minor becomes 8A. The point is that compatibility turns into arithmetic: you do not need to know that F sharp minor and A major share seven notes, only that both are labelled 11. Three moves mix cleanly. Same number, other letter is the relative major or minor and shares all seven notes. One step either way with the same letter is a fifth and differs by a single note. And a key is trivially compatible with itself. Anything further apart brings in two or more foreign notes, which is where a transition starts to sound wrong rather than merely different.
Why the numbers are arranged that way
The wheel is the circle of fifths wearing different labels. Step one place clockwise and you have gone up a perfect fifth — 8B to 9B is C major to G major — which is the interval where two scales differ by exactly one note. That is the whole reason adjacent positions blend: there is only a single note in dispute.
The inner and outer rings hold relative pairs. 8A and 8B are A minor and C major, which contain identical notes and differ only in which one the music treats as home. Nothing clashes at all, which is why swapping ring is the smoothest move on the wheel and also the one that changes the feel most for free.
Move two places instead of one and you are two fifths away — two notes differ, and the transition stops sounding deliberate. That is the entire logic, and it is why the rules are “same number” and “one step” rather than an arbitrary list.
When harmonic mixing matters, and when it does not
It matters most in a long blend with sustained melodic content — pads, vocals, held chords, two tracks overlapping for sixteen bars or more. That is where a clashing note has time to be heard as wrong.
It matters far less when you cut quickly, or when the overlap is mostly percussive. Drums have no key, so a hard cut between two drum sections hides a clash almost entirely. Plenty of respected DJs never think about keys at all, and a strong transition in the wrong key beats a dull one in the right one.
The honest framing is that the wheel removes a category of avoidable mistake. It does not make a set good.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Camelot wheel?
It is the circle of fifths relabelled for DJs. Every key gets a number from 1 to 12 and a letter — A for minor, B for major — so instead of remembering which keys share notes, you compare two labels. Keys that sit next to each other on the wheel, or share a number, will mix without clashing. It was popularised by Mixed In Key and the notation is now used across DJ software.
Which keys mix well together?
Three moves are reliable. Same number, different letter — 8A to 8B — is the relative major or minor, sharing all seven notes, and it is the smoothest move available. One step around the wheel with the same letter — 8A to 7A or 9A — is a fifth and differs by exactly one note. And the same key mixes with itself. Going further than one step introduces at least two foreign notes and starts to sound like a mistake rather than a choice.
What is 8A in the Camelot wheel?
8A is A minor. Its relative major is 8B, which is C major — the two share the same seven notes. Its neighbours are 7A (D minor) and 9A (E minor), each a fifth away and differing by a single note. Those four keys are what mixes cleanly out of 8A.
What is the energy boost?
Moving up one number and changing the letter — 8A to 9B, for example. It is worth knowing that this is not less compatible by note content: it shares six of seven notes, exactly as many as an ordinary fifth move. What you actually hear is the mode changing at the same time as the key, which reads as a lift. That is why it can raise a set and why it sometimes clashes, depending on the two records. Treat it as a judgement call rather than a rule.
Do I have to mix in key?
No. Plenty of celebrated DJs never think about it, and a strong transition with a key clash beats a dull one in perfect harmony. Harmonic mixing matters most where two tracks overlap for a long blend with sustained melodic content — that is where a clash is exposed. Cutting quickly between percussive sections hides it almost entirely.
How do I find a song's Camelot key?
Drop the file onto the tool on this page. It detects the key in your browser and selects the matching position on the wheel, so you can see immediately what mixes out of it. Nothing is uploaded — the analysis runs on your device. Bear in mind that key detection is least reliable at telling a key from its relative major or minor, and the tool says so when the call was close.
Is it free?
Free, no account, no limit. The wheel and the key detection both run in your browser rather than on a metered service.
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