Camelot in one paragraph
The Camelot wheel renames all 24 musical keys as a number from 1 to 12 plus a letter: A for minor, on the inner ring, and B for major, on the outer ring. 8A is A minor; 8B is C major. Underneath it is the circle of fifths, renamed so that using it needs no theory: you don't need to know that the relative major of A minor is C major, you need to know that 8A and 8B share a number.
The one rule
From any position, three moves are safe:
| Move | From 8A you get | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| +1 | 9A, E minor | One step clockwise. Lifts the energy. |
| −1 | 7A, D minor | One step back. Relaxes it. |
| Same number, other letter | 8B, C major | The relative major. Same notes, a different home. |
The numbers wrap: 12A to 1A is a legal step, and so is 1A to 12A. Positions one step apart won't fight; positions far apart will.
The wheel, drawn
A code on its own only helps if you already hold the rule in your head. The ring makes the rule visible, your key filled and its neighbours lit, so the next track is something you read off a picture. DropWave draws this wheel with every result.
The full chart
Every code below has a page of its own: the wheel drawn with that position lit, the key signature, the scale spelled out, the Open Key equivalent, and the three positions it mixes with by name.
| Camelot | Minor key (A) | Camelot | Major key (B) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | A♭ minor (G♯ minor) | 1B | B major |
| 2A | E♭ minor (D♯ minor) | 2B | F♯ major |
| 3A | B♭ minor (A♯ minor) | 3B | D♭ major |
| 4A | F minor | 4B | A♭ major |
| 5A | C minor | 5B | E♭ major |
| 6A | G minor | 6B | B♭ major |
| 7A | D minor | 7B | F major |
| 8A | A minor | 8B | C major |
| 9A | E minor | 9B | G major |
| 10A | B minor | 10B | D major |
| 11A | F♯ minor | 11B | A major |
| 12A | C♯ minor | 12B | E major |
Using it as a DJ
Read the position of what's playing and pick your next track from the three lit ones. The moves have character:
- +1 raises the energy. The standard build move; stacking a few is how a set climbs.
- −1 relaxes without deflating.
- A to B at the same number brightens the mood: same notes, a major home.
- B to A darkens it.
- +7 (or −5) lifts the whole key a semitone, from 8A to 3A. It breaks the adjacency rule on purpose, as a jolt of energy. Use it once, not four times.
Using it as a producer
Same idea in a different order: you're not choosing the next track, you're deciding whether a sample belongs in a session.
- Session in 8A, sample in 9A? Drop it in.
- Session in 8A, sample in 3A? Five steps away. It will clash. Pitch it or leave it.
- Two loops you want to build from? Check them against each other before you arrange, not after.
The code is also the most useful thing you can put in a file name. 11A_pad.wav sorts next to 11B and 10A in any folder, so material that mixes sits together. Key names never sort that way.
Where the rule stops
Worth knowing, because treating the wheel as law makes boring sets and timid arrangements.
- It's about notes, not arrangement. Two tracks in 8A can still clash if their basslines sit in the same register.
- Percussion has no key. A drum loop mixes with anything; the wheel has nothing to say about it.
- Plenty of great transitions break it, especially when the clashing part is buried or filtered out.
- Enharmonics are one position. A♭ minor and G♯ minor are both 1A; the spelling doesn't matter here.
- The letter switch is the relative key, not the same-named one. 8A to 8B is A minor to C major. A major is three positions away, at 11B.
A wrong key is a wrong code
The code comes from the key, so anything that gets the key wrong gets the code wrong, and then the rule points you at the wrong three positions.
The usual cause is tuning. Sample packs sit off concert pitch all the time, and anything pitch-shifted is off by definition. A tool that assumes standard tuning lands a key over, which on the wheel is often seven positions over, not one. A key read a fifth off lands one position over, and the "safe" moves from there clash with what's really playing.
DropWave listens for the notes actually played, measures the tuning in cents, puts a confidence on the key with the runner-up named, and plays the key back so you can check it by ear, before you build a set around a position.
Find the Camelot code of any track
Drop a file, or a whole folder, on DropWave. Every reading carries its code with the wheel drawn and the three that mix with it lit, and a song that changes key shows the code of every section. Sort and search the table by code, and write it into the file names, like warehouse_edit [8A 124].mp3. How DropWave shows it →
Questions
What is the Camelot wheel?
A chart that renames the 24 musical keys as a number from 1 to 12 and a letter, A for minor and B for major, so DJs and producers can see which keys mix without knowing music theory. Underneath it is the circle of fifths.
What does 8A mean?
8A is A minor. The number is a position on the wheel and the letter is the mode: A for minor, B for major. 8B, at the same number, is C major, its relative major.
Which Camelot keys mix together?
From any code, three moves are safe: one number up, one number down, or the other letter at the same number. From 8A that is 9A, 7A and 8B. The numbers wrap, so 12A and 1A are neighbours.
How do I find the Camelot key of a song?
Find its key, then read the code off the chart. Or drop the file on DropWave: it reads the key, gives the Camelot code, and draws the wheel with the three keys that mix with it lit.