What Is the Camelot Wheel?

The Camelot wheel is a chart that lays out the 24 musical keys around a clock face, numbered 1 to 12, with the letter A for minor keys and B for major keys. Keys next to each other on the wheel are harmonically compatible, so a DJ can mix in key by moving one step at a time or switching letters at the same number.

How the wheel is built

Musical keys are arranged in the circle of fifths, where each step is a fifth apart and shares all but one note with its neighbour. The Camelot system numbers that circle 1 to 12 and puts the relative minor and major at the same number. The result is a wheel where:

• Same number, same letter is the same key.
• One number up or down, same letter is a fifth apart and shares six of seven notes.
• Same number, other letter is the relative major or minor and shares every note.

The full table

Camelot	Minor (A)	Camelot	Major (B)
1A	A-flat minor	1B	B major
2A	E-flat minor	2B	F-sharp major
3A	B-flat minor	3B	D-flat major
4A	F minor	4B	A-flat major
5A	C minor	5B	E-flat major
6A	G minor	6B	B-flat 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-sharp minor	11B	A major
12A	D-flat minor	12B	E major

Using it in the booth

If the current track is 8A, the safe next keys are 7A, 9A and 8B. Moving one step clockwise every few tracks tends to lift energy; counter-clockwise tends to settle it. Jumping to the same number with the other letter changes mood between minor and major without any clash.

Many DJs also use two-step moves (6A from 8A) for a slight tension, and the "energy boost" trick of jumping seven numbers (8A to 3A) which raises the key by a semitone. These are less consonant and are best done over drum sections.

Camelot in Club Ready Music

The Studio's key selector lists keys in Camelot order, from 1A to 12B, with the musical name alongside. When you pick a key, the panel shows the three compatible keys: one number down, one number up and the other letter at the same number. The chosen key is written into the finished MP3 as the musical name in the standard key tag, the Camelot code in an INITIALKEY text tag and the Open Key equivalent in an OPENKEY tag, and it appears in the comment and the rekordbox XML.

Notation differences

Rekordbox, Serato and Mixed In Key display Camelot. Traktor displays Open Key. Engine DJ and VirtualDJ can show either. Because Club Ready Music writes both codes plus the musical name, every application has a notation it can use without re-analysing the file.