How to Use the Camelot and Open Key Tags Club Ready Music Writes

Club Ready Music writes three key tags on every studio track, TKEY with the musical name such as Am, a TXXX INITIALKEY frame with the Camelot code such as 8A, and a TXXX OPENKEY frame with the Open Key code such as 1m, so whichever notation your DJ software prefers, the key is already there. The three codes describe one key: Camelot 8A, Open Key 1m and A minor are the same thing. Harmonic mixing with either wheel is a matter of moving one number up or down, or switching the letter at the same number. DJ edits are different: they carry TKEY only, and it is often blank because the uploaded song's key is not detected.

Steps

1. Find the key on the file

Open a studio MP3 in Kid3 or Mp3tag and read TKEY, INITIALKEY and OPENKEY. The comment tag shows the same information in one line, for example 8A · 1m · A minor · 126 BPM · intro 16 · outro 32 · Club Ready Music, and the DJ pack's cue points.txt lists the key in Camelot, Open Key and musical form. In the Club Ready Music Crate, sort by Key to see all your studio tracks grouped by key before you download anything.

2. Translate between the three notations

Camelot numbers run 1 to 12 around the wheel with A for minor and B for major. Open Key uses the same twelve positions with m for minor and d for major, but numbered so that A minor is 1m rather than 8A. To convert, subtract 7 from the Camelot number and wrap around twelve: 8A becomes 1m, 9A becomes 2m, 1A becomes 6m, 7A becomes 12m. Letters map A to m and B to d, so 8B, C major, is 1d. The musical name in TKEY is the one to use when talking to a musician.

3. Make the safe moves

From any key, three neighbours are reliable. Move one number down or one number up on the same letter: from 8A go to 7A or 9A, in Open Key from 1m to 12m or 2m. Or keep the number and switch the letter: 8A to 8B, in Open Key 1m to 1d, which is the move from a minor key to its relative major. These moves share most of their notes, so basslines and vocals from two tracks do not clash across a long blend. Anything further round the wheel is a gamble you take on purpose.

4. Set your software to the notation you read fastest

Traktor shows keys in Open Key when Key notation is set to Open Key in its preferences, and it runs its own key detection rather than trusting the TXXX OPENKEY frame, so the displayed code may differ from the tag. Serato keeps the tagged key only when use key from tag is on under Setup > Library + Display. rekordbox analyses its own key and ignores the TXXX frames. VirtualDJ can take the key from the tag. Pick one notation and set every program to it so the numbers you memorise mean the same everywhere.

5. Handle DJ edits without a key

A Club Ready Music DJ edit carries TKEY only, and the field is often empty because the key of the uploaded song is not detected. Run your software's analysis on the edit to fill the key, then write it back to the tag in the library columns or the Information pane. The analysis is the same one your software applies to any purchased track, so the result sits consistently next to the rest of your library.

6. Plan a run and check the tempo

Sort a crate by key and pick a sequence that steps one number at a time or flips letter at the same number, for example 7A to 8A to 8B to 9B. Then check the BPM column. Club Ready Music studio tracks carry TBPM, and edits built with Shift tempo to can be lined up at one tempo, so a harmonic run can also be a steady-tempo run. The two tags together are what make a long blend sound planned.

Tips

• The letter is the mood. A, or m, is minor and reads darker; B, or d, is major and reads brighter. Switching the letter at the same number is the quickest lift without a tempo change.
• Trust the tag on studio tracks. Club Ready Music knows the key the track was generated in, which is more reliable than detection on a finished mix.
• Trust detection on DJ edits. The tag is blank or inherited from the upload, so let your software decide and write it back.
• If two programs disagree on a key, the Open Key or Camelot code one step away is usually the explanation, and both will still mix cleanly with the same neighbours.
• Pitch-preserving tempo shifts in Club Ready Music do not change the key, so a track shifted from 124 to 126 keeps its 8A.

Common problems

• Traktor shows a different key from the Camelot tag. Traktor analysed the track itself and does not guarantee reading TXXX OPENKEY. Compare by ear, and set Traktor to Open Key so at least the notation matches.
• Serato shows the key in musical notation, not Camelot. Serato reads TKEY, which holds the musical name. Switch Serato's key display to Camelot in its settings if you prefer the numbers.
• The DJ edit has no key at all. That is normal. Analyse the file in your software and the column fills in.
• A blend sounds sour despite matching numbers. One of the files was analysed wrongly, or the mix crosses a vocal section. Check the key in a second program and mix over the drum intro instead.