Learned the basics of mixing and want to expand your repertoire? Want to turbo-charge your mixes and take them to a new level? Read on about Camelot Wheel tricks and how they can advance your DJ skills.

Ever since the golden days of vinyl and cassette, DJing has developed into a musical art which requires practice and dedication. Anyone who says differently – just give them a pair of decks and see how they fair!

Whilst they old school days revolved around beat juggling and scratching with vinyl records, DJing has taken an altogether different form in the 21st century. Huge quantities of awesome gear have expanded the technological horizons of the industry, offering DJs new and innovative ways of extending the musical expression of their sets. If you’ve been digging for advanced and innovative mixing techniques then you’ve come to the right place.

Here, we’re going to explain how to use Mix In Key’s Camelot Wheel to create exciting harmonic transitions between tracks in your mix.

Harmonic mixing can differentiate your mixes from other DJs, both on the dancefloor and on streaming sites like SoundCloud, MixCloud, etc.

It’s pretty obvious when a DJ pulls off a perfectly choreographed harmonic mix as it just sounds awesome!

So, What is the Camelot Wheel?

The Camelot system was created by Mixed in Key. It’s an intuitive visual system for mixing between tracks produced in different keys and is readable by those with no knowledge of musical theory.

To use the Camelot Wheel properly, you’ll need to analyze your tracks with Mixed in Key. DJ software does automatically analyze key but it’ll likely write it in a standard format, so unless you really know your way round some music theory, it’s worth using Mixed in Key, which also provides a more accurate analysis.

What Genres of Music Require Harmonic Mixing?

Some genres are heavily melodic with evolving pads, lead synths and bass parts and these genres really need harmonic attention. These genres might include EDM, trance of all kinds, house, dubstep, etc. These genres often contain songs that span many different keys – mixing out of key can destroy your mix!

Other tracks in genres like drum n’ bass are produced to just a handful of keys, meaning harmonic mixing is less of a demand.

If you’ve tried to mix your tracks and heard all sorts of horrible dissonance then you’ll know whether this is something you need to focus on or not.

So Why Mix Harmonically?

Harmonic mixing creates harmony – that’s simple!

Harmonizing your tracks turns your set into one long strand of interwoven and evolving music with highs, lows, buildups, and breakdowns. You can create certain moods or energy levels via harmonic mixing, leading your audience through something more exciting, memorable and hard-hitting on the dancefloor!

The Techniques

Those with musical theory knowledge might see how some of these techniques would work almost immediately, but if you don’t know your As from your Ds or flats from your sharps then don’t worry! The Camelot system is easy to follow and by experimenting with these techniques, you’ll get a real idea of which do and don’t work with your own music.

Let’s start by saying that you can obviously stay in the same spot on the Camelot Wheel to create a continuous mix. This is perfect for that mid-set roll where you’re relentlessly dropping tune after tune in the same key. However, the chances are that you’ll have to change key at some point and if you somehow avoid it, your set is going to start sounding pretty dull!

The Basics: Minor/Major Transition

Each major or minor key has a major or minor relative.

A simple technique for harmonic mixing is to go from major to minor, or minor to major, whilst keeping in the same relative key. Modulating between these harmonically related keys creates both drama and continuity.

To do this, you simply keep the number the same whilst changing the letter from A to B – simple!

Example: 3A – B-flat Minor to 3B – D-flat Major.

Use this to mark a downbeat or breakdown section, by shifting down into minor. Alternatively, bring the key to major to create some energy in the same harmony.

Absolute Key Changes

For an absolute key change, you can shift up and down to the same absolute position in major or minor for example, from F-sharp Major to F-sharp Minor. This is a little trickier to execute with the Camelot Mixing Wheel.

With the Camelot Mixing Wheel, you subtract 3 if you want to move from major to minor and add 3 if you want to move from minor to major. You then flip the letter. E

Example: 8B – C-Major to 5A – C-Minor

10A – B-Minor to 1B – B-Major

Upshifting Key

The upshift in key, or key modulation, is a feature of many tunes – think of that final chorus which suddenly goes up a notch in pitch. (Livin’ on a Prayer, anyone?)

This effect, when executed properly can create a massive surge in dancefloor energy. It’s pretty overt and can sound brash so be careful – it won’t work all of the time.

The easiest way of creating a quality effect with an upshift is by shifting two semitones. Here, you add two to the number.

Example: 6B – B-flat Major to 8B – C-Major

The alternative is to shift up just the one semitone, this is more difficult to execute. Here, you add 7 to the number.

Example: 4B – A-Flat Major to 11B – A-Major

Experiment with these techniques before performance – it’s far from a guarantee to work perfectly but when it does, you’ll really know it!

Mixing With Related Notes

Mixing diagonally across the Camelot Wheel produces interesting results. The individual notes between the two keys will be related, but to what extent it works does depend on other melodic components.

The diagonal mixing technique is simple, just go one step up or down in number or letter, but add one if you’re going from B to A and subtract if you’re going from A to B.

Example: Adding: 5B – E-Flat Major to 6A – G-Minor, 6B to 7A, 8B to 9A, etc.

Example: Subtracting: 8A – A-Minor to F-Major – 7B, 6A to 5B, 4A to 3B, etc.

You wouldn’t be able to go the other way. E.g. you can go from 8B to 9A but you can’t go from 8B to 7A, as these keys contain dissonant intervals.

Using Dissonance

Dissonance is something we generally try to avoid but actually, some tracks sound great when layered carefully with a key which doesn’t conventionally or absolutely work.

Some dissonant mixes produce favourable results but you’ll have to work this out on a track to track basis.

One technique frequented by David Guetta involves adding either 4 or 8 to the number.

Example: 2B – F-Sharp Major to 10B – E-Minor

Be careful with this technique, it can produce some really interesting melodic results which sound dark or rather twisted, powerful or even euphoric but with other tracks, it simply won’t work.

To Summarise

Advancing your DJ techniques is crucial to your development as a DJ and artist. The more techniques you have in your toolbox, the more scope you have for performance.

A harmonically entwined mix will sound more fluent, dramatic, impressive and energetic. These techniques might seem hard to implement but once you’ve developed them into your set, you’ll notice how they become easier to implement and more intuitive.

Good luck!

You may also like: