For example, C Major, A minor, Eb (pronounced E Flat) Major, or F# (pronounced F Sharp) minor, are all key signatures. They are labeled by a note name and a 'quality', such as major or minor. Some of the main points to review in order to understand the Camelot wheel are:Ī Key Signature is the set of notes that are played in a given song. If you're new to music theory, don't worry! This is designed to be beginner friendly. Where the music theory comes inĪlthough it's not critical to understand music theory while using the Camelot Wheel, it can be very advantageous to learn a bit of what's going on behind the scenes. Whether you're making a mix at home, live at a club, or simply interested in Harmonic Compatibility, this system is essential for simplifying the process of selecting songs. Harmonic Mixing is just the process of combining songs using the concepts of Harmonic Compatibility. There are a set of rules that are recommended for guaranteed success in choosing songs, but creativity and experimentation are also always encouraged. It was created by Mark Davis, and mainly featured in Mixed In Key, a highly popular DJ Mix making software. The Camelot Wheel is a system designed to make harmonic mixing highly simplified by choosing keys based on positions on a wheel. If you're not very experienced with music theory, or you want a quicker way to figure this out, you can employ the Camelot Wheel, or Camelot System. Essentially this means that all but one or two of the possible notes that can be played in a given song are present in the next. This is a music theory-heavy process of looking for key signatures that are one sharp or flat away from each other, or in the relative minor key. How are you supposed to know which key signatures work well together? It's easy to simply match tempos between songs, but figuring out compatible keys can be pretty tedious, and very hard to master in the heat of the moment. This begins to introduce a bit more complexity. Harmonic Compatibility is the quality of how similar the key signatures of each song is.

At its most basic level, it's just making sure that the tempo, or speed, of one song is equivalent to that of another in order to avoid awkward time changes. There are the two major components that need to be addressed when creating a mix:īeat matching is a technique of pitch shifting or time stretching an upcoming track to match its tempo to that of the currently playing track. A DJ, or EDM mix, is defined as: 'A sequence of songs (tracks) that are typically mixed by a DJ so that the result appears as one continuous track.' This is what we all know and love when we hear many songs combined in a way that excites the listener. Have you ever heard an EDM mix before and wondered how everything can flow so seamlessly together? There is a bit of an art and science that goes into the process of cutting and pasting tracks together to create a unique mashup of popular songs.

Mixed in key circle of fifths