Guide
Key Compatibility (Harmonic Mixing)
Tracks in compatible keys share many notes, so the blend sounds natural. Nearly all tracks on DIGTRACKS have BPM and key written in their ID3 tags.
Already know the basics? Start with Five things worth knowing.
01Key Wheel
Check compatibility on the key wheel
Write keys as a number and a letter such as 8A (Camelot notation), and the keys that go together sit close to each other on a wheel.
Start with these three
- Pick the same key (8A)
- Switch A and B (8B, relative major/minor)
- Move one number (7A, 9A)
Select a segment to see the keys that go with it. The outer ring (B) is major and the inner ring (A) is minor.
- Selected key
- Basic match
- Advanced match
Keys that go with 8A (Am)
Further left = more shared notes = a more natural blend.
An octave has 12 notes, and one key uses seven of them. “7/7” means all seven are the same.
02Basics
Three basic rules
These three are the least likely to clash, even in a long blend.
Same key
Pick a track in the same key.
Relative major/minor (switch A and B)
Keep the number and switch the letter. The two keys use the same scale, and the mood changes.
A is minor, B is major
Move one number
Keep the letter and go one number up or down. The root notes are a perfect fifth or a perfect fourth apart.
The numbers form a loop: after 12 comes 1
03Advanced
Advanced moves
These keys share fewer notes, so a cut works best: switching straight to the next track with no blend. Check by ear before you rely on one.
If you do blend, keep it short and do it over a drum-led part with no melody or bassline.
Diagonal
From A, go one number down to B; from B, go one number up to A. The scales differ by one note, and the tonic chords share two notes.
Tonic chords: C-E-G and E-G-B, A-C-E and F-A-C
The opposite direction (8A → 9B, 8B → 7A) is not recommended on this page, because the tonic chords share no notes.
Two up (+2, often called an energy boost)
Keep the letter and go two numbers up. It suits a cut that raises the energy.
Up a whole tone
Parallel major/minor (three up to B / three down to A)
The two keys share a root note, and major and minor are swapped. From A, go three numbers up to B; from B, go three numbers down to A.
The mood turns brighter or darker
Other moves
These moves are not shown on the interactive wheel.
+2 and +7 move up, and −2 moves down.
Two down (−2)
Keep the letter and go two numbers down. It suits a cut that calms things down.
Down a whole tone
Same letter, three up or down (±3)
The target is the relative key of the parallel key, or the parallel key of the relative key. The change is easy to hear, so try it as a cut.
Keep the letter and go three numbers up or down
Seven up (+7)
Keep the letter and go seven numbers up (also written as −5). It is less a matching move than a way to use the effect of a key change up a semitone. Use it as a cut.
Some DJs use it to lift the energy, and others avoid it because it clashes easily
04Five Things
Five things worth knowing
Five points for readers who already know the basic rules.
How well keys match depends on distance on the wheel
The more notes two keys share, the more natural the blend sounds. Switching A and B shares more notes than moving one number, so it is the closer move. Seven up lands almost on the opposite side of the wheel, so it sounds like a key change.
The numbers show how many of the seven scale notes are shared (why seven is the most). 2/7 is the least: each key uses 7 of the 12 notes, so any two keys share at least 2.
Two tracks with the same letter match within two semitones of key shift
With the key shift function in DJ software, one semitone moves a key seven numbers on the wheel, and a whole tone moves it two. For two A keys or two B keys, whatever the gap in numbers, shifting one track by a semitone or a whole tone puts them in the same key or one number apart.
This may not hold when one key is A and the other is B. A large shift can make a track sound unnatural.
Tempo and key move together
With key lock (master tempo) off, raising the tempo by about 6% raises the key by a semitone, which is seven numbers ahead on the wheel. An 8A (Am) track at 100 BPM and a 3A (B♭m) track at 106 BPM end up in the same key when you match their tempos.
A change of about 3% leaves the pitch in between, where it matches no key
The basic rules hold up better when key analysis is wrong
Analysis most often confuses close keys, such as 8A and 8B. When the mistake is a close key, tracks picked with the basic rules often stay close in practice, while the advanced moves are more likely to stop working.
Analyze your library with one program
About 80% of DIGTRACKS tracks are in minor keys (A)
For club styles such as HIP HOP and DANCE, there are plenty of tracks to choose from even if you stay within A keys. MAINSTREAM is split evenly, so switching A and B is useful there.
Based on about 267,000 tracks with a key, as of October 2026
Notes
When key matters less, and when to check it
When you overlap two drum-only parts, or when cutting in, a difference in key is hard to notice. Before you put an acapella over another track, check the keys.
05Quick Chart
24-key chart
Use this chart to look up what key 8A is.
Select a key to see its matches right here.
| A (minor) | B (major) |
|---|---|
The small text on the right is Open Key notation.
06Notation
About notation
The same key can be written three ways.
- Camelot (8A)Widely used in DJ software such as Mixed In Key.
- Open Key (1m)The Camelot number plus 5 (subtract 12 if the result is over 12). Traktor uses it.
- rekordboxOffers two display formats: Classic (key names) and Alphanumeric (8A and so on).
- Serato DJCan show keys as Camelot, Open Key, or key names, among other options.
07FAQ
FAQ
What key is 8A?
8A (Am) is A minor. The number is the position on the wheel, and the letter is A for minor or B for major.
Which keys go with 8A?
Under the basic rules: 8A (Am), 8B (C), 7A (Dm), and 9A (Em). The advanced moves add 7B (F), 10A (Bm), and 11B (A).
What is the difference between Camelot and Open Key?
Both write the same 24 keys as a number and a letter; the numbering and the letters (A/B and m/d) differ. The rules for matching keys are the same in both.
Do I always have to match keys?
No. A difference in key stands out when melodies or vocals overlap; over drum-only parts, or with a cut, you can mix tracks whose keys do not match.
Which comes first, BPM or key?
There is no fixed order; it depends on the tracks. When searching, one workable order is to narrow by BPM first and then look at key.
Does changing the tempo change the key?
It does when key lock (master tempo) is off. Raising the tempo by about 6% raises the key by a semitone, which is seven numbers ahead in Camelot notation.
How do I show keys as 8A in rekordbox or Serato?
In rekordbox, choose Alphanumeric as the key display format in the View section of Preferences (version 5.4.3 and later). Serato DJ can show keys as Camelot, Open Key, or key names, among other options.
08Find Tracks
Find tracks by key
DIGTRACKS search can filter tracks by key and BPM. Start with the same key as the current track, or a key that matches it under the basic rules.
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