What Is the Camelot Wheel? A Key Finder Guide
The Camelot wheel is a labeling system that gives each of the 24 musical keys a short code, and you can turn any key finder result into one of those codes with the chart below. It lays the keys out like a 12-hour clock face. The inner ring holds the 12 minor keys, marked A, and the outer ring holds the 12 major keys, marked B. So A minor is 8A and C major is 8B.
DJs use it because "8A" is easier to read under club lighting than "A minor," and because the numbers tell you which keys sit next to each other musically. You don't need to know any theory to read the code. You do need to know what the numbers mean to use it well.
How the Camelot wheel is laid out
The wheel is the circle of fifths with new labels. Each step clockwise moves the key up a perfect fifth, which adds one sharp (or removes one flat) from the key signature. 8B is C major with no sharps or flats. One step clockwise, 9B is G major with one sharp. One step counterclockwise, 7B is F major with one flat.
The two rings line up on purpose. The minor key at any number is the relative minor (the minor key that shares all seven notes) of the major key at the same number. 8A (A minor) and 8B (C major) use exactly the same seven notes; they just treat a different note as home. The same holds all the way around: 5A and 5B, 11A and 11B, and so on.
Camelot wheel chart: all 24 keys
| Code | Minor key (A) | Code | Major key (B) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | Ab minor (G# minor) | 1B | B major |
| 2A | Eb minor (D# minor) | 2B | F# major (Gb major) |
| 3A | Bb minor | 3B | Db major |
| 4A | F minor | 4B | Ab major |
| 5A | C minor | 5B | Eb major |
| 6A | G minor | 6B | Bb 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# minor | 11B | A major |
| 12A | Db minor (C# minor) | 12B | E major |
The wheel wraps around: 12 is next to 1, just like on a clock.
Why the numbers matter
The point of the codes is that compatible keys are easy to spot. From any code, three kinds of moves usually sound smooth:
- The same code (8A to 8A).
- One number up or down with the same letter (8A to 7A or 9A).
- The same number with the other letter (8A to 8B), which is the relative major/minor switch.
Those neighbors share all or all but one of their notes, so two tracks overlapping in them rarely clash. That is about as far as this page goes into mixing. For how DJs actually apply the rule alongside tempo, see beatmatching and key matching explained, and for building a whole set around it, read how to make a continuous DJ mix.
Camelot vs Open Key notation
Camelot isn't the only labeling scheme. Open Key also numbers the keys 1 to 12 around the circle of fifths, but it marks major keys with d and minor keys with m, and it starts the count at C major: 1d is C major and 1m is A minor.
The two systems describe the same wheel, rotated. Camelot 8B is Open Key 1d, and Camelot 8A is Open Key 1m. To convert, add 5 to the Camelot number and wrap past 12 (Camelot 9 becomes Open Key 2, Camelot 12 becomes 5, Camelot 1 becomes 6). Then swap the letter: B becomes d, A becomes m.
The Camelot system was devised by DJ Mark Davis and is closely associated with Mixed In Key. Open Key is the notation Traktor uses. Pick whichever your software shows and stick with it, because mixing the two in one crate is how 8A and 8m end up looking like the same key when they aren't.
Converting a key finder result to Camelot
Vocal Cut's Key Finder reports a key name, such as "A minor," along with a confidence percentage. It does not print a Camelot code. To get one, find the key name in the chart above: A minor is 8A, E major is 12B, and so on. It runs in your browser, so your audio never leaves your device.
A few things trip people up when they use a song key finder this way.
Enharmonic spellings. The same pitch can have two names. G# minor and Ab minor are the same key, and both are 1A. Db minor and C# minor are both 12A. If your result uses a sharp and the chart uses a flat (or the reverse), it is still the same code.
Relative major/minor mix-ups. Any key finder for music can occasionally report the relative key, A minor for a track that is really in C major, because the two keys share every note. On the wheel that's only a letter swap, 8A instead of 8B, and those two are neighbors anyway. So even a relative-key miss usually leaves your mix-compatibility intact. The confidence percentage helps here; a low reading is a cue to check by ear. For more on why this happens, see what is musical key and how to find the key of a song.
Tempo is the other half. A tempo and key finder workflow usually means running the track through the BPM Finder too, then writing both on the file or in your library, for example "124 BPM, 8A."
Shifting keys. If you change a track's pitch with the Pitch Changer, its Camelot code moves in a way that surprises people. One semitone up moves the key seven steps around the wheel, not one. A minor (8A) shifted up a semitone becomes Bb minor (3A). So a single-semitone shift will not land you on a neighbor; to move one step clockwise you need seven semitones up (or five down), and one step counterclockwise is five up (or seven down).
Limits of the wheel
The Camelot wheel only covers major and minor keys. Songs built on modes such as Dorian or Mixolydian get forced into whichever major or minor key shares their notes, which can make the label feel wrong even when the detector did its job.
Many songs change key partway through, often with a lift for the final chorus. A single code describes one section at best, so check the part of the track you plan to mix in and out of.
It is also a guide, not a rule. Two tracks in compatible codes can still clash if their melodies collide, and plenty of good transitions break the neighbor rule on purpose. Treat the code as a quick shortlist, then trust your ears.
Frequently asked questions
What does 8A mean on the Camelot wheel? 8A is A minor. The number is its position on the wheel, and the letter A marks the inner ring of minor keys. Its relative major, C major, is 8B.
Is Camelot the same as the circle of fifths? It is the circle of fifths with simpler labels. Each step clockwise is up a perfect fifth, and the minor and major rings line up so that relative keys share a number.
Does the Vocal Cut key finder show Camelot codes? No. It shows a key name, such as A minor, plus a confidence percentage. Look the key name up in the chart on this page to get the Camelot code.
What is the Camelot code for C major? C major is 8B. Its relative minor, A minor, is 8A, and the Open Key equivalent of C major is 1d.
Why does my key finder say the relative minor? A major key and its relative minor use exactly the same notes, so a detector can lean toward the wrong one. On the Camelot wheel that is the same number with the other letter, so the result is usually still mix-compatible.