Camelot wheel in rekordbox

rekordbox can show a key as a short code, such as 8A or 9B, instead of a name such as A minor. DJs call that code system the Camelot wheel. rekordbox calls the display Alphanumeric. It is the same idea: a number and a letter, so the next track is easier to spot.

Camelot notation is a number from 1 to 12, then a letter. A is the minor ring. B is the major ring. The same number with the other letter is the relative major or minor, the major and minor that share a key signature. 8A and 8B are that pair, not the same key. The Camelot wheel maps all 24 codes. On that wheel, 8A is A minor.

rekordbox's own help article lines the two writings up at the start. Classic begins Abm, B, Ebm, F#. Alphanumeric begins 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B. Same keys, two spellings. The article does not print the other twenty. Use the wheel here for the rest.

Show codes instead of key names

The choice has been in rekordbox since version 5.4.3. The help article puts it under Preferences, View, Key display format. The version 7 manual is a step more specific. Open Preferences from the upper right of the screen, or from the File menu. Open View, then the Display Type tab. Set Key display format to Alphanumeric.

Classic is the musical name, such as Abm. Alphanumeric is the code, such as 1A and 2A.

There is one more option, Display key information on the database. The version 7 manual says the key is then shown as it is recorded on the track. The help article says that checkbox keeps the format version 5.4.2 and earlier was showing. Leave it unchecked when you want the codes. The format on screen is a display choice. Picking Alphanumeric does not rewrite the song.

If you do want the detected key stored in the file, that is a different switch. Preferences, Analysis, Track Analysis, Key Analysis has Write the value to the ID3 tag. An ID3 tag is the text saved inside the file, such as the title. That switch stores the detected key there. The manual does not say the tag is written as a Camelot code, so treat the column and the tag as two separate things.

A blank Key cell means the track has not been read, or key analysis is locked. Adding a track and analyzing it measures the beat, the tempo, and the key. Auto Analysis lives under Preferences, Analysis, Track Analysis. When it is on, analysis starts as the file joins the Collection, which is rekordbox's list of your tracks. When it is off, right-click the track and choose Analyze Track. You can also use Analyze Track from the Track menu. Analysis Lock skips key analysis. Right-click the track, or use the Track menu, and clear Analysis Lock before you analyze again.

The deck shows the key as well. The same Key display format setting changes that readout. Double-click it to put the key back after you have shifted it by a semitone. With master tempo off, the version 7 manual says this deck readout also changes when the tempo changes, including with Beat Sync. If the tempo has moved and master tempo is off, that number is not the file's own key.

The player in the booth is a separate control. In export mode, Preferences, DJ System, General is where the manual says you set the key display format on the DJ player. The manual does not name the choices on that screen. Open it, and the player's own manual, if the booth still shows names.

Sort by key, and filter to the master deck

The Key column has to be on the list before you can sort by it. Right-click a column header. The column list opens. Click Key. Drag that header left or right if you want it beside the title.

Click the Key header to sort. Click it again to flip ascending and descending. Tracks that share a code sit together, so a run of 8A is easy to see. The manual does not say the column sorts in wheel order, so do not expect 8A, then 9A, then 10A just because you clicked the header.

To cut the list down, open the track filter. The manual says to click the left side of the search filter. You can refine by BPM, KEY, RATING, and COLOR. When you turn KEY on, also turn on Master Player or Master Deck. The filter then takes the key of the track loaded on that master deck. Load the track you are leaving, then turn the filter on.

Related Tracks is another list, for the track you have loaded. The manual says the relation can include Key, along with BPM and a few other criteria. You edit those criteria yourself. It is a second way to see tracks rekordbox ranks near the one on the deck.

Use Traffic Light for the keys nearby

Traffic Light highlights keys in the Key column that rekordbox treats as compatible with the track on the selected deck. The Key column has to be showing.

The version 7 manual puts the range on the View display settings, beside Key display format. The rekordbox FAQ names the choices, under Preferences, View, Traffic Light. They are Same key, and Related key 1, 2, and 3.

The FAQ's example is a loaded track in 2A.

• Same key highlights 2A only.
• Related key 1 highlights 2A and 2B. Same number, other letter. That is the relative major or minor.
• Related key 2 adds 1A and 3A. One number up or down, same letter.
• Related key 3 also adds 1B and 3B.

From version 6.5.2 you can pick that range. The FAQ says Related key 2 is the range version 6.5.1 and earlier used, and that the starting value is Related key 3.

Same code, one step on the same ring, and the relative major or minor are the moves Sonata calls In key. For the FAQ's 2A example, that set is Related key 2: 2A, 2B, 1A, and 3A. Related key 3 also highlights 1B and 3B. Each of those is a diagonal step away from 2A. Sonata flags a diagonal as a key clash. The highlight is a shortlist. Play the pair before you trust it.

The wheel is a circle. From 12, one step on is 1, and the other way is 11. The key checker answers any two codes.

Choose the next track from the code

Read the code on the track that is playing. The smooth moves are the same ones Sonata marks In key.

• The same code, such as 8A into 8A. The key does not change.
• One number up or down, same letter, such as 8A into 7A or 9A. One number up is a perfect fifth, seven semitones. On the wheel, 8A to 9A is A minor to E minor. It is a small lift.
• The other letter, same number, such as 8A into 8B. That is the relative major or minor.

Two numbers up, same letter, is the move DJs call an energy boost. 8A goes to 10A. Sonata flags it as a key clash. It can work when you want the room to notice a new key. It is a choice, not the ordinary step. The energy boost guide separates that jump from the one-step fifth. Is harmonic mixing necessary? is when a transition can leave the wheel on purpose.

A matching code is a reason to try the blend. Vocals, basslines, and tempo still have to agree. If the tempos are far apart, plan a cut rather than a long overlap. The set planning guide walks through the listen. Showing the same codes in Serato is in Camelot wheel in Serato.

Hear the pair before the gig

Sonata reads the key from the files you add, suggests an order, and flags a clash. It does not decide the set, and it does not transpose a track to hide one. You still pick the record.

For one file, the BPM and key finder reads the tempo and the key in the browser. Your tracks stay on this device. They are never uploaded.

Hear your whole set before the gig. The first mix is free, up to 10 tracks, and it does not ask for an account.

Sources

• Can I change the display format for keys? rekordbox 5.4.3 and later
• rekordbox 7.1 instruction manual (PDF): key display, columns, sort, track filter, Traffic Light, analysis, the deck readout, the player format
• Traffic Light range: Same key and Related key 1 to 3, with the 2A example
• Traffic Light range from version 6.5.2, and the starting value

Sonata is not affiliated with rekordbox, Pioneer DJ, or AlphaTheta.