Ultimate Harmonic Mixing Tier List
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Hello and welcome to DJs In Reno, where I cover all things DJ related.
Today I am going to be RANKING Harmonic Mixes from the Mixed In Key Camelot Wheel on a tier list.
In this free preview I'm covering the FIRST FIVE mixes. The full tier list, all 20 harmonic mixes ranked, lives in my free cheat sheet PDF.
Before I get started I want to reiterate that all of these rankings are based on my own personal opinion, and the most important rule in DJing and music production is that if it sounds good, it is good!
This Article is based on my ultimate harmonic mixing cheat sheet, available for free at the bottom of the page.
It includes everything I am going to cover in this video, as well as some other exclusive DJ and Music theory resources, that you won't find anywhere else.
It also includes a few secret codes to help you memorize and utilize the information in this video, and will take your harmonic mixing to new heights.
Going Up the Camelot Wheel
Mix 1: The Power Block (+0)
The first transition that I am going to talk about is the +0, or the power block mix.
This transition is a perfect harmonic match.
In other words, song A has the same key as song B.
Obviously, the destination key shares all 7 notes with the original key (Because the destination key is the original key).
This is called the power block mix because famous DJs like Skrillex will play about three to four songs of the same key before transitioning to another block of three or four songs of a different key.
Over time, this harmonic consistency over time builds energy exponentially on the dance floor.
This is what it sounds like.
The Power Block Mix is solid, it's consistent by definition, and as long as you don't overdo it it's the single best transition there is.
That's why it earns the ONLY S rank on my entire tier list.
Mix 2: The Energy Boost (+1)
Next up I have a plus one, or energy boost mix.
According to music theory, this transition means that you're going up a perfect fifth on the Camelot wheel, or the circle of fifths.
It also means that You're going up by seven semitones or half steps.
This mix is extremely harmonically compatible because 6 out of seven notes between these two keys are shared.
Like the name implies, the energy boost mix will boost the energy of the mix, the room, and the crowd.
it keeps things moving gently in an upward direction.
Let's hear an example.
That sounds good to me! It's steady, reliable, and extremely compatible, and that earns it a solid B rank.
Going Down the Camelot Wheel
Mix 3: The Energy Drain (-1)
Now that I've gone up the circle, let's talk about going down.
The First transition I'm going to talk about as I start going down the Camelot wheel, is the -1, or energy drain mix.
The energy drain mix is simply an inverted energy boost.
And by the way, all of these upcoming transitions are simply negative versions of their positive counterparts.
That means I am going down a perfect fifth, I'm going down 7 semitones, and the destination key shares six out of seven common notes with the original key.
Even though there's a lot of common keys, the energy drain mix is referred to as a drain for a reason.
It will definitely bring the energy of your mix down, and it will sound like you're going from high to low, or hot to lukewarm.
It still has its place, like easing your crowd out of a peak, but because it drains more energy than it builds, I rank it C tier.
Scale Change Transitions (Advanced)
Mixes 4 & 5: Minor to Major, and Major to Minor
What could I possibly cover next?
Scale change transitions..
You may have noticed that the camelot wheel is made up of two circles.
The inner circle, which is made of Minor keys, and the outer circle, which is made up of major keys.Scale Change transitions are how you move between the inner and outer circles.
A scale change transition means that you're going from a minor scale to a major scale (from the inner circle to the outer circle on the Camelot wheel) or from the major scale to the minor scale (the outer circle to the inner circle) on the Camelot wheel.
A simple way to think about the Minor keys and Major keys, is that Minor keys generally sound sad, and Major keys generally sound happy.
This is a massive oversimplification, but you get the idea.
The simplest versions of these are the vertical moves, straight between a key and its relative on the other circle, like 12A to 12B. The destination key shares all 7 notes with the original, so both directions are 100% harmonically compatible. Going from minor to Major (+0C, the Vertical Mix) brightens the room with a slight energy boost, and that earns it an A rank. Going from Major to minor (+0c, the Reverse Vertical Mix) darkens things with a slight energy drain, which is why I rank it one step lower at B.
The Other 15 Mixes
That's the first five, and I'm stopping there on purpose.
The remaining 15 harmonic mixes (the +2, the -2, the diagonal scale changes, and every other move on the wheel) are all ranked in the Harmonic Mixing Cheat Sheet PDF, along with my secret memory codes and exclusive music theory resources.
One printable page, free, yours forever. Get the cheat sheet here.
Conclusion
There are many ways to move around the Camelot Wheel. The five transitions above are the ones to focus on first!
Want a curated list of the best harmonic transitions? Check out my Top 5 Harmonic Mixes guide for the most effective transitions to use on the dance floor.
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