Hello and Welcome to DJs In Reno where we cover all things DJ related. Today, we are going to be ranking the top 10 Harmonic Mixes. This is based on my Ultimate Harmonic Mixing Tier list video, where I cover all 20 harmonic Mixes. So, if you haven’t seen that, go check it out!

 

1.) -3 (Pay Attention Mix)

First up, we have the -3, or pay attention mix. 

 

This mix creates an AMAZING harmonic Cascade effect that cuts through the dancefloor. This is a personal favorite of mine. I often refer to it as a secret weapon. This harmonic mix simply sounds amazing. Since you are only moving 3 spaces on the harmonic wheel, it is very easy to calculate what your destination key will be. For example, if you start in the key of 12A, your destination key will simply be 3 keys below, or 9A. When you’re standing over the decks, it can be daunting to do mental math while you are also DJing in front of a crowd of dancing people! That’s why the Simplest harmonic Mixes are usually the best. 

 

One exception to this rule is the +0, or Power Block Mix. This is because if you over do this transition, you can wear it out quickly. All of the other transitions on this list will either increase or decrease the energy of the mix and the dancefloor. With the +0, we are staying in the same key from song to song. While this sounds ok if you only do about 4 songs in the same key before transitioning, I generally wouldn’t recommend doing more than that. Part of having a fantastic DJ Set means that the songs, vibe, and speed are constantly changing. This skill is referred to as Narrative, and you can read more about it here. 

 

Another important point to consider with the -3 or Pay attention Mix is that even though we are technically moving down the Camelot Wheel, the Pay attention mix is going to significantly boost the energy of the mix, the crowd, and the dancefloor. 

 

Despite being such a fantastic transition, the -3 or pay attention Mix is often overlooked. 

2.) +2 (High Energy Boost Mix)

Next on our list of the top 10 Harmonic Mixes is the +2 or High Energy Boost Mix. The high energy boost mix is a fantastic way to significantly boost the energy of your mix in a very short period of time. In my experience, this transition sounds great. It sounds great because there is a high amount of harmonic compatibility between the two keys. 

 

Keep in mind that when you’re djing, you want the energy to be going up. All the time. You want the crowd to constantly be more and more excited. If you take your foot off the gas pedal, expect some of your crowd to leave the dancefloor. Sometimes, it does make sense to play a slow song, to give your crowd a break, and it also makes sense to slow things down a bit as you approach the end of your set. But generally speaking, once you have your crowd’s attention, you want to keep it as long as possible.

3.) +1 (Energy Boost Mix)

Number 3 on our List of the top 10 Harmonic Mixes, we have the +1, or Energy boost mix. This Harmonic Transition is going to keep things moving gently in an upwards direction. 6/7 notes are still shared with the original key, so this Mix is Extremely harmonically compatible. It’s going to boost the energy of the mix by a perfect Fifth. Important note: Each key on the Camelot Wheel is separated from its neighbors by a single perfect 5th. The energy boost mix is steady, consistent, and it also changes the harmonics of your mix in a pleasant and gentle way. It’s a great way to keep things fresh, interesting, new, and exciting. 

4.) +0 (Power Block Mix)

The +0 Or the Power Block Mix is the most fundamental Harmonic Mix there is. Actually, it’s technically not even a harmonic “mix”, because the destination key is the same as the original key. Despite this, it is a fantastic way to build energy on the dance floor. Just don’t overdo it! It’s called the power block mix because DJs will often play about 4 songs of the same key in a row, before switching to a different key. This consistency builds energy exponentially on the dancefloor. 

 

If you find two songs with the same key, and align them properly, you can even get the vocals from each track singing with each other. Just make sure that they don’t overlap!

5.) +3C (Mood Shift Mix)

#5 on our list of the Top 10 Harmonic Transitions is the +3C, or Mood Shift MIx. C stands for Scale Change, and a Capital C means that we are moving from the minor Scale to the Major Scale. I created this notation because I thought it was a great way to illustrate moving around the Camelot Wheel.

 

I explained my notation in more detail in the ultimate harmonic mixing cheat sheet PDF that I offer as a free download. So again, if you haven’t checked that out. Be sure to go download it right now! 

 

This mix received very positive feedback online. 

 

I created a mashup using this harmonic mix, and it’s probably the best one I’ve ever discovered. It’s called one more milkshake, and it utilizes the song One More Time by daft punk, and milkshake by kellis. These are two songs that you would probably never hear mixed together, because they are very different harmonically, and energetically. 

 

One isn’t a minor key, and the other is in a major key. Not to mention, they are a minor third apart on the Camelot wheel. 

 

Despite this, the bpms are close enough to warrant further investigation into this mix. Another interesting similarity is that they were released at about the same time. Daft punk originally wrote their greatest hit of all time: one more time, in 1998, but they sat on it for 2 years and didn’t release it until the year 2000 on their second album: Discovery. 

 

Kellis released her number one hit: milkshake 2 years later in the year 2002. 

 

Both songs have garnered high levels of success in notoriety from critics and fans alike. And despite being over 20 years old now, both songs still have a high degree of popularity among the general population, and in online Internet meme culture.

 

If you’re curious about what the mashup one more milkshake sounds like, you can listen to it here. 

Despite the obvious differences that these two songs have, when they are played together, they simply click together, as if by magic. It helps that both of these songs are so well known. 

 

These songs are also extremely compatible because of the way that they’re harmonic elements fit together like a puzzle piece. 

 

For example, one more time has that iconic synth riff that lasts throughout the entire song. 

 

Milkshake on the other hand, has synths that are way less prominent in the mix. The main harmonic component of milkshake is actually Kellis’ voice. 

 

Because the other elements in milkshake are so quiet, and minimal, if you overlay the two songs together, they fit together like a perfect puzzle piece. If you remove the Lows from milkshake, and play it over one more time, it’s basically like you’re playing the acapella of milkshake over the beat of one more time, and the result is perfection. 

 

Really the only thing that you have to watch out for on this mix is making sure that the vocals are not playing at the same time. That’s called vocal clashing, and it’s generally frowned upon among DJs. Sometimes you can get lucky, and you can get the vocals of each song talking to each other, like we discussed earlier. This is called word play, but of course it only works when the vocals do not hit at exactly the same point in each song. 

 

6.) +7 (Jaws Mix)

Number six on our list of top 10 harmonic transitions is going to be the Jaws mix. This will definitely boost the energy of the mix. It will take us up one semitone. Even though there’s a low amount Of keys shared between the original key and the destination key, this is still very harmonically compatible. 

 

It’s called the Jaws mix in reference to the movie Jaws. It sounds like an extreme plot twist, waiting to strike, lurking just below the surface.. 

 

The Jaws mix is absolutely one of the best transitions. It allows you to quickly move a great distance around the harmonic keys of the Camelot wheel in a short period of time. While also increasing the energy of the mix. It’s also a great choice if you don’t want to change from a minor scale to a major scale, but you need to change things up. 

 

Fun fact: if you use Jackie shift function on the new pioneer CDJ 3000s, and you increase the pitch of a song by one semitone, it’s the equivalent of moving up seven spaces on the Camelot wheel, or circle of fifths.

 

The official description for this mix on mixedinkey.com recommends that you do this mix quickly, but I think it sounds great and I think you can let the transition ride as long as you want!

 

7.) +0C

Number seven on our list of the top 10 Harmonic transitions is going to be the plus 0C. Again, this notation Is a notation that you’re not going to see anywhere else. So if it’s confusing, make sure you check out my harmonic mixing cheat sheet where explain my custom notation in depth. 

 

This is the classic scale change transition that will take us from the relative Miner to the relative major. 

 

The perfect example that illustrates this transition is moving from a minor to C major. 

 

If you look at these two keys on a piano, you will notice that 100% of the notes are shared between the two keys. Meaning that there are only white keys, in either key. There are no sharps or flats. 

 

But how could they be different keys if they share all of the same notes?

 

Because the starting note is different. In music theory, this is referred to as the root note.

 

It’s also very important to note that this harmonic transition is going to boost the energy of the mix because we are changing from the minor scale to the major scale. 

 

Anytime that you do this, it’s going to boost the energy of the mix. 

 

An easy way to remember the difference between the minor and the major scales is think of the minor scales as generally sad, and the major scales as generally happy. 

 

That’s a massive oversimplification, but you get the idea. 

 

8.) -4C

Now we are getting into some advanced territory. 

 

The -4C or slide relation mix is a very advanced harmonic mix, yet when executed skillfully it’s absolutely a secret weapon. 

 

Since we are transitioning from a minor key to a major key, this transition is going to boost the energy of the mix. 

 

Even though we are going down a major 4th, we are still going up in energy since we are going for a minor key to a major key. 

 

This transition sounds absolutely amazing. 

 

I watched many other harmonic mixing tutorials before I made my own, and I couldn’t find any videos that covered this mix specifically. I only found reference to it in a very old Reddit post. 

9.) +4c

The plus 4c is the reverse slide relation mix. It’s exactly like the last transition that we covered, except you’re going in the opposite direction. 

 

One important point to consider with the slide relation mixes, as well as the mood shift mixes, is that you’re creating balance. 

 

That means if you go up in key, you go down and scale. And if you go down in scale, you go up in key. 

 

This is one of those mixes that is a lot easier to simply listen to rather than explain. 

 

Even though we’re going from a major key to a minor key this time, it still sounds really good!

10.) +1c

 

Number 10 on our list of the top 10 harmonic transitions is going to be the +1c, or the reverse diagonal mix.

 

I refer to it as the reverse diagonal mix because we are going from a minor to a major.

 

The example that I use in the video for this mix is a mashup between two classic songs from my childhood: the YMCA, by the village people, and satisfaction by Benny benassi. 

 

These songs are a perfect candidate for a mashup because they are only three BPM apart. 

 

Even though traditional harmonic mixing would say that these keys are not related, I have found that they are close enough to still have a positive harmonic effect on the mix. 

 

Now keep in mind this transition is cheesy. I definitely wouldn’t overdo it. 

 

But this example specifically is simply too good not to utilize, the crowd goes wild! 

 

This transition is similar to the last mashup we talked about: one more milkshake. Because you’re playing essentially the vocals of the YMCA over the baseline and beat of satisfaction. 

 

Again, these are both songs that everyone knows.  

It’s very unorthodox, but it’s also very creative. 

 

And that’s the best way to stand out as a DJ, is by doing things that no one else is doing!

Conclusion

 

There are many fantastic harmonic Mixes. These are the Top 10!

 

Want more instruction in mixing / DJing? Check out our DJ lessons!