Ultimate Harmonic Mixing Tier List

Going Up the Camelot Wheel

The first transition that we are 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 one of the best transitions. 

That’s why it deserves our first A ranking.

Next up we 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! That’s why it deserves to be our second addition to the A tier. 

Next up we have the +2, or the high energy boost mix. 

According to music theory, this transition will move us up two semitones on the circle of fifths, or camelot wheel. 

You’re also going up by a major 2nd. 

This mix still has a high compatibility, as the original key shares five out of seven notes with the original key. 

This mix is almost exactly the same as the original energy boost mix, it just takes things one step further.

This is what it sounds like. 

The High energy boost is a great way to dramatically increase the energy of the mix in a very short period of time. 

That’s why it deserves to be our first addition to the S tier category. 

Number four on our list of harmonic mixes is the plus three, or the reverse pay attention mix. 

Why am I calling it the reverse pay attention mix? 

Because if you were to research the original pay attention mix on mixedinkey.com, it is described as a -3 or a + 9. 

We will talk about the pay attention mix when we start going down the Camelot wheel. But since we started going up, we’re going to cover the +3 before we cover the -3.

And since it is the Inverse move of the pay attention mix, that’s why I’m calling it the reverse pay attention mix. 

It’s also worth noting that it has the opposite effect of the pay attention mix.

By the way, this is a good time to mention polarity. 

All it means is that according to the camelot wheel, which is base 12, a -3 is equivalent to a +9, and a +7 is equivalent to a -5.

Similarly, a +3 has the opposite effect of the -3, and the +7 has the opposite effect of the -7. 

The way that these transitions are listed in this video, is how they personally make sense to me.

Back to the reverse pay attention mix, or -3.

Even though we’re going up the Camelot wheel, this transition will actually act as an energy drain. 

The Reverse pay attention mix Will take us Down a minor 3rd on the circle of fifths, up 3 Semitones, or half steps, And the original key shares four out of seven notes with the original key. 

This is what it sounds like. 

This transition sounds like trash!

This is definitely a transition that you should NOT pay attention to, and that’s why it deserves our first F! 

Next up, we have the +4, or related key mix. 

The music theory behind this transition says that we are going up a major third, and up four semitones. 

There are three notes shared with the original key, but despite that I personally think that this transition sounds pretty good. 

This is what it sounds like.

This transition doesn’t sound quite as harmonious as some of the more fundamental transitions, but it also doesn’t sound bad, and it’s a great Ace to have up your sleeve that will open up more possibilities of transitions for you. 

I’ve found that it gives a slight energy boost. 

That’s why I’m going to place the + 4 mix into the b tier. 

Number six on our list is the Harmonic Flip. 

This transition takes us up or down an augmented 4th, or tritone. 

It only has two out of seven common notes with the original key, And it takes us six semitones away from the original key, moving either up or down, to the complete opposite position of the Camelot Wheel. 

The effect of this mix is it is completely jarring since it is a complete opposite of the original key. 

It’s not harmonious, and I would not recommend using it. 

The only reason I’m including this on the list is because I did find a reference to it on mixedinkey.com, and someone there thought it was worth naming. 

This is what it sounds like. 

D Tier!

Lucky Number seven on our list of harmonic transitions is going to be a +7, or a Jaws mix. 

The Jaws mix will take us up one semitone, up a major second, and the destination key only shares two common notes with the original key. 

It’s called the Jaws mix after the movie Jaws, to illustrate the massive plot twist that this transition sounds like. 

I’m personally a big fan of this mix, and I think that this interval sounds really good together. 

It does moderately boost the energy of the mix in my experience, though mixedinkey.com recommends that you do this mix quickly. 

This is what it sounds like. 

I think that sounds really good and I think that despite the low number of common keys, this transition deserves an A-tier rating Because of its ability to change the energy in a massive way while also bringing it up!

Going Down the Camelot Wheel

Now that we’ve gone up the circle, let’s talk about going down. 

The First transition we’re going to talk about as we 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 we are going down a perfect fifth, we’re 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.

A good time to use this harmonic mix is when you are approaching the end of your set, and things are slowing down.

I’m going to give this transition a C rating on the harmonic mixing tier list. 

While it can be used intelligently, and to good effect, the truth is that you could probably do better if you tried harder! 

Next up we’re going to talk about the -2, or high energy drain. 

Again, the high energy drain is simply the inverse of the high energy boost harmonic mix. 

That means that we’re going down by two semitones, we’re going down a major 2nd, And the destination key still shares five out of seven notes with the original key. 

This is what it sounds like. 

Yeah, this one really sounds like you pulled the floor out from underneath your crowd.

F tier!

Number three on our list of moving down the Camelot wheel is of course the -3, or pay attention mix. 

At this point in the video, make sure you pay attention because this transition is especially interesting. 

Even though we’re technically moving down on the Camelot wheel, the pay attention mix is going to boost the energy by three semitones, it’s going to take us down a minor 3rd, and the destination key shares 4 out of seven notes with the original key. 

Even though we’re technically going down the Camelot wheel, the pay attention mix significantly boosts the energy of the mix. 

I personally think that this transition sounds amazing, and it’s an exceptional way to boost the energy of the mix, in a fresh and creative way. 

It has this amazing Harmonic Cascade effect in the Mix, and despite all of this, This mix is often overlooked, and I like to use it as a secret weapon.

The keys in this transition contrast each other, but they also tremendously complement each other in a very appealing and unique way. 

Here’s what it sounds like.

S tier!

The 4th Transition when moving down the Camelot wheel is of course the -4, or reverse related key mix. 

The music theory behind this transition says that we are going down a major third, and down four semitones. 

The destination key shared 3/7 notes with the original key. 

How does the negative version of the related key mix sound? Exactly like the original, but it’s a slight decrease in energy. Let’s hear it. 

I would rate this transition as a C. 

It’s OK , but I wouldn’t generally use it, unless I had to.

Finally, we have arrived at the -7, or the reverse Jaws Mix.  

As the reverse Jaws mix is simply an inverse of the Jaws mix, it will take us down one semitone, down one major second, and the destination key only shares two out of seven keys with the original key. 

Here’s what it sounds like.

Due to the fact that there are almost no keys shared, and the fact that this is an energy drain mix, I’m going to list it as a C tier. 

Scale Change Transitions (Advanced)

Now that we’ve gone all the way around the Camelot wheel going up and down, what could we 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 first scale change Transition that we are going to discuss is the +0C, or the Vertical Mix.

The Capital C stands for Change, as in Scale Change, and simply means that we are going from a Minor Key to a Major key. 

I made this notation up because it helps me, so you won’t see it anywhere else.

I was sure to include a dedicated Legend that covers my Notation in my Ultimate Harmonic Mixing Cheat Sheet. 

Let’s get back to the +0C. 

The +0C or vertical mix takes us from the relative Minor to the Relative Major, and like the original +0 transition that we started with, all 7 notes are shared between the original key, and the destination key. 

However, one very important point to remember about this transition is that even though all 7 notes are shared, the ROOT note is different. 

It’s called the vertical mix because you simply move from the inner circle to the outer circle, in a vertical line.

Here’s what it sounds like:

I think this is a great transition, it definitely increases the energy of the mix, and it’s the classic, most uplifting, and basic way to transition from the minor scale to the Major scale. 

That’s why it goes in our A list. 

Next up, we are going to be talking about the +0c, or the Reverse Vertical Mix. 

As you may have guessed the lowercase c means that we are transitioning from the Relative Major, to the Relative Minor. 

Technically, this is still a vertical mix, but I think it’s important to note that we are going from major down to minor, so I’m calling it the reverse Vertical mix. 

Again, 7/7 notes are shared, and this is what it sounds like.

I hope that you can hear that even though it’s the same move, we are going the opposite direction, and going from major to minor has a slight energy drain effect, compared to the last transition which had a slight energy boost. 

However, the keys are so closely related that the energy drain is minimal. 

B Tier.

Next up, we have the +1c, or the Reverse Diagonal Mix. 

Again, I think it makes sense to cover the reverse diagonal mix before we cover the diagonal mix because we are covering the “positive” scale change transitions before we cover the negative scale change transitions.

Even though we are moving up the camelot wheel, we are still going from Major to Minor, which is definitely going to bring the energy down a notch.

That’s why I count it as a “reverse”.

The Reverse Diagonal mix is going to boost the mix by 7 semitones, and will take us to the Dominant Key of the Relative Minor. 

It is highly harmonically compatible, with the destination key sharing 6/7 notes with the original key. 

And, this is what the +1c Sounds like. 

This transition is Cheesy But it works! 

You can get SUPER creative with this one. 

A Tier.

Before we move on, it’s important to note that the diagonal Mix creates BALANCE. 

If you go UP in Key, you go DOWN in Scale (Down in Scale meaning Major to Minor).

If you go DOWN in Key, you go UP in scale.  

This idea of creating balance is true in nearly ALL of the scale change transitions.

Next on our list of Scale Change Transitions, we have the +3C, or Mood Shift Mix.

This transition will take us Up 3 semitones, the destination key shares 4/7 notes with the original key, and the music theory is that we are going from the Minor version of the key, to the Major version.

For example, D Minor to D Major.

These keys will share the same root note, and because we are mixing from minor to Major, this is going to have a moderate energy boost effect.

This is the example that I chose for this video, I call it one more Milkshake.

The +3C or Mood Shift Mix is an Amazing way to do something completely different and bring more energy!

A Tier.

Next up, we are going to be discussing the +4c, or what I like to call the Reverse Slide relation mix. 

This transition brings up 4 semitones, and the destination key shares 3/7 keys with the original key.

This is what it sounds like.

This is a heavily advanced move, but when executed skillfully, it can absolutely be a great transition. 

I’m going to rank it as A Tier, even though we are going from Major to Minor.

Next on our list of Scale Change Transitions is going to be The -1C, or Diagonal Mix. 

This Transition will bring us from a minor key to a major key and will therefore have a slight energy boost on the mix. 

This Transition will also take us down 7 Semitones to the Dominant key of the Relative Major. 

Here is what it sounds like. 

Same as before, just moving up in scale / energy. A tier.

Now, let’s talk about the -3c, or Reverse Mood Shift. This transition takes us down 3 semitones, from the minor version to the major version of a key, and The destination key shares 4/7 notes with the original key. 

Here’s what it sounds like. 

C Tier.

Last but certainly not least on our list is the -4C, or Slide Relation Mix. 

It will take us down 4 semitones, and the destination key shares 3/7 notes with the original key.

Since we are going from minor to major this time, it has a slight energy boost, and this is what it sounds like!

Another Secret Weapon! S Tier!

Sources

https://mixedinkey.com

https://mixedinkey.com/book/use-advanced-harmonic-mixing-techniques/

https://old.reddit.com/r/Beatmatch/comments/c3bqog/camelot_key_wheel_harmonic_modulation/

https://old.reddit.com/r/Beatmatch/comments/1q1pbo/the_rules_of_harmonic_mixing/

https://old.reddit.com/r/DJs/comments/2gd7v6/psa_all_the_simple_math_around_harmonic_mixing/

https://www.omnicalculator.com/other/music-interval

https://pyramind.com/dj-mixing-using-camelot-system-mixed-in-key/