How to do a key-shift boost
Move up the Camelot wheel for an instant lift.
- Crowd-pleaser
- easy
- About 8 bars
When to use it
- Use it when the next song brings more energy.
- A natural fit for pop/open-format, melodic/trance, EDM/big room and house/techno.
- Works when the tempos are up to about 8% apart, because the overlap is short.
- Both songs' melodies overlap, so it sounds best when their keys are compatible on the Camelot wheel.
Step by step
- 1Pick B a step or two up the Camelot wheel from A.
- 2Blend B in over 4 bars on a phrase.
- 3Swap the bass. The key lift does the hype for you.
See it on a controller, and hear it with your own songs
Cueball picks the right technique for every pair of songs in your set and animates the knobs and faders in time with the music.
Build a set for freeGenres this works for
New to DJing? Start with how to DJ for beginners and the 6 basic transitions.
Similar techniques
- Hard cut on the phraseSnap from A to B exactly on a new phrase.
- Short blend on the downbeatA quick overlap so the keys never get time to clash.
- Quick cutStop A, start B. Bold and clean.
- SpinbackRewind A like a vinyl spin, then slam B in.
- Half-time switchDrop B so its beat sits at half (or double) A's speed.
- Lyric handoffEnd A on a line that B's first lyric answers.