Night school for DJs
Practical guides to help you mix better, backed by real data: the tempo, key and energy of thousands of club tracks, measured one by one.
The guides
- 01What is a DJ pool, and is it legal?What a record pool is, what it gives you compared with streaming and buying track by track, and what to check before you pay.
- 02The Camelot wheel and harmonic mixingThe rules of harmonic mixing, the interactive wheel of all 24 keys and the conversion chart to standard notation and Open Key.
- 03Extended, radio edit, intro, clean, dirty: which version should you play?Extended, radio edit, intro, clean, dirty, acapella, mashup, transition: what each version is for and which one to pick.
- 04BPM by genre: the tempo of 21 styles, measuredThe median tempo and typical range of 21 genres, measured on the catalog, and how to move from one genre to another.
- 05How to build a DJ set: warm-up, energy and track orderWarm-up, build, peak, comedown: how to order your tracks using energy, BPM and key.
- 06How to organize and tag your DJ libraryFolders, file names, tags and playlists: a method that works in Rekordbox, Serato and Traktor.
- 07How to beatmatch and phrase two tracksGet two tracks to the same tempo, then start the transition at the right moment: the core DJ skill, step by step.
- 08MP3, WAV, AIFF, FLAC: which format should DJs use?MP3 320, WAV, AIFF or FLAC: sound quality, disk space, tags and deck compatibility, with the real size of a track.
- 09Wedding DJ: the playlist and the reception timelineMeeting the couple, the reception timeline, songs for each moment, clean and intro versions: the wedding DJ's method.
The 24 Camelot keys
Every key has its own page: standard notation, compatible keys, tracks from the catalog and a sequence ready to try. Hover over the wheel to see the neighbors.
Hover over a key
Hover over a key: it lights up along with its compatible neighbors. Click to open its page. Inner ring: minor (A). Outer ring: major (B).
The tempo of 21 genres
Median tempo and typical range for each genre, measured on the Nocti Pool catalog. Click a genre to see its keys, its energy and tracks to listen to.
- Reggaeton96.9
- RnB99
- Hip Hop100.8
- Dancehall101.9
- Amapiano112.9
- Afro House121.9
- Progressive House123
- Nu Disco125
- Deep House126
- Melodic House & Techno127
- House128
- EDM128
- Tech House128.9
- Bass House130
- UK Garage136.2
- Techno138
- Trance140.1
- Dubstep140.3
- Psy Trance144.8
- Hard Techno157.9
- Drum & Bass174.1
Where the numbers come from
The tempos, keys and energy levels on this site are measured on the tracks published in the Nocti Pool catalog. Every file is analyzed: its tempo, its key in Camelot notation and an energy rating from 1 to 5. The stats are recalculated every time the site is updated.
These measurements have the limits of any automatic analysis: a tempo can be read at double or half, a key can be wrong on a very percussive track. We explain this where it matters, especially in the BPM by genre guide.
To learn more about who writes these pages and why, read the About page.