The Camelot wheel, explained for Afro House and Amapiano

Camelot notation turns 24 musical keys into a clock face. The number (1 to 12) is the position on the wheel, the letter is the mode: A for minor, B for major. 8A is A minor, 8B is C major — the same seven notes, a different tonal centre.

AFROFLOW stores the measured key of every analysed track and shows it in Camelot form because it makes the useful comparison obvious: neighbours on the wheel share most of their notes, so two basslines playing together sound intentional instead of clashing.

Same code (8A → 8A) is the safest blend: identical key, nothing to fight. Plus or minus one on the wheel (8A → 9A or 7A) changes one note and lifts or relaxes the energy slightly. Switching letter at the same number (8A → 8B) is the relative major/minor move — the same notes, a brighter or darker feel.

Bigger jumps are not forbidden, they are just louder. A two-step move (8A → 10A) is a real modulation and works best when the incoming track enters on a drum-led section with the melodic parts filtered out.

For every pair of neighbouring tracks in a set, the engine compares the two measured Camelot codes and labels the relationship: same key, adjacent, relative, or a distance it names explicitly. That label feeds Set Health and the Transition Coach.

When a track has no measured key, AFROFLOW says so rather than guessing. An unknown key is reported as unknown, and the transition is marked lower confidence so you check it by ear.

Percussion-led Afro House and Amapiano intros often carry almost no tonal content, which is why experienced DJs get away with jumps the wheel would call risky. If the incoming eight bars are drums and shaker, key compatibility barely applies until the bassline lands.

Use the wheel as a filter, not a rule. It narrows a long list to a short one; your ears pick from the short one.