Effects & processing
Pitch shifter
A pitch shifter moves a track up or down in pitch without changing its tempo. It is what key lock does continuously, exposed as an effect you can push in whole semitones.
In practice
One semitone of shift moves a track seven positions round the Camelot wheel — that is a key change, not a tweak.
Keep it to a semitone in either direction. Past that the artefacts become obvious on anything with a vocal or a sustained pad, and the harmonic argument disappears anyway because you are no longer near the key you started in. Check where the shift lands before you commit: up a semitone from 8A is 3A, down is 1A, and neither is a neighbour of where you were. The same shift as a tempo change would be 5.95%.
±1
Semitones worth using
7
Camelot positions per semitone
5.95%
The equivalent tempo change
Where these come from: The percentage is arithmetic — one semitone is 2^(1/12) − 1 — and the seven positions are the Camelot layout. Neither is a catalog count. For what we can measure, see the same mechanism on the pitch fader.
Why it matters
A semitone is not a small adjustment. Shifting a record one step moves it seven positions around the Camelot wheel, which turns a harmonically safe pairing into a clash or the other way round — so a pitch shifter is a harmonic decision wearing an effect’s clothing.
Used deliberately that is exactly its value. A track that is one step away from fitting can be brought into key, and the shift is small enough that most listeners hear a mix that works rather than a record that has been moved.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between a pitch shifter and key lock?+
Key lock holds the pitch still while the tempo moves. A pitch shifter moves the pitch while the tempo stays still. They are the same technology solving opposite problems.
How many semitones can you shift a track?+
Musically, about one in either direction before the artefacts get obvious on vocals and pads — and one semitone is already a seven-position move around the Camelot wheel, which is a large harmonic change.
Does pitch shifting change the key?+
Yes, that is its purpose. Up a semitone from 8A lands on 3A and down lands on 1A, so check the destination before assuming a shift fixes a clash.
Related terms
Key lock
Key lock — master tempo on a CDJ — holds a track at its original pitch while you change its tempo. Without it, speeding a record up raises its key and quietly undoes whatever harmonic mixing you had planned.
Pitch fader
The pitch fader is the slider that speeds a track up or slows it down, usually by up to 6 or 8 percent. It is how two records are brought to the same tempo before they are mixed.
Camelot key
Camelot notation renames every musical key as a number from 1 to 12 plus a letter — A for minor, B for major. 8A is A minor. Codes next to each other on the wheel share most of their notes.
Tonal shift
A tonal shift moves one position around the Camelot wheel and switches between major and minor at the same time — 8A to 9B, say. No standard chart lists it, and it is the most common rule-break DJs make.
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