Looking up the key and tempo of The Well-Meaning Professor? Eluvium's track sits in A Minor at 125 BPM (Camelot –). Whether you're learning it on guitar, setting up a cover in the right key, or mixing it into a DJ set, here are the scale notes, chords, and compatible keys.
Scale & Notes of A Minor
The A Minor scale is built from these seven notes:
ABCDEFG
Its relative key is C Major (same notes), and its parallel key is A Major. If you're transposing or looking for a vocal-comfortable key, those are the natural neighbours.
Chords in A Minor
The seven diatonic triads in this key — the chord palette most of the song will draw from:
| Degree | Chord | Quality |
|---|
| i | Am | Minor |
| ii° | Bdim | Diminished |
| III | C | Major |
| iv | Dm | Minor |
| v | Em | Minor |
| VI | F | Major |
| VII | G | Major |
Indian Classical: the Kafi thaat
In Hindustani classical terms, A Minor maps to the Kafi thaat (Western mode: Dorian). Dorian mode — minor scale with a natural 6th. Common in jazz and folk music (Santana, 'So What' by Miles Davis). In Indian music it gives a gentle, romantic character. Traditional listening time: Afternoon to midnight.
If you want to sing or practise in this key, set your tonic (Sa) to A. Ragas built on this thaat:
- Kafi — Pure Dorian — ♭3 and ♭7, natural 2nd and 6th. Romantic, folk-like, seasonal (Holi).
- Pilu — Dorian with chromatic passing notes — very flexible. Light classical, semi-classical (Any time).
- Bhimpalasi — Dorian pentatonic (omits 2nd & 6th). Meditative, longing (Afternoon).
- Bageshri — Dorian with omitted 5th in ascent — intimate, introspective. Romantic, feminine (Late night).
- Patdeep — Dorian with both ♮3 and ♭3 in descent. Tender, seasonal (Afternoon).
Set Tanpura to A →Practise in this key →Find another song's key →
Harmonic mixing (for DJs)
The Well-Meaning Professor sits at Camelot –. For a smooth harmonic transition, mix it with tracks in 7A, 8B, 9A — adjacent keys on the Camelot wheel that share most of their notes.