Program to show compatible keys?

**rjc** · 01-17-2013, 01:31 AM

Different keys are compatible under different circumstances dude. There aren't really any programs that will help you there, except for maybe mixing in fifths (Or +1 / -1 on the Camelot wheel... which is honestly easier to remember). It will tell you that mixing up a semi-tone will create clashes if both melodies are layered, but can create a 'rising' feeling if you remove one melody line and introduce the next... Which is still mixing in key.

Best bet... Sort by key, Keep your music well organised into Categories, or properly tagged to narrow down with search.

**AllDay** · 01-17-2013, 02:42 AM

Lol at the things kids have been posting lately.

**kooper1980** · 01-17-2013, 05:29 AM

What happened to knowing your track library and letting your ears tell you if something is compatible or not. How long does it take to load a track and listen in your headphones to decide if its gonna fit or not?

Liken it to digging a vinyl out of your collection, placing it on the turntable, dropping your needle at the beginning of the track and skipping through to several points. sounds a lot but I bet I could get through 5 or 6 records in less than a minute. How long would all of that take in Traktor or Serato?!?! As a DJ your ears are better than ANY keying software.

**Bears'N'Backpacks** · 01-17-2013, 05:35 AM

Originally Posted by wquinonez

thanks for that.

just looking for a software solution

The reason people are getting a kick out of this is because you are looking for a shortcut on something that is already meant to be one. If you spend more time playing and become familiar with your tunes, then you wont worry about the key so much when selecting songs.

**Shishdisma** · 01-17-2013, 06:20 AM

Originally Posted by kooper1980

What happened to knowing your track library and letting your ears tell you if something is compatible or not. How long does it take to load a track and listen in your headphones to decide if its gonna fit or not?

Liken it to digging a vinyl out of your collection, placing it on the turntable, dropping your needle at the beginning of the track and skipping through to several points. sounds a lot but I bet I could get through 5 or 6 records in less than a minute. How long would all of that take in Traktor or Serato?!?! As a DJ your ears are better than ANY keying software.

Unless you have chromatically perfect hearing, you can't use you ears. The old standby of "listening if tracks are compatible" is asinine. You're seriously telling me you can perfectly key-match 5-6 tracks a minute? What a joke. Maybe it works if you're playing tone deaf beats like hip hop or rap, but put two tech or trance melodies that are significantly out of key with each other, and they'll clash, hard. But you'll only really begin to hear the clash as the tune progresses over the process of the blend. It's not like beatmatching where you just backcue the tune a few times and you've heard it all.

The people who bash on harmonic mixing are hilarious, I can't tell you how many "I just select tracks that work well" twats throw down key-clashed "blends" that "sound great together" because theyre two completely different scales. Sure, a backspin with some shouting over the mic doesn't require a ton of planning, but a solid 1-2 minute tech blend needs to be in the realm of the same root to avoid sounding like you're trying to blend a jet into an ocean. We've been doing this for ages, but people still can't be bothered to understand the basics of tonal theory.

**kooper1980** · 01-17-2013, 06:32 AM

Originally Posted by Shishdisma

You're seriously telling me you can perfectly key-match 5-6 tracks a minute?

No thats not what im saying at all. Im saying that if ive got a track playing and i want to choose my next track it takes roughly 10 seconds of playing a new track to decide if its compatible or not. In the days of vinyl this is exactly what you did. Choose a vinyl, listen to it for a few seconds and then decide if it will fit. Repeat until you find a viable track.

And what do you think DJ's used to choose compatible tracks before key finding software? modern DJ's didnt invent harmonic mixing. They mearly have access to software that does the work for you. You dont need a PHD in music theory either. Experience of your music library and years of digging out tracks is sufficient.