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Hello DJTT,
Recently started cleaning up most of my music, I've been adding specific genres instead of just HOUSE and fixing up names etc & I also made playlists based on when I got the music
but was wondering how do yous set up your playlists..
Can you give me an example: Like a screenshot, or Names of your playlist
Thank you
Short and sweet version.
I start by cleaning up my filers first and then tagging them with MiK, i.e
Artist - Track (Remixer) - Key - BPM
Then I run them through a program that's tags all the proper ID3 info so Traktor reads it properly
I then organize my files by genre, i.e. tech house, minimal, techno, soulful house, stripped back and so on.
From there I organize the tracks by the feeling/groove energy it has. i.e. early, opening, atmosphere, late, peak and so on.
So now I can pop in any folder, sort that folder by key, and start playing songs and not worry about it. Half the time I don't even know the track I'm playing, but I know it must belong in here and I've had to listen to it three times before it ends up in it's right location.
This works great at the beginning of the night, but when it comes to peak time I obviously know those tunes and know how to work. Just at the beginning/middle of the night I'm more concerned about the groove and vibe and not so much about the specific tracks
Thanks for that dude, very smart way of organizing your collection! BTW what program do you use to run your songs for Traktor?Quote:
Originally Posted by Nephew
thanks Nephew for helping me out on organizing, good method
anyone else wanna share their method?
For me in Traktor I have like 5 major playlists of "general" genre:
House
Prog
Techno
Trance
Breaks
I've successully placed 1000+ tracks into at least one of these general genre playlists. Im now going through all of them and tagging them in the comments section with their feel and characteristics (i.e. funky, banging, beach, heart, bass, etc)
During this process Im also cleaning out the collection to remove tracks I never or rarely play.
My goal is to have a general quick reference for the playlists to go to and then be able to narrow things down based on the characteristics of the music and how they make me feel or vibe they produce. In traktor that little search box above the preview button brings the tracks up by their keywords immediately at once!
Basically I play mainly hip hop and electroish house, all of those tracks are in one playlist which is about 1200 songs, I label specific tracks on how they feel, like "Bmore" or "banger" "downtempo" etc, then I have seperate playlists for genres that I have less music of/ dont often play like "dancehall/reggae" "New Jack Swing" "80s/90s"
and thats pretty much it. I jump around genres a lot so its helpful to just be able to sort by bpm in one big playlist and then I just play whatever catches my eye
My issue right now i have way too many sub-genres:
DANCE:
Breakbeats - Afrika Bamb
Booty Music - 2 Live Crew
Top 40 - Pitbull
etc.
Hip-Hop:
Old School (beastie boys, rakim, epmd)
Classic - Biggie, Nas,
Top 40 - Lil Wayne, Kanye
House
Tech House
Deep
Trendy
Tribal
etc.
It makes it easy to go to main crate and find songs within the subcrates and bounc around styles, but it's alot of folders. There's also disco, retro, reggae, etc. I do this all thru Itunes, but can't figure out a good way to bring in crates ands subcrates (sub folders) into Traktor. Itch does this great with Itunes. Then I just use the ratings stars. 5 = banger 4= really good 3 = warm up, 2 = filler. anything else I delete aftera while because I know I'll never play it (some I keep just incase of requests).
So i can go to my hip hop main folder sort all my 4's and 5's and bounce from old school to lil wayne rather easily. I still have to get on MIK and do the key stuff.
It's time consuming for sure.
i was really organized for awhile but have recently fallen back into my old habits lol... so i'll share how my method from when i am organized heheh
-first it's organized by date(Month/Year) folder
- then inside the date folder is genres (electro/house, techno, breaks, dubstep, idm/glitchhop, d&b, hiphop, nudisco, and other(usually indie rock, experimental and oldies)
-within the genre folders i also have a "AAA" folder for the songs that stand out to me most so i can easily access them if i forget their names (which is more often than not)
i avoid breaking it down even further into sub-genres or by artist/album/ep. so long as everything is divided up amongst their major genre branches and more importantly, the date i acquired them, that is more than adequate for me.
/quickQuote:
Originally Posted by duerr
/quick list
/frequent
these names could work and they would be up top
I've recently started using iTunes' Smart Playlist function for creating playlists based on genres. I tag all my music with the correct genre, then I make lists with parameters like "genre is house or progressive house but not electro house" etc. I also make sure to only include "checked items" so that I can uncheck songs that don't belong on a dance floor or that I really don't want to play.
I also use ratings.
If you use iTunes for music managing this might be useful for you.
All great info. Thanks a lot.
While the idea has been touched on, it wasn't specifically mentioned (and it sounds kinda lame) but it's what I do
I comment on the "darkness" or how "light" or "bright" a song is, coupled with a selection of primary colors I feel would be combined in a lightshow, if one were going and dedicated to that song, and the first color usually being the main color, with subsequent colors adding in some flavor. I used to code with "orange," "aqua," "purple," etc, but was very inconsistent and found primary colors made it easier to transition from a dark set to a light set as you increase bpm, energy, etc.
9a - deep dark red blue -- would be something like a dimly lit blood / purple vibe
8a - bright yellow red -- something like a high energy dance
gives me something to shoot for when i want to keep the styles of the songs the same while mixing in key.
this method, used in conjunction with
http://www.crayonroom.com/moody.php
has sped up my commenting / rating process immensely. you can rename the colors seen in the screenshots to incorporate the above process, and it allows you to preselect songs based on how you color-coded them.
2c
:eek: Never been into visuals much but this is crazy cool.Quote:
Originally Posted by completej
Quote:
Originally Posted by theory28
not sure what you mean
basically the most recent songs that you like and what quick access to...you throw it into the AAA playlist, or if your going through your library and found a gem ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by duerr
aaah okay. gotchaQuote:
Originally Posted by Santos10
anyone else want to add their organization? im loving peoples ideas
maybe a screenshot or 2 :D
I was using my Windows music library until now, and organized everying into files by gendre, and giving no's to each folder ie; (Funky house 1) (Funky house 2) and so on. I no them according to how old they are, the latest ones being the higher no's. Although recently under suggestion from Karlos Santos I downloaded Itunes, and started to organize everything there. I think I just started a big challenge, thats gonna take me hours to sort out, but once done will be much easier or me I think.
Is there a way of organising tracks in Itunes by key? I've never used it before, but downloaded it because of everyone's recommendations here, but I haven't found any way of showing the key of the song.
I normally run my tracks through Mixed in Key then sort them out that way using windows files (Initial Key).
you cant display the "key" field in itunes
i place the key in the front of the comments, so sorting by comments takes care of that
or just searching for a track with "9a " ... and itll list it
Jeez. I must be the only person in the world who doesn't get Apple products.
I can't see myself going through all my tracks again just so I can use them in Itunes. It's taken me nearly a year and a half to rip all my vinyl for Gods sake.
If you use Mixed In Key it will place the key in the comment field. You can also put the key in any field you like in iTunes. Just because it's not called key doesn't mean you can't use it for a key field.Quote:
Originally Posted by Archies'bald
I again have slippped out of the way of things and now I ma messed up with my playlist from taking a small break. However I have my own radio show and therefore have to have my music back and organised this week by the time I start airing again.
I have a folder for my radio station in Itunes
Blast 106.4fm
I then write the exact date of the Broadcast I am going to play this tune on (not the day I got the tune)
I then Genre each track within the playlist usually with a loose basis like House or Trance unless I would be planning on playing the track out live.
I used to use mixed in key (even though I never really used it for Dj'ing but just to get teh BPM's but after it messed up my entire Itunes/traktor playlists (which i think is my fault anyway) though it created way to much hassle and confusion and it was like i was starting from scratch again and couldn't function a proper set because i had to search for it on my drive and then drag and drop it into traktor.
Can be easy to do in MIK if you don't pay attention to all the options about overwriting and placing keys.Quote:
Originally Posted by manus
MiK > mp3Gain > Beer > Play
Fixed.Quote:
Originally Posted by JesterNZDJ
Lol true. Got my priorititties wrong :p
MiB
What is "Mixed in Key"? where can I download it bro? I'm trying to find a smart way to really clean up, and manage my music properly so that it will be alot simpler and better for djing.Quote:
Originally Posted by photojojo
^ Internet superhero.Quote:
Originally Posted by JesterNZDJ
just found this today on the internedts today..
It works KILLER for tunes that arn't in a playlist but in your library in Itunes.
started it this evening and burned through a bunch. Almost quick enought to start from square one again.Quote:
try this:
create a new "smart playlist".
For the first option, choose "Playlist". the second option should be "is not", and the third option should be one of your playlists.
Then push the "+" button to add a new rule. the first option and second option should ALWAYS be the same ("Playlist", "is not", respectively), and the third option should be another playlist. Repeat the process until you have one rule per playlist.
The result is a new playlist with songs that dont exist in any other playlist!
by the way, I used to HATE itunes...until today.
http://www.mixedinkey.com/ Doesn't really organize you songs, but it will tell you what key they're in to make your mixes better.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dustin V
Some reading
http://www.djtechtools.com/2007/12/1...mixing-in-key/
http://www.djtechtools.com/2009/11/0...are-smackdown/
cheers thanks alot dude! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by photojojo
Its a great tool. If you have a lot of tunes to process it does take some time at the start but if you process them straight away its no issue. You can even display the results in you deck view if you store the results in the "Comments" section.
http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/y...g?t=1287111321
Thanks guys, I checked out Mik but its not free, I didnt see sense in buying the Windows version when I'm going to be getting a Mac soon. So instead I downloaded RE. We'll see how well it works.
Rapid Evolution is free.
Does the same thing.
People have much to say about these programs....which is better etc.
RE works for me......most of the time. The APP itself is java based and can be a bit funky on the MAC.
Just got the java update for OSX...so lets hope that sorts it.
Is re worth using?
Or alternatively, use the usual key tags and tweak the deck view items to display one of them :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by JesterNZDJ
Hey sarasin, I did download RE, I havnt started using it yet though, doing a major overdue library clean up first.Quote:
Originally Posted by sarasin
BTW you from Cape Town hey? I'm originally from Durban. ;)