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Mixtape Planner App
I wanted to share with you a simple app that I created for planning a mixtape. The tool arranges tracks given to it according to a target curve (default uses the energy value added to the comment tag by Mixed in Key) in a way where the transitions are in key. You can find the app here: https://gadgetmies.github.io/mixtape_planner/. I have thus far only used the app for testing and have not created any mixtapes using the results, but the results have been interesting and seem valid.
f you just want to see the planner in action, click the "Parse" button, adjust the parameters and click the "Generate order" button at the bottom.
In order to use the planner for planning your own mixtapes, create a playlist in Traktor and export it as a webpage (you should be able to use the CSV output from Serato also, but I do not have Serato and thus am unable to give instructions for that). The simplest way to use the planner is to make it order the tracks according to the energy level added to the comments tag by Mixed in Key. To do this, you need to configure Mixed in Key to add the energy level to the comments by selecting one of the options that includes the energy level in "What to write" the Update tags list and select the "Overwrite comments" option in the "Where to write it" list. After you have done this and updated the tags, create a playlist in Traktor and export it as a webpage. You need to include the title, artist, key and comment -columns in the export. After exporting, select all the rows in the table (including the headers) and paste that into the text box in the app and click parse. If everything goes well, you should now be able to see the the tracks and parameters that the app will use to generate the tracklists. Adjust the parameters to your liking and then click the "Generate order" button. After some time the app should list a few suggestions for tracklists. (Phew, that was a lot of instructions. Should probably make a tutorial video or something to explain this (or design a better UI...))
Anyway, thought I'd share the app here to hopefully get your thoughts, ideas and feedback!
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Cool! Had a bit of trouble getting it working (just pasting the input crashes the app, one needs to leave the table headers) and I use the rating for "mood" so I used this JS snippet to convert it to nr's:
Code:
.replace(/\t(\*+)(\n|$)/g, w => `\t${w.trim().length}\n`)
But very cool man, the result looked pretty legit, will try it out!
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Cool app! Although I must admit I am not the intended audience because for me, manually doing this work is one of the things that make making the mixtape a joy. Maybe for those who are making weekly mixtapes just as a showcase of new tracks this will be of big help to automate that.
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I'm really honestly sorry, but this is just ....
I first started with vinyl and there was the combined skill of mixing and/or scratching [never mastered scratching], plus YOU choose the songs and what order. Those were the fundamental skills of DJ'ing.
I hated CDJ's, and during that time I took a sabatical doing fatherly duties and what-not. When I came back in 2011 I got a Traktor setup and embraced the sync feature, and that gave you time to be more creative and use effects, etc. There was an additional skill in choosing tracks that didn't key clash, but hey you can now match keys
For me the ULTIMATE grass-roots skill is YOU choosing the tracks and ordering them. Playing the right track at the right time. I'm from the Balearic school of DJing. How AMAZING it was when a great DJ just dropped that track that you weren't expecting but really worked. They might cut it in and not mix, since it was a different BPM that couldn't be beat matched. Those are the great sets. I mean, what is the point? Why not do an app and give it the genres you like and tell it to choose some music for you from Beatport/Traxsource/Wherever. Tell it to order it, and do some nice mixes. I mean, come on. Where is the human skill?
I'm sorry, I know you will say... in this situation, etc, but every fibre of my being is saying NO.
