Harmonic mixing

[TwistedPanda]

I find that 8 times out of 10, if I've got a song playing and I'm thinking about what would sound good with it, I end up picking something that is in a compatible key. The only time anymore that I make sure I'm checking the MIK numbers is when I want to do the "Energy Boosting Mix" that they describe on the site where you go 2 numbers forward on the Camelot Wheel to give the mix a key change.

[rt24]

I have Mixed in Key and I key all of my tracks, but I don't always mix harmonically. Let's say I am doing a new set with X amount of songs, sometimes I won't always have that perfect next key to transition to, which I think is pretty common for many people.

Simply put, I try to mix harmonically when I see an opportunity, but I won't orient my set entirely around mixing harmonically.

[sebastiannz]

I do. I almost always harmonic mix unless I'm doing a wedding or highschool dance or something where it really doesn't matter. I love the transitions in between songs with fitting keys and the way they blend together very nicely. The Camelot system known for being used by mixed in key software is very helpful. I do own a copy of mixed in key but it isn't even close to accurate enough for my taste... I find it makes a lot of mistakes and so I use a piano and find all of the keys to my songs myself, by ear.

same...I don't think software is accurate enough and it only takes under 30 seconds to key a track anyway. Plus it trains your ears. If you don't know the key of a track but have spent hours keying tracks, I think you'll find it easier to pick a track taht will go well.

I think there should be a golden rule though...always mix based on the best track for the moment, regardless of key.

[Jester]

Harmonic all the way. Especially for trance.

[iamscenic]

I've never heard of this Camelot Wheel until this thread. I suppose it helps if you have no music theory knowledge, but IMO knowledge of music theory makes you a better musician and, in turn, DJ.

I will personally go to a keyboard and find the key of ANY song I import into my iTunes library at the time of importing. I then mark it in the Comments section which is really helpful because in Traktor you can sort songs by their Comments and see an alphabetical list of songs in their respective keys.
I always list in the relative major key. For example, if the song is in C minor I write "Eb / C m" since E flat major is the relative major key of C minor. This way, it doesn't matter if the song is in C minor or Eb major, I now have a list of songs that will all sound fantastic together because they use the same scale of notes regardless of mode!

Initially, notating all the keys for my library was a pain because I had so many to do at once, but disciplining myself to always doing it on a new song has made it effortless.

[josh@firestorm]

Especially for trance.

just ask tiesto

[fullenglishpint]

I've never heard of this Camelot Wheel until this thread. I suppose it helps if you have no music theory knowledge, but IMO knowledge of music theory makes you a better musician and, in turn, DJ.

It's great. It means that no matter how fucked your mind gets from a mixture of tiredness, alcohol, substance abuse, getting beaten up or run over by a car, you can still mix in key because it's based on a system you learned when you were 5 - counting from 1-12

[Kh3MiC4L]

its really good if your playing a new track you don't know about it ...its like brainless mixing !

[Gryz]

I have used MIK a few times, had about 50% accuracy at best. Now I lean over and take about 5 seconds on my keyboard to find the correct key.

I don't use a camelot wheel or anything like that, I have been playing piano since age 4, so I am big on mixing perfect thirds, fifth, half steps not so much. It all really depends on the song I guess.

[itskindahot]

hey there.

i mix harmoically like 90% of the time. just sounds better

not if you engage key lock