Mixing Harmonically ... I never really see it discussed here.

[jshawpro]

We can all agree that there is much more too the art than that, but It is nice information to have and use appropriately

I agree. And I can't believe (not you, Emery) that people, because you bring up a post about harmonic mixing, assume that you would go live with 2 songs of the same key code even though it sounds like crap. That's ridiculous!

Sorry about my bitterness there, Emery ... I'm going to look up KeyFinder if it's available for Mac. I use Rapid Evolution 3 Beta. And it's fairly accurate. If nothing else ... It will save me from manually typing in the codes myself (when I import a lot songs) ... even wrong ones ... I'll then start prepping my new additions ... and a part of that process is verifying key manually on the songs I feel unsure about.

Then I feel nice and warm inside ... I'd rather have key code information than my songs locked to a grid ... I can manually beatmatch ... But I don't have time while out there live to keep trial and error cue'ing until I find something that provides the shift of energy or emotion that I'm searching for. I'd rather go right to a set of options ... that are all likely to provide the texture that I want.

Thanks for sharing your insight!

[Jester]

Keyfinder is awesome. I used MiK for some years before switching. Way faster and just as, if not more accurate results.

[jshawpro]

I really do recommend manually keying tracks.. you will probably learn a lot. 99% of everything uses either Major mode, or aeolian mode (natural minor scale - like the major scale but flat 3, flat 6, and flat 7) - for example C major is all the white keys on the piano starting on C, and A minor is all the white keys on the piano starting on A. Must be why so many tracks are in A minor or 8A!

Thanks for your suggestion there, Liam ... Great tidbits of intel. My production experience has taught me a lot (definitely not proficient) but a lot about scales ... chords ... progressions ... musical theory in general.

I DEFINITELY know the basics. Within the first WEEK of learning Traktor (no prior experience spinning) .. I recognized a personal necessity to know the key of everything in my library ... at that point ... I had never EVEN heard of a key code ... mixed in key ... none of that. And it wasn't because my stuff sounded bad ... my ears defend that. It was because I wanted MORE control over my library. When I feel like the crowd is ready for something ... I want to deliver ... in the EXACT way that I hear it in my head.

When I concluded the first post of this thread with:
"There's a lot more to it than moving around the wheel 1 hour at time" ... I wasn't giving out advice ... It was my hope that people would read what I wrote before that ... And recognize that ... Ok he knows the basics ... and wants to talk about some of the more meticulous / less obvious, more advanced points and ideas concerning harmonics AND mixing.

But nope. "IT'S BEEN DISCUSSED BEFORE." and I'm like ...

[Emery]

I agree. And I can't believe (not you, Emery) that people, because you bring up a post about harmonic mixing, assume that you would go live with 2 songs of the same key code even though it sounds like crap. That's ridiculous!

Sorry about my bitterness there, Emery ... I'm going to look up KeyFinder if it's available for Mac.
Thanks for sharing your insight!

No, you're right man, there a lot of people I've seen on here bashing harmonic mixing completely. I think it can be abused, but at the same time can add a lot to a mix. It can give it that "musical journey" feel.

http://www.ibrahimshaath.co.uk/keyfinder/
Damn that took me forever to find! I swear every time I look for Keyfinders website it takes 10 different searches. But yes they have a version for mac, its what I use. The only thing - If you want to use the Camelot keys you have to put them in manually. I recommend checking the settings before you start using it anyway

Keyfinder is awesome. I used MiK for some years before switching. Way faster and just as, if not more accurate results.

I never actually used MIK but thats good to hear! Normally during these discussions Keyfinder isn't even considered. Probably because its freeware so they can only market by word of mouth. I believe some guy made the program for his dissertation or something?

[Cook]

Practice, use your ears when you practice, ive about 150 tracks ill take with me every set, (CD DJ) i know what ones mix well into which, by practicing and using your ears, yes you can punt them through a program, but then the program is picking tracks for you, not your brain

[Joel Santos]

Sorry in advance jshawpro since you're looking for advanced opinions.

I must say... never expected these kind of topics around this forum. This all seems a new thing to me. I've had music theory classes as a child and now I kind of play guitar and now how things work around rock and such but to be fair I never thought about danceable music as... well... notes and scales! Of course it's obvious that all works around that but never took the time to think about it. It's pretty interesting to think on a gig harmonically.

Can anyone provide me some blog articles or something? Or maybe keywords to search for?

By the way... how do you practice your ear? I kind of know how major, minor, pentatonic... scales work and sound on a guitar but on danceable music? Kind of a lame and noob question I know. Just trying to find out the best methods.

[AllDay]

Everyone is so gun hoe about MIK and keying your tracks. But nobody talks about drum patterns or music theory.

The pattern of a perticular song plays almost as much of a part if not more to mixing.

[jshawpro]

It can give it that "musical journey" feel.

EXACTLY!! I should've said that ... as opposed to my attempt at articulating that emotion by saying "magic and epic". That's all I really want to do ... harness that energy ... So I can fire off that emotion at anytime I choose. Rather than a whole lot of planning ... which I still and will do ... or creating it with the same songs that I already know work together ... BORING to your regulars.

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts / experience. I'm pulling up Key Finder right after I type this. Can't wait to try it out! I'll share my thoughts / results if the mods will allow me to. I can give it a very sound comparison to Rapid Evolution 3 ... which I've been using for a while now. I can't speak about MIK, either. I was going to just do it manually rather than pay for something that was around 50% accurate. 100% accuracy if I do it myself. Glad these analyzers are out there, though.

MUCH LOVE, Emery!

[jshawpro]

Practice, use your ears when you practice, ive about 150 tracks ill take with me every set, (CD DJ) i know what ones mix well into which, by practicing and using your ears, yes you can punt them through a program, but then the program is picking tracks for you, not your brain

Thanks for the suggestion Hoodless ... I practice every day! And actually ... MY being so in tune with my library and already knowing good matches ... was one of the main reasons I decided to revamp my strategy. I found myself taking less risks and playing the same little routines that I already knew worked. I got bored of this. And after my seasonal gigs ended last fall ... I upgraded to the latest Traktor and opted not to import ANYTHING from the previous version that I had established.

I don't want to be predictable. I had a lot regulars last year that don't wanna hear the same gimmicks every week. I learned to play the crowd. I also keep key neutral drum beats that I produce in Ableton on deck ready .. to move myself into a favorable position when I'm "trapped". Scary some times .. But I find it more rewarding ... and when I did mess up ... I'd own it ... and learn from it.

Thanks for the feedback!

[jshawpro]

Everyone is so gun hoe about MIK and keying your tracks. But nobody talks about drum patterns or music theory. The pattern of a perticular song plays almost as much of a part if not more to mixing.

Drum patterns, timing, rhythm, complex syncopation ... were aspects of music that, even as a kid, somehow I naturally "understood" ... or felt rather.

But I remember being in middle school ... I got in trouble a lot so they gave me a Tuba and put me in the school band for like a hobby and shit. I LOVED IT. I deservingly, got kicked out for poor behavior. But I can still recall the feeling I got the first time I heard all the different sections harmonize simultaneously. It was truly a life changing moment. LITERALLY .. fully surrounded and enveloped by such POWERFUL, beautiful frequencies ... those wavelengths reached through my shirt ... and grabbed my soul. I've been chasing it ever since! It's still magic to me.

Kind of gay .. but true story!