Mixing in Key?
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Thread: Mixing in Key?

  1. #1
    Tech Guru GI Trackt's Avatar
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    Default Mixing in Key?

    Can those of you who are more seasoned djs shed some light for us rookies on mixing in key? Transitioning between songs by bpm is what most people can do. I feel that planning sets based on bpm AND key, however, is not as common and should be something aspiring djs should work on?

    I saw Ean using the program "Mixed in Key" in one of his tutorials (showing how he organizes all his music). Can you guys give some advice on using this program and how important mixing in key really is?

    Thanks a lot in advance! Really appreciate the support on this forum. DJTT forum section itself is invaluable!
    Last edited by GI Trackt; 03-26-2011 at 08:46 PM.

  2. #2
    Tech Guru MrPopinjay's Avatar
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    Personally I feel that you're better off doing it yourself by ear. I mean you can tell if to tracks sound nice together or not and you'll get a good idea of the tracks you own which do after a while.

    At best those programs can only give you a pointer in the right direction, there's lots of other factors involved that would cause songs to clash and there is a degree of inaccuracy with all those programs that is certainly worth mentioning.

    Still, if you have money to spare and wanna try it out, go for it.

  3. #3
    DJTT Administrator del Ritmo padi_04's Avatar
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    Use it as a reference, not a rule. Key detection isn't 100% precise yet. So your ears are still the final judge. There are multiple threads discussing this in the forum. Hunt them

  4. #4
    Tech Guru GI Trackt's Avatar
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    Definitely. Yeah I'm always able to tell when two songs are clashing and don't sound right together. I was just wondering if labeling all my songs by key was a major component that I was missing out on. I wish I knew my theory (circle of fifthss , etc) better so I could be more technical with my music. Being a percussionist for more than 12 years, I only had to deal with rhythm, not pitch! Luckily band has trained my ear though. Thanks for the quick replies guys.

  5. #5
    Tech Guru MrPopinjay's Avatar
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    One thing I wanna add is that I found it incredibly limiting. I stood there and worried about the key and spent too much time thinking about accuracy and harmonics and whether or not they were correct instead of just thinking about the music and picking a damn track.

    oh. and tracks some times have key changes.

  6. #6
    Tech Guru GI Trackt's Avatar
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    Nice. good looking out MrPopinjay. Not as stressed about the key any more. It all just comes back to just the MUSIC and practice! Thanks.

  7. #7

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    Do what I do sometimes, Toss in some songs and try to work it out. I got a 5A to transition into a 9A
    Only got it since the bassline had that note in there and it was only the bassline with some effects and sounded AWWWWEEESOME
    /人◕‿‿◕人\
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  8. #8

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    Keys are there as a reference, not a rule. If you know two songs go well together but they have different keys then follow your ear, not a piece of software. From what I've heard, Mixed in Key is about 80% correct, which is good enough. It does help out a lot, especially if you're mixing tracks you're not too familiar with. But then again, if you're not trying to layer two harmonic parts together (like looping the intro kick snare of one song under another) key won't matter regardless. In the end, it comes down to using your ears and using the program as a tool, not a rule. It also comes down to your process and whether you're trying to layer two different harmonic sections. Even then, two songs might go through different progressions, so even if you know the key, you'll still have clashing harmonies because one song went from a C major chord to a D Minor and the other went from a C major chord to a B major chord, or something like that. So yeah, don't sweat it too much. In the end though, it's a pretty damn useful tool, and if you've got a bunch of songs and you're not too sure how to mix them up yet, it'll make things a lot simpler for you in the long run.

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