Keys of songs?

[fellis]

the new beatport beta will also "crowd source" key information (given inaccuracies in key detection software), which is an awesome announcement (imo)

What we really need is an Itunes plugin that will retrieve this data for us, that would be epic

[Saoudi]

The only way to really do it is to learn some music theory. Every other method is pretty poor and this way you'll develop a much greater and more useful skill set.

Hey, you could even start making some tracks once you have a rude understanding of the basic concepts.

+1 on learning basic skills ... it really worths it ... i just need more time

[deevey]

The problem I see is that in the software it gives you Tone/Semitones as a basis for keymatching. Semitone/tones are not "that" accurate for harmonic mixing, certainly not when it comes to vocals or lead synths that may have been shifted in the first place. Its just good enough for a rough estimate and refine the Transpose by ear....

If we had the keys matches in Cents I might consider splashing out, you just cant beat the ears when it comes to something clashing.

[PeteWoods]

I'm currently using both the Beatport Beta system and Rapid Evo 3 and it seems to be working as a good system, only problem is that if you get it into your head that all your mixes have to be harmonic you can forget all too easily about the vibes of the track and put together a badly structured set as a result.

[Saoudi]

I'm currently using both the Beatport Beta system and Rapid Evo 3 and it seems to be working as a good system, only problem is that if you get it into your head that all your mixes have to be harmonic you can forget all too easily about the vibes of the track and put together a badly structured set as a result.

true that *palms head* i have been sucked into that idea several times forgetting everything else behind

[djproben]

Is there really much evidence of MIK being that inaccurate? MIK claims to be accurate, and I find the results of mixes using that information to be generally pleasing, but I also have little music theory knowledge and I couldn't tell you the pitch of something by ear, ever. So I couldn't tell you if the information provided by MIK is accurate or not; just that it seems to work well for me more often than not.

But I also try to focus a lot more on what I hear than on what MIK says -- some mixes sound off, but that can happen whether the key is matched or not. And some mixes sound great even if there's a key clash -- particularly when there are just a couple instruments left playing on the part of the track you're mixing.

[MrPopinjay]

Any classically trained musician will tell you it's generally nonsense.

You can tell by the fact that the melodies from two songs which are supposedly in key clearly are not when mixed together.

Also you could take songs you know the key of for sure and run those through the program and see what happens.

[djproben]

Any classically trained musician will tell you it's generally nonsense.

You can tell by the fact that the melodies from two songs which are supposedly in key clearly are not when mixed together.

Also you could take songs you know the key of for sure and run those through the program and see what happens.

I guess the question for me (as someone who has no classical training) is what constitutes the key of an entire song -- how does software account for key changes within a song?

[MrPopinjay]

It doesn't. All these programs only state one key no matter what which is an issue since there are songs with key changes (though it's not common in house music) and there are songs that don't have a key at all.

It's all a bit silly in my opinion. Still, if it works for you it works for you I guess. I tried it and got bogged down on lookin at the keys and such and forgot to actually mix. And on top of that it didn't seem to be nearly accurate enough to warrant the effort.

p.s. I don't have any classical training either. the misses is some music theory nerd and orchestral composer and some of the super basics are rubbing off on me.

[kooper1980]

I won't touch rapid evolution with a ten foot pole. I don't know what it was about the software when I had my PC, but it was the most glitchy and unresponsive thing I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with

The new beta version is solid as fuck. Not sure how accurate it is but it's not the slightest bit glitchy. RE2 was fucking horrible!!