I need help understanding the whole mixed in key thing...

**keithace** · 12-31-2012, 03:05 AM

I need help understanding this...

http://forum.djtechtools.com/showthread.php?t=65460I

two people recommended to a person new to mixing to get a mixed in key program...

(Yes I understand that at some point, and to some people, that knowing the keys to your tracks can be a valuable tool.)

Did I miss the memo?

**Ed Paris** · 12-31-2012, 03:47 AM

i wouldn´t recommend mik to someone who is just starting out at all. imho it´s best to teach your ears and not let a software (that isn´t always detecting the right keys) do that for you. i understand why some find it useful but i for myself wouldn´t want to use mik or similar.

**ksandvik** · 12-31-2012, 04:05 AM

Yes. If you mix for example techno and tech house, you seldom need any key info as the keys are very atonal and anything works with anything. For nu-disco and more old school house you sometimes need key info but you could get by even then with mixing pure drums on top of the more melodic second part.

Anyway, old school DJs didn't have Mixed in Keys and hey they DJ:ed all night long, night after night...

**Volpe** · 12-31-2012, 04:08 AM

I got all my tracks tagged by MIK. I use it when i ran out of ideas what next song would fit into my mix. I just look for tracks in the same key then and choose one of those. Very helpful but i fear it might be a bit restricting. Thought about hiding the tags more than once.

**Nicky H** · 12-31-2012, 04:52 AM

Yep I tried it and I was ordering playlists by key but found it was actually limiting my next choice.
Don't use it anymore and I just play whatever I think will sound good - like I always have done.

Yes it could be useful to some people, but I've never even tought about what key a track is before so don't really need to know now.

**HigherFi** · 12-31-2012, 06:35 AM

I love it. Best $60 I've ever spent.

**squidot** · 12-31-2012, 07:32 AM

it seems you've basically done this in several threads already and it's very clear you dislike programs like mik. oh, and you're the same guy who blanket judged keying software users by alluding they are thieves.

Originally Posted by keithace

these dudes don't pay for their music...come on...

now paying for "tag and rename"...yes please...

you already know why it's useful to people as i, and others have explained our reasons in various other threads, either devoted to the subject or delivered via a tangent. you even said you understand why some people use it right in this post. those are the same reasons that you can tell a beginner to consider the software. why do you get to be the one who decides what's the right point to tell djs about keying software? it can surely be brought to their attention at any time and they can make their own informed decision on the matter when they are ready.

it's fine if you don't like or want to use keying software. it's fine if you want to tell other users why you don't use them. it's even fine if you want to present an argument of why they shouldn't use them, but you are flat out telling people they are wrong when they aren't and some of it is certainly subjective.

Originally Posted by dfinch805

Also if you use a program for mixing in key, that can help determine what works well together.

Originally Posted by keithace

Please stop telling people that. It's not true.

how is that not true? a keying program CAN and WILL HELP determine what tracks work well together harmonically a decent amount of the time in my experience. is it accurate 100% of the time? no, but it's pretty good imho. does mik limit my track selections per each transition? yes, and that's part of the point of why i use it. if i'm in my deep funky house playlist, with hundreds of tracks...i don't really want all 500 of those tracks to be candidates for my next selection as i know many of them won't work anyhow. i want a narrowed focus and key is a part of that, along with bpm, energy level (which i also note), and what my ears and brain thinks. now, i usually have quite a bit of selections to choose from even when using these filters so i'm not overly limited by them. considering that, if i think a song marked with an incompatible key will sound good, and my ears approve of it, then i will use it. like anything else, it's a tool and can be used to varying degrees from never to always. it's up to each person to decide what's best for them.

this is a place where a community of users with a variety of ideas come together and share their methods and thoughts with djs both new and old. maybe you should take some of your own words and apply them to this subject:

Originally Posted by keithace

Can't we just let everyone find their own way as far as gear is concerned?

i have been using mik for about a year since i got more heavily into controller/software djing and farther away from vinyl and cds and it's been a great tool for me. it's great for others as well, and it can be great for new djs if we let them know it exists.

**photojojo** · 12-31-2012, 08:53 AM

Thread started at 2:05 AM.

**keithace** · 12-31-2012, 12:03 PM

bottom line: people new to the music and buying the music should in no way, shape or form be concerned with what key their tracks are in...

thank you and good day...