How important is harmonic mixing.
I’m getting more into Mash up mixing and really looking for those smooth unnoticeable transitions between tracks. My question is how much is this linked to harmonic mixing for the mix to barely be distinguishable to the crowd. Like people don’t even realize the song has changed unless they’re really paying attention.
In the end this is only my opinion. However I feel that certain genres lend themselves to un-noticeable transitions, blends, mixes what-have-you. Doing mash-ups I feel is about creating dynamic energy that is noticeable. Even when I do 4 deck minimal/tech house people will know that somethings changed. I feel the idea is to minimize the impact of said transition. However that needs to be counterbalanced with WHAM! moments where its really obvious that something incredible just happened. So now on to your question harmonic mixing…Its important as a concept but in the end don’t get hung up on a fancy term. I don’t rely on it. I rely on something Ive known since my time spinning vinyl…my ears. If it sounds good then it sounds good, don’t get hung up on why. It helps to know, but in the end I highly doubt that Johnny and Susie at the club are going to be like WOW! that DJ is amazing! His harmonic mixing is insane. They wont know, just make em dance my friend! I apologize if that’s the worst answer ever.
yeah it really depends on the music you’re mixing. if there’s a lot of harmony to the music and want to take your mixes a step further into the “storytelling” zone, harmonic mixing is a must. regardless of the vocals (if any), the right change in harmonics can induce a feeling inside someone simply by how the songs interact with each other. if you just want something funky, then it’s meh.
for mashup mixing, harmonic is essential, because you will be layering.
harmonic mixing should be instinctual. one of the factors that are a deciding factor of whether or not two songs clash are their key value even though it’s not really something i put a lot of thought into.
i don’t go through the bother of labelling my tracks by key because there so many other variables of what makes 2 songs go well together and what makes a group of say 4 songs progress into the next 4 songs succesful that key shouldn’t be the defining deciding factor of how one structures their set… it should be more of a second nature comparible to how one beatmatches and other necessary skills needed to create smooth transitions that should be instinctual rather than the main concentration of one’s focus.
in most respects it is, but in some it is not. you may “know” the keys don’t clash, or that one builds up more energy when layered with another, but most people don’t know what exact key it is (note value). knowing key values and having them stored in something like ID3 tags or the like is similar to having BPM values, you can do it by ear, but having it in front of you saves some time.
yeah but although mixing songs that only have the same bpm or key may save you time, it also cuts out experimenting possibilities by working within such a rigid structure. This is just my opinion but I don’t think saving time by cutting out healthy experimenting is very conducive for the creative process. This can be detrimental to a DJs progress if they wish to voyage outside of A-B single genre mixing into more complex eclectic mixing.
mixing harmonically adds only another element to your repertoire as a dj.
when i first bought mixed in key, i felt like it changed my life as a traktor dj. but after listening to mixes i recorded and listening to some friends’ feedback, i discovered that i’d been depending on long, boring, well-keyed blends so much that my mixes lost a sense of dynamic movement.
that was about a year ago, and these days i’ve found a better balance with how much i depend on harmonic mixing vs. other ways to blend music. to me, keying my selections together isn’t super essential, but since the capability is available to me, i’ll use it to save time trying to decide what to play next.
+1 for that, you have a good point dude, and i can’t say i disagree.
I’ve found it’s just added one more tool to my skill set. It makes me more likely to do longer blends, or try and mix vocals or something. I really enjoy it and think it has made my mixing more spot on. I’d recommend it.