Transpose songs without losing bitrate?

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
1

Transpose songs without losing bitrate?

I have Serato but I don’t have Pitch 'n Time. There are a few songs that I’ve bought that I want in a different key. I’ve found websites on the internet that transpose your music for free into whatever key you want, but the bitrate goes down to 192. Mine are 320 (bought off of beatport) and I don’t want them any lower than that.

One of my friends has VirtualDJ, which does let you switch keys with the tap of a button. Is my best option asking him to play my songs in the key I want, record them, and then send me the files? Surely there’s an easier way? Perhaps a free program you can download? All I need is a program that will shift the key without damaging the quality of the song.

2

Learn how to use your software. Serato has Pitch N Time which does precisely what you are describing.

3

That’s the expansion pack. It’s what I meant to say with ‘Mixed in Key.’ And I can’t afford it at the moment after all that music I just bought. Surely there’s another way?

4

Audacity.

5

Ableton Live will do this. You’ll have to export to a .wav file, then convert that to a 320 .mp3.

6

I don’t have that. I do have another friend that does but he’s really busy and I don’t want to bother him. I’m going to try Audacity; hopefully it works.

7

You can d/l Live Lite for free.

8

Can you transpose with Lite?

I spent the last two hours or so with Audacity. It works but there are tiny errors in the audio that really bug me. Like it sounds like the bass drum is getting hit twice sometimes. It also makes using the sync button impossible (and no, I don’t intend to start any discussion on the topic of syncing).

The download speed for lite is about 2 days time, and I don’t have 2 days. I’m going to try and use VirtualDJ.

9

I’m not 100% sure. Live Lite does not include Complex, or Complex Pro warping, but you should be able to transpose using the Tones or Texture Warping Algorithm.

Download it and give it a go.

10

Stop trying to fit square pegs into round holes. You are far too focused on harmonic mixing. Worry about beat matching and phrasing. Changing the key of tracks so they fit sounds like way too much time and effort spent on the wrong thing. Learn the basics and be confident in them. Harmonic mixing comes much later in the process.

11

Absolutely bang on!

I’ve got this far without worrying too much about harmonic mixing..
It’s a far advanced function of DJ’ing.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

12

I would never ever, ever, ever change the key of the song that the producer originally intended it to be personally.

To “mix in key” try and find a song that actually matches the song you’re trying to mix… rather than change the song.

13

First of all, all of these songs I’d be only transposing a half step or a whole step. So I’d hardly be ruining the producer’s intentions.

Second, I’m really surprised that you guys consider harmonic mixing to be “advanced.” If two songs with very different key signatures are mixed, it sounds awful to me right away. I figured that it was the first step, even before beatmatching, but maybe that’s because I’m a musician. I mean, it’s also quite simple, just only choose the songs that are in one of the acceptable keys (the same key, a fourth or a fifth away, or the relative major/minor). Much easier than beatmatching or mixing with EQs or even playing with effects. I guess I’ll try and not worry about it.

Edit: so VirtualDJ records at 192 bpm. For a couple of the tracks I’m just going to have to mix during the long intro/outtros when the bass has cut out. For the rest I’m just going to have to pick songs that are in the right keys.

14

A lot of us managed perfectly fine before computers worked out the key for us, sometimes ya just had to know what you were playing, and ya kinda just ‘knew’ what sounded well with other tracks. The transpose thing is definitely your musician coming out.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

15

this!!!

16

you are not the one choosing the music. The computer is. You should just load a playlist and put it on cruise if that’s the case.

17

with enough exposure to your tracks and practicing with them you know what works and what doesn’t work. There is no way I would rely on a piece of software (that may or may not be right) to find my next track.

18

I’m not sure I follow…

19

you are letting a piece of software dictate what you play next. That should NEVER happen. You are the one in charge. You are the one dictating the flow.

You are using harmonic mixing as a short cut. There are no short cuts. (other than the sync button). Learn your music. Play often. Listen to what sounds good together. Make notes. Train your ears. If you are a musician then you have no need for the software.

PS: alot of us, including myself, come from classic music backgrounds. Some of us played in bands. So don’t think that you are the only one.

20

Sounds like you guys have similar backgrounds, but are coming at harmonic mixing at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Try to meet somewhere in the middle! :wink:

I understand not wanting to RELY on software for harmonic mixing, and, I understand TRUSTING software to match compatible tracks. But the truth is, you need to take a bit from column a, and a bit from column b.

If you try 2 songs together without checking the key first, and it sounds like shit, then, big deal? You now know they won’t match, and you won’t try 'em together again. What have you lost? 30 seconds, max?

Conversely, if you use key matched mixing ONLY, then you run the risk of having a song mis-analysed, and then you’ll NEVER pick it for mixing with that song that it goes absolutely PERFECT with!

Also - how many mixes are outro-to-into, drums only mixes? The key of the tracks when this is the case is (largely) irrelevant anyway.

Basically, don’t rely solely on key matched mixes. There are a TON of ways to mix clashing tunes, anyway. And the truth is, sometimes, the PERFECT song to play next IS in a clashing key - but that’s where your skill and creativity comes in.

And, sometimes, just sometimes, it is perfectly acceptable to change the key of a track using a separate piece of software. Just don’t end up with 24 versions of very track you own!!! :laughing: