FAO DJ's - r.e. Key Mixing

I don't usually tend to when CD or vinyl mixing.

A lot of the time, it would mean pre-gig-processing and pitch adjusting tracks.

If you're intro-outro mixing and tempo isn't a concern, it's useful to listen to how the tracks go together pitch-wise. Since I do a lot more of that when mixing chill, I do take it into account there.

New software and mixers have some interesting potential possibilities though (read the stuff on DJM800 in this section).
 
It's useful certainly to quickly find tracks that will complement each other, but equally you need to step out of the harmonic mixing wheel when the situation arises - the temptation is to just think in compatiable keys.

I tend to employ harmonic mixing techniques more often when recording demo sets as opposed to live.

With CD/Vinyl provided you know what key a track is in you can get away with about a +/- 3% pitch adjustment before you start sending the key so far out that you need to be rainman to work out where you are harmonically - not too bad for Psy as so many tunes are round 145bpm giving you a 141-149 bpm window more or less but once you get into downtempo stuff then if you are trying to match bpm and key then you'd better have a calculator handy.
 
There's nothing smoother than a transition between two tracks in the same or harmonically-related keys. I think though that if you're considering pre-processing or pitch-shifting tracks to get them into specific keys you're taking it way too far; processing artifacts are almost guaranteed to make a track unplayable if you pitch-shift more than a small amount, I think, and let's not even get into the 'original intention of the artist' lol. Besides, that would be the easy way out.
 
as long as it sounds good - whatever!

i think this means your getting too into it *speccy*

a good mix shifts into the next tune and continues the energy from the previous tune - this is the most important factor to consider

if you choose your tracks carefully with this in mind, they quite often ''key mix'' themselves :Smile3:
 
no way, i wouldnt bother going to the extreme of processing all my tracks to be in a certain key, I would just use key lock to keep it at the original key no matter what the pitch level was set at.

I would rarely do intro/outro mixes, usually beat mixing.

But ive started to categorise my tracks by their key so i know if I am playing a track in F then I can grab a track in C and it will mix well, am I concentrating on perfection too much?
 
druid said:
no way, i wouldnt bother going to the extreme of processing all my tracks to be in a certain key, I would just use key lock to keep it at the original key no matter what the pitch level was set at.

this makes mixing by ear very tricky, as most people subconciously use the pitch as a way to sync each track

i think you could use the key lock after they are in time

druid said:
But ive started to categorise my tracks by their key so i know if I am playing a track in F then I can grab a track in C and it will mix well, am I concentrating on perfection too much?

i would say 99.9% of the dancefloor wouldnt notice!!
 
i will take all this advise into consideration, I agree with the fun part being subtracted because if i stuck to the scientific part of it only then I wouldnt beable to jump to a certain track if it wasnt in a harmonic key....

But also, if 99% of the audience dont notice then that means you are doing something right.
 
i reckon it's just a case of knowing your tunes and what they do and sound like really well.

whenever i've played shite it's when i've played tracks i got that morning and gone "oooh thats nice"

12 hours later it's "ooooh bollocks"
 
They're all in the key of 'dugga' anywayz, no?

dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga

:Grin:





sorry.
 
bez23 said:
They're all in the key of 'dugga' anywayz, no?

dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga dugga

:Grin:





sorry.

dugga durrr i thought

or is it woom voom?
 
^^^^^

ALSO

THEY HAVE SPELT PSYCHEDELIC WRONG ON PSY FORUM

(check current mood box!!!)

....................
***this message was also not written by sparklefish or intended to be viewed as a post by sparklefish. any similarity between this post and a post by sparklefish is purely coincidental
and could in no way be construed as such a post. this post was in fact made by the forum poster currently known as superboss and was made as the result of a processing error. the main content of this post (the wrongness of the spelling of psychedelia)however still stands as correct.

***i thank you
 
i agree with the idea of matching harmonies / keys but depending what you are doing it can be different.

caeful use of the mid n bass eq can manage it smootherrrrrrrrrrrr if u want to

but like they say don't get toooooo technical cos u lose the fun element a bit

dave
 
Yeah Wot Mr 5 Said!!!

its usually easy to tell when it should or shouldn't be done!

Some tracks just go, some just don't, make your mind up on the fly, @ home!!

Sometimes it isn't best to do this @ a party, as its difficult to tell, with added pressure and thundering basslines!!....

I like to have an idea of tracks that "Go" together....
 
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