Mixing in Key

[stjohn]

a few have my mates who play kinda deeper, minimal techno (sorry for using that word) have started getting the key of tunes and keeping track of them. so for every 3% change on the pitch slider constitutes a semitone change. then they got a list of aesthically 'nice' note changes from some forum or other and play tracks in a certain order.

they are adiment that this can help with mixing tracks, but im a bit dubious of it to say the least. from what i can gather, its more to do with making them as Djs, feel a bit more 'intellectual' as performers

my argument to them was, you mix records that go well together anyway, or should, so in that sense you utilise some level of internal harmony.... instead of going by a set of rules.

and even if you accepted this as a good process, why if you are on a key of 'C' should your next track be in 'G' and not B flat or something.

could this be restricitve or a good idea?

[tonyc2002]

loads of dj's mix harmonically but i dont see any thing wrong with it. infact to be honest i think its quite clever.

[theledge]

would defo be restrictive if it got followed too far. I reckon in most cases your ear should tell you if two tracks sound good together. too many rules mean less happy accidents

could be useful to help you organize your tracks though, depends how seriously it's taken i suppose. i've never done it but different strokes and all that

i dont think 3% on the slider would give a semitone either ??

[MARK ANXIOUS]

i mix in key, i have done for many years. it takes alot of preperation (you must pitch every single record you get) and it truly develops 'perfect pitch' (which is a real skill - just do a google search for this on the internet and you'll see what i mean). this way of working has taught me alot i didn't know before i started it and has made me know for sure that mixes are going to go together (as well as homing my production skills on the old eq hehe). my whole record box is arranged in key. its damn hard work to do it each week, but to me - it's worth it.

that's for melody based music. but with drum based techno, this is such a hard thing to do. the problem is with drum based music, you can't find a pitch for it. it's really, really hard.

for those that want to learn how to mix, i would suggest not depending on this technique for sucess. but for those who want to go forward - please, please try it. it's alot of work, but defo do.

[Aratron]

i mix in key, i have done for many years. it takes alot of preperation (you must pitch every single record you get) and it truly develops 'perfect pitch' (which is a real skill - just do a google search for this on the internet and you'll see what i mean). this way of working has taught me alot i didn't know before i started it and has made me know for sure that mixes are going to go together (as well as homing my production skills on the old eq hehe). my whole record box is arranged in key. its damn hard work to do it each week, but to me - it's worth it.

that's for melody based music. but with drum based techno, this is such a hard thing to do. the problem is with drum based music, you can't find a pitch for it. it's really, really hard.

for those that want to learn how to mix, i would suggest not depending on this technique for sucess. but for those who want to go forward - please, please try it. it's alot of work, but defo do.

i think most acid techno is in the key of C. but thats all i know

[Buttman]

A dj who mixes off-key is not really a dj.

[Darkmode]

i mix in key, i have done for many years. it takes alot of preperation (you must pitch every single record you get) and it truly develops 'perfect pitch' (which is a real skill - just do a google search for this on the internet and you'll see what i mean). this way of working has taught me alot i didn't know before i started it and has made me know for sure that mixes are going to go together (as well as homing my production skills on the old eq hehe). my whole record box is arranged in key. its damn hard work to do it each week, but to me - it's worth it.

that's for melody based music. but with drum based techno, this is such a hard thing to do. the problem is with drum based music, you can't find a pitch for it. it's really, really hard.

for those that want to learn how to mix, i would suggest not depending on this technique for sucess. but for those who want to go forward - please, please try it. it's alot of work, but defo do.

There is nothing with preperation mate if it's gonna help with your sets then why not. I write the BPM of the tunes on me records so I can be more spontaneous when I'm playing. It's not cheating as you still have to use your ears but I wouldn't recomend doing this when you are learning to mix.

[Aratron]

on the stanton decks there is a pitch lock mode - what does that do?