Mixing in Key

[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.

[Siege]

I mix in key also but only with the melodic stuff...doesnt really matter with drumtracks etc.. Tracks not all following the same key sound good at times , like interchanging basslines in a mix etc..
I suppose listing everythings key for reference would be helpful if all you played was house,trance etc but to be honest if you cant tell that somethings out of key and have to resort to ckecking notes,your probably tone deaf.

[loopdon]

didn't worry about this to much for a long time or did it unconsciously.

but now this can really piss me right off. i truly can't believe some many 'big-name'-djs seemingly don't give a **** about this. how tone-def can one be after 20 years of dj-ing solid i wonder at times???

i hear loads of stuff crashing now that i have become more aware. harmonic mixing all the way!

[TechMouse]

"In-key" is quite vague.

You can be properly in key (as in the same exact key) but then there's complementary keys (different keys which work together)...

Music Theory is absolutely insane.

Ultimately though, your ears are the best measure.

(Like the Ed Byrne joke... "What the feck do I need bathroom scales for? I've got a mirror...")

[BloodStar]

I am mainly mixing by ear. I think it is just up to your personal feelings for the music if you can mix in key just by ears.
Yes, it is pretty good to know a bit of theory, but I wouldn't go too deeep into it and would just stick with what record sounds good with other record. Works well for me...

[RDR]

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

Bugger..

I'd better stop trying to mix freeform jazz then innit...

[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?

[TechMouse]

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

I think it just turns off the pitch fader.

It's the same thing as "Quartz Lock" on MkIIIs.

[Aratron]

I think it just turns off the pitch fader.

It's the same thing as "Quartz Lock" on MkIIIs.

thanks for that

[beat_theory]

A friend introduced me to a software called Mixmeister Fusion. He said it would be easy to find the key and keycode of tracks.

I bought it and in the past few months I have been recordings my records onto my hard drive and then get Fusion to check out the keys for each song.

The results were quite good. I have a database of 348 techno tracks at the moment that show bpm, key and keycode. Out of those tracks only three could not be detected by the software.

Then I saw a torrent for mixed in key so I thought I will give that a try to just compare the results. The same tracks came out completely different and the bpm of tracks in MIK 2.5 were totally wrong. That program went to the recycle bin quickly.

[Agent_Trig]

A friend introduced me to a software called Mixmeister Fusion. He said it would be easy to find the key and keycode of tracks.

I bought it and in the past few months I have been recordings my records onto my hard drive and then get Fusion to check out the keys for each song.

The results were quite good. I have a database of 348 techno tracks at the moment that show bpm, key and keycode. Out of those tracks only three could not be detected by the software.

Then I saw a torrent for mixed in key so I thought I will give that a try to just compare the results. The same tracks came out completely different and the bpm of tracks in MIK 2.5 were totally wrong. That program went to the recycle bin quickly.

Yeah, I have just started using MixMeister Fusion myself - I really like the interface and how it clearly labels the BPM's and Key's.

Have a look for the Camelot KeyCode System - you will find that very useful for finding out what key goes with what.

[MorePunkThanFunk]

the rules are then to be understood then broken.

tbh i work on the prinicple of if it sounds right then it is right