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-- selecting tracks and mixing

selecting tracks and mixing

ok so lets say youre in your room mixing some tracks or youre in the club and randomly picking up tracks and mixing them. no setlist, nothing whatsoever.
how do you go doing things? do you just play a song and then know what youre going to play next and look through your CD case to find the right track? or do you play a song and then look through your CD case to find something that will flow with the current playing track? or do you do them both?

also, how do you come to decide what to play next? do you go with key notes? do you go with flow? do you go with any specific sound similarity? or do you just play what you want to play?

i tend to look through my record box and play the tune in my head to decise whether it will go with the current tune

i usually have a general feeling about what tracks may or may not sound good with the outgoing tune. if you don't mix harmonically, you just take an educated guess.

pretty much everything you mentioned in your first post- maybe pick a song in the same key, maybe with the same (or more or less, depends) energy, maybe with similar sounding stabs or whatever.. just go with it.

The crowd pretty much decides what I play next, just look at their body language (see if they are dancing or danced too hard and need a breather).

Knowing all the records in your box is a big help.

when mixing home, pick the one you'd like to hear. who cares?

quote:

Originally posted by Dr_Octopussy The crowd pretty much decides what I play next, just look at their body language (see if they are dancing or danced too hard and need a breather). Knowing all the records in your box is a big help.

knowing the songs you have in your case by name is the toughest thing IMO.

do any of you just pick a songs from the case, put it in the player and then realize it wouldnt sound good mixing and change it to another song?

does anyone here write the key note the song is in by its name?

I mix harmonically, so I look through my case/bag to quickly scan for tracks that are harmonically compatible. Then after I've selected those tracks I take into account what I'm playing right now, what else I have that I want to play, and what the floor is doing to make the right selection.

quote:

Originally posted by Zild I mix harmonically, so I look through my case/bag to quickly scan for tracks that are harmonically compatible. Then after I've selected those tracks I take into account what I'm playing right now, what else I have that I want to play, and what the floor is doing to make the right selection.

+1

Even though I haven't mixed live, when I do make good mixes, I usually look for tracks around the same BPM and then build it up, or start off fast and bring it down and build it back up. I try to tell a story, so I look for certain tracks with a particular mood to it. Maybe a dark and dark tune, then a light and dark, and a few light tracks and some deep stuff combined with more epic stuff. I'm learning harmonic mixing, so that will help too.

First i tend to look for a tune that is harmonically compatible.
Secondly I look for the style/sound that i feel like going into after the current track.

Sometimes however it's just play what I feel and if it sounds excellent then mankind be saved.

cheers

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