quote:

Originally posted by Woony Does harmonic mixing even matter when the tracks you play are not too melodic?

it depends on so many things, and again there is no right or wrong way to dj. in the end you should just do what sounds best. in general, i have found mixing in key sounds best. then again, i have never mixed tracks that aren't too melodic, so i couldn't tell you. like if all you're mixing is percussion and fx, then mixing in key might not making a difference. for example if the fx are things being pitch bent over several octaves or if the fx are white noise. just do what sounds right to you and maybe look at what people who dj the type of music you like "professionally" do

to be honest what he has just said isn't bad with few precissions, now you also like trolling Eddie :P?

What you can guess if 6% is a full tone is that 3% is a semi-tone and a sharp/flat with a root sounds like ass too.

About not so melodic tracks this is indeed what is handy of harmonic mixing, on very few cases you'll be mixing melodies live but you'll do it with the bases and this is what usually sounds odd when played.

Mixing in key is an useful technique but you shouldn't build your set according to the keys, just be sure not to play extremely disonant tracks but don't look for harmonic perfection because that is not what the crowd wants.

mixing in key to a bunch of drunk und drugged punters will pave your way into stardom!

quote:

Originally posted by weidenkind mixing in key to a bunch of drunk und drugged punters will pave your way into stardom!

thats more like bantha fodder

quit djing and begin production

Can drums be melodic? I think yes in some cases. Like some bongo loops have an up/down or rise/fall type movement in them and I feel energy from that movement. Yes I'm being serious

quote:

Originally posted by Guest Can drums be melodic? I think yes in some cases. Like some bongo loops have an up/down or rise/fall type movement in them and I feel energy from that movement. Yes I'm being serious

even a kick drum has a finite frequency interval which directly corresponds to a pitch. for example, a kick centered at 55hz is playing an "a" note. so yes, drums can and are melodic. Unless they are made from white noise: so hh and claps are typically not melodic. i am loosely using the term melody of course. and i guess most producers do not tune their kick drums since they are clueless. that is one of the things that drives me nuts about some trance producers, is they use off key and ugly kick drums. armin plays a lot of records that are poorly produced like that.

it's quite easy to know if a drum is melodic or not. Pitch it without stretching and see what happens.

Real drums aren't melodic afaik or they have a very limited hz range but timpani can play notes.

quote:

Originally posted by Trendsetterz In terms of being able to mix harmonically, do I have to worry about the lack of key locks on decks in clubs? Or do most of them have them? Question is should I learn how to choose tracks by key or will it mostly be done for me? Appreciate any help.

My god! I hate people thinking that dj:ing is all about f*cking harmonic mixing. It's the least of the worries. First thing is about the music music music!!! Harmonic mixing is just a complement not in a way does it improve your mix if you'r already mixing shitty tracks.

I would quote a famous dj, one of the most famoust and im not talking about tiesto here but a legend, but i forgot what he said precisely.

It's too much shitty dj's out here nowadays. Yes i'm the negative bastard again.

quote:

quote: Originally posted by weidenkind mixing in key to a bunch of drunk und drugged punters will pave your way into stardom!

Yep you said it!

quote:

Originally posted by Woony Does harmonic mixing even matter when the tracks you play are not too melodic?

The only thing that matters is whether the tracks sound good together. With that said, if you're playing whole sets of music with so little harmonic content you never have to worry about key clashes, you'd better be doing some fucking fancy three deck magic or looping trickery to keep things interesting.

Also, this thread is in utterly the wrong section and I can't believe I'm the first to mention that.

___________________
Mixes:
> Maximum Elevation [Progressive House]
> DI.FM 26th Anniversary Guest Mix [Progressive House]
> Live @ Dance:Love:Hub London, 11.10.2025
> Higher Peaks [Progressive House]
> Dance:Love:Hub Afterparty (The Return) 23.11.24

Like these sets? Come see me play live at Kibosh in Manchester: https://www.instagram.com/kibosh.mcr/

Alright, thx to all who gave advice. It seems it isn't as important as I thought it might be...