im gonna remake y collection now since i have had a hiatus (sp?) from playing out, and im having my first gig in forever now on saturday and i have loads of new tracks.. thanks for the tips


as to my vinyl collection its sorted by genres, then labels, then "fit-togetherness"... yay, i invented a new word

___________________
BA-DUM-TSS

quote:

ALFI - BOHICA - DJ MIX (Stream+Dropbox)

Just wondering how you guys organize your MP3's. I just got me a 500GB hard drive, and im starting to move everything over, but ihave no idea how to organize it on it.

For me with cd's I have listed in order artist. If have more then from that artist i put in order release. Same goes with vinyls use above way to. Mp3's by artist.

Right now music library small compared to some I got about 300 cd's and close to 600 Vinyls. My wife thinks I'm crazy with all those vinyls and all but at time prefer vinyls over cd's and all.

___________________
DJ WESLEYSNIPEZ
Inspire Create Innovate

Im new to this and was fscinated to see several postings where tracks are identified by the key Dm etc. Do you know this purely by ear and experience or can you find out from a list which gives all the keys for trance tracks?

there is not set answer to that questions...

Some people (Very few I might add) will know it by ear. Some will identify the key of a track by playing a musical instrument along with it (my method) and some will use key identification software (Not always accurate).

The method depends on the DJs musical abliity and indeed way of working. None of the methods are wrong as long as the answer is right.

Cheers
Nem

___________________
https://www.mixcloud.com/Calvin_Karass/

quote:

Originally posted by Nemesis44 there is not set answer to that questions... Some people (Very few I might add) will know it by ear. Some will identify the key of a track by playing a musical instrument along with it (my method) and some will use key identification software (Not always accurate). The method depends on the DJs musical abliity and indeed way of working. None of the methods are wrong as long as the answer is right. Cheers Nem

yeah, but if you cant do it by ear you also wont know if the software's answer is right. come on yoda, dont let the padawan's turn to the darkside!

___________________

Thanks for that. It seems very useful for mixing and although Ive had some experience in choral singing, havent thought about it re trance music as identification tag. I know some tracks work well together, as do some key changes in the track, and many do not. What wd you advise to assist getting experience in identifying trance track keys?

quote:

Originally posted by Purpose Unknown Thanks for that. It seems very useful for mixing and although Ive had some experience in choral singing, havent thought about it re trance music as identification tag. I know some tracks work well together, as do some key changes in the track, and many do not. What wd you advise to assist getting experience in identifying trance track keys?

buy a cheap casio keyboard and work them out for yourself, its really pretty easy.

a good place to start

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN yeah, but if you cant do it by ear you also wont know if the software's answer is right. come on yoda, dont let the padawan's turn to the darkside!

Worry not, young padawan... something big working on am I.

Well not that big but it's quite long and covers a lot of info that frequently gets asked.

Totally with you on the ears thing.

Purpose Unknown: I would definately get some instrument that suits you and learn how to pick out keys, you will be very pleasantly suprised how it affects your mixing and it will place you head and shoulders ahead of someone who just uses software.

Cheers
Nem

___________________
https://www.mixcloud.com/Calvin_Karass/

Cheers Nemesis44. Ive got a Yamaha DGX300 kicking around somewhere, so ill dig it out and dust it down. Im owed some lessons from a couple of years ago, so might put that to good use, as they are still valid.
Ok another question if I may linked to the topic of this thread. Do you anyone or have you ever catalogued by mood change, that is, if you want to create a set that affects the mood of the event in a certain way. This really interests me as so many times I go to events and parties that fall totally flat due to sudden switch of tempo or style. I want to get some dj experience by tagging along with a dj, but dont want to pick up bad habits in this way. Any ideas? Thanks for your help and to you
pkcRAISTLIN

Interesting question.

I personally don't catalogue by mood, but I am very aware of what my tracks sound like, plus I have been doing this for about 23 years now so you get to a stage where you can tell what a certain sound is going to do to a place.

It is a very common occurance especially at parties when the party owner gets a group of DJ friends together and isn't particularly concious about what styles of music they prefer. In terms of who plays were and when. It's not uncommon to see the hard dance DJ play earlier, a DnB DJ thrown in somewhere etc. Usually the play list at party is dictated by the DJ that has biggest ego and balls to push their demands through. Usually this has nothing to do with what would be best for the night.

One of the major keys to success on a night whatever it is, is a progression of energy. Understanding the current vibe and the places you can take it are true DJ skills.
This is were understanding your time slot is crucial and most new DJs these days don't seem to want to do this.

It's worth understanding the relationship that genres have with each other. Two very simple examples are as follows:

A. House - Prog House - Trance - Hard House

B. Hip Hop - Breaks / Big Beat - Drum and Bass

As you can see the energy levels increase with the tempo and those strains of music. What is also a common trait in both strains is that they share a similar rythm structure. A is a more obvious 4/4 rythm structure where as strain B. is more sample based and can give the impression of very different time signatures although for the most part it is still 4/4 compatible.

The two convey very different energy and will usually apeal to different types of people.
The one genre that is perhaps a little more transferable is the breaks genre as that can also be fitted in to strain A. But as a general rule the other music genres in strain A vs B generally don't mix well.

Don't get me wrong, these rules are not set in stone but they tend to work as a general rule.

I have probably rambled enough but hope you see what I mean about energy etc.

Cheers
Nem

___________________
https://www.mixcloud.com/Calvin_Karass/

Thanks for the time and trouble you have taken to reply. Im really interested in your comment about progression of energy, which I think is really important. There's nothing worse than being euphorically 'castrated'just as the energy is beginning to flow. So im trying to think about djing as what really enhances mood and of course this requires some ability to predict mood or be knowledgeable enough to create and take others where they want to go. Like teaching, sometimes the best planned lesson falls apart due to unforseen factors or just low mood felt by the majority.
Your comment about genres is interesting and something I know very little about. Intuitively I know that some things cross over and mix well. I have a friend who is very good, in my opinion, at this sort of thing and is v experimental. I need to get to know my tracks really well before I attempt this. He kindly offered to get me going on vinyl and this will hopefully give me some confidence. I would like to know if there is anywhere I can learn more about relationship between genres in a practical way? Are there any books, sites you wd recommend to study this in more depth?
I notice you are in Brighton, down the road from me in Bexhill. Are there any good clubs where I can hear trance, vocal trance and related
genres. I havent seen much advertised. Where do you play?
Thanks for your time and effort. Cheers Purpose Unknown