i thought this would help me, but that with the keys just confused the out of me..wasn't this suppose to be for beginners? :o
Excess
quote:
Originally posted by Burak14
i thought this would help me, but that with the keys just confused the out of me..wasn't this suppose to be for beginners? :o
ehm see rafnels post. i stand corrected! :P
DJ_Rafnel
quote:
Originally posted by Excess
it's a lot more simple than it probably looks. basically every +/-2 bpm (i think) a song goes up +/- 1 keycode if you were to use key codes. (i do because i have absolutely no musical knowledge). so all he did was pitch down the song enough to keep it in key with the previous track.
Its every 8 BPM or 6% to be exact actually. Can do some awesome things with this. Basically what he's doing is taking one song in G, slowing it down by 8 BPM(6 %) which turns it into F# so that it matches with the current song, in F#.
Think of this:
A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#
Theres all your notes...they just repeat themselves once you get past G# again. Thats the simple way of putting it i guess. Alot of people don't understand this. Also don't forget about E, and B, which has no Sharp. Its alot more simple than it looks.
So you see how G, goes down to F# when you slow it down.
Just as B would go down to A#, or any other. This also works the other way if you were to pitch the record up by 6% instead of down.
Now if your mixing, and you go up one semi tone(one step)EX: A to A#...it will clash harmonically. Heres a basic cheat sheet of what works with what.
G# D# A# F C G D A E B F# C#
So how do you apply that cheat sheet?
Lets say you have a song playing in G. Look above at G. You already know that another song in G will work with it. What else will work?
The key before and after G on that cheat sheet. So, C and D will also work harmonically.
Again... Playing a song in D# what works?
Of course D# does...and... G# and A#
So what if I have a Song in C#? I know F# and C# work, but theres nothing after that?
You would just look back around to G#, think of it as a circle. (Like the Camelot Wheel). If you actually look at the Camelot Wheel, you'll see the wheel goes around just like the cheat sheet that i use.
I don't mind sharing my little system and i figured it might help people a bit. I leave out the whole Minor and Major stuff because for most instances your not going to be needing it, unless for mashups usually. What i do is key songs out by their intro and outro basslines. Thats the main thing. Hope this helped again. :)
BradMiller
This is a good guide - I highly recommend using the harmonic wheel it makes life much easier :)
For the record I don't agree with their recommended approach of 2-3 songs in the same key and then moving up one. It's extremely limiting in terms of what tracks you can play and it sounds a little lifeless if everything is too smooth (it's the same reason why producers offset things - to give it that human touch).
Also if you're mixing with CDJs / vinyl the keys will change with the slightest tempo increase / decrease which will affect your mixes either for the better or for the worse. It's tricky to compensate for this unless you have a pretty extensive knowledge of the harmonics and bpms of your tracks and can anticipate it. On a lot of mixing programs (Ableton, Serato, Final Scratch etc..) you can change the key without changing the pitch and vice versa (of course after about 2 semitones it will sound pretty weird either way..) I know the CDJs have an auto-tune feature but I personally don't like it since I can hear heavy artifacts present when it's switched on.
One thing to remember is that just because a song is in key and will have a smooth mix does not necessarily mean it's the best song to play (particularly when playing a live show). I recommend using your gut to choose 3-4 good following tracks and then check to see how the harmonics work out so you can decide how you want to mix it and guide the flow of your set. Harmonics are there to help you navigate, but you're in the driver's seat. ;)
Not for harmonics specifically, but I highly recommend this book - covers pretty much everything form beatmatching to harmonics to how to throw a party to how to draft a record contract:
Well I lost my high end hearing in 1995 (no lie), lol..so screw the keys..played way to loud music in my youth..what was that about ear plugs?
Tristan_Ha
I thought that was an awesome video! I had a question regarding key signature...I do understand the concept of when the note changes, but how do you determine which note a track falls in?
kadomony
quote:
Originally posted by Tristan_Ha
I thought that was an awesome video! I had a question regarding key signature...I do understand the concept of when the note changes, but how do you determine which note a track falls in?
you can use a program like Mixed in Key.
I use Mixmeister. I find it to be a lot more accurate than Mixed in Key and I can store my whole library in there/do searches/sorting by any parameter.
however, most accurate way is to play the track, and play notes on a piano/synth and find which key blends the best with the track at the mix in and mix out points.
brad, that book is a staple in my bathroom :D
SebG
Awesome, now i have a more indepth explanation of keying.
Just need to recognize which is whic by ear
coolestrl
NYTA is actually awesome, i made the same thread in music discussion and those jackasses made it into another armin vs tiesto and how they suck thread.
Neonbeats
quote:
Originally posted by coolestrl
NYTA is actually awesome, i made the same thread in music discussion and those jackasses made it into another armin vs tiesto and how they suck thread.
That forum is a cesspool of trolls.
Tristan_Ha
quote:
Originally posted by kadomony
you can use a program like Mixed in Key.
I use Mixmeister. I find it to be a lot more accurate than Mixed in Key and I can store my whole library in there/do searches/sorting by any parameter.
however, most accurate way is to play the track, and play notes on a piano/synth and find which key blends the best with the track at the mix in and mix out points.
brad, that book is a staple in my bathroom :D
Thank you for the information! :gsmile:
SidMl
quote:
Originally posted by coolestrl
PRETTY SWEET VIDEO, idk if it was posted before, armin teaches how to dj, using CDJ100mk's and DJM800
great video. really makes you appreciate how much practice, preparation, and live effort a good dj puts into a set.
