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What Makes a DJ Set Flow (pg. 4)
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| djdk |
| quote: | Originally posted by rubez
i would say there is only skill involved if you can tell the key of your tracks without any aids at all. that's a musical ear right there. still don't agree with it though. |
does this mean any musician who has learnt musical theory is also cheating?
EDIT: The point is that "harmonic mixing" is really the underlying musical theory behind the different effects you can get from the harmonic content of a transition. There's nothing wrong with learning that theory, rather than solely relying on intuition.
Now using that theory as a rulebook is obviously restrictive and will lead to sets that are boring, but I would argue that getting the harmonic content of the two tunes that you are mixing to work together is crucial for the transition to make sense to the listener.
And to get a sense of flow, having the transitions all make sense is probably a key component |
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| SYSTEM-J |
Do we really need to justify harmonic mixing? The list of highly respected DJs who do it is too long to list, and the people who are most vocal in their objections always seem to be those who have never tried it and don't really understand it.
For someone like me who plays a quite smooth, atmospheric style where tracks are often melodic right from the intro, key mixing is actually pretty essential for spontaneity. But if I'm mixing peak time techno with practically no melodic content I won't bother about the keys at all. Everyone has a different style of mixing for the kind of tunes they pick out. If you don't feel key mixing is important for how you play, don't use it. But why make sweeping, dismissive statements about a technique used by dozens of legendary DJs? |
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| rubez |
i don't bother with any of that nonsense. none of my transitions clash to my ear. would be interesting, i suppose, to find out how many transitions i do are actually 'harmonic'.
when i am looking for a track to bring in, the outgoing track is heavily in my mind. i scroll through tons of until something pops outs and hits me in the face, and you just know that's the one.
not sure i can be more technical than that :stongue:
don't believe there is a cold formula for it, it is supposed to be a very individual thing after all...
i know i have mixed similar basslines before, i enjoy that. |
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| rubez |
| quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
Do we really need to justify harmonic mixing? The list of highly respected DJs who do it is too long to list, and the people who are most vocal in their objections always seem to be those who have never tried it and don't really understand it.
For someone like me who plays a quite smooth, atmospheric style where tracks are often melodic right from the intro, key mixing is actually pretty essential for spontaneity. But if I'm mixing peak time techno with practically no melodic content I won't bother about the keys at all. Everyone has a different style of mixing for the kind of tunes they pick out. If you don't feel key mixing is important for how you play, don't use it. But why make sweeping, dismissive statements about a technique used by dozens of legendary DJs? |
i doubt any seasoned dj's actually consciously key mix. at this point they just know. i just frown upon the anal insistence and concious application of it, as i said i think it stiffles creativity. i don't think anything, other than your instinct, should be telling you what not to play... that's all. |
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| SYSTEM-J |
| Unfortunately for you, you're completely wrong. Just a few DJs I can think of who've openly said they key their collections include Nick Warren, High Contrast, Dubfire, Anthony Pappa (who in the vinyl days used to arrange his record box by key), Hernan Cattaneo... it goes on and on. |
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| rubez |
hardly unfortunate, however...
to me the idea of having my collection sorted by key, and for me only being allowed to choose from a heavily-restricted amount of tracks is ridiculous.
i pick my own tunes. this sounds like shooting fish in a barrel.
i'm sure there are other famous dj's who balk at the idea too. maybe for a carefully crafted mix cd, i can see it. but really... talk about sucking the soul out of a craft.
let me guess, you use BPM counters, and think that's alright too? :stongue: |
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| SYSTEM-J |
| quote: | Originally posted by rubez
to me the idea of having my collection sorted by key, and for me only being allowed to choose from a heavily-restricted amount of tracks is ridiculous. |
That's because you don't understand key mixing properly. Keying your collection doesn't mean you can only choose from compatible keys. It merely lets you know which tracks will sit together harmonically if you choose to mix them in that way.
The simple fact is, despite your bull claims, plenty of well-respected DJs, including several you've blown your load over on this very forum, openly state they key their collections. If you don't think it's a valid way of mixing, good for you. But if you "doubt any seasoned dj's actually consciously key mix" then you are demonstrably wrong.
Now, get your last word in and run along. |
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| Woony |
| Is it just me or is playing in key almost exclusively (at least as far as 4/4 music goes) a thing of DJs out of the progressive house/trance legacy? There seem to be very little DJs coming out of the Chicago/Detroit/Berlin axis that emphazise playing in key. Obviously this is easily explained by the type of music these legacies represent but I still think it's interesting that even DJs that spin almost the same, quite melodic music today (say, Innervisions type "neo-prog") will almost always deal with key-mixing depending on where they come from. |
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| 2techs |
| I've never consciously mixed harmonically but if the keys are off, then something is wrong with that transition, period. |
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| SYSTEM-J |
Not sure about that. Ame and Dixon certainly play in key, on the occasions where their mixing isn't so utterly basic that they're only mixing kick drums. From what Dixon has said in interviews, he sounds pretty anal about programming a set:
| quote: | Also, in my normal two hour sets, I try to have two ‘memorable’ moments. And I don’t want to create them with big hits; I want to make that ‘strange’ record I love into a big track on the night. So I prepare my set on the night – not before – so that in 30 minutes, I can play this one ‘strange’ track I really love, and have the crowd react not just in a ‘oh, this is abstract, let’s go to the bar?’ way; I have to find a way to make it work so everyone’s like ‘woah!’
Does the above change much when you play with Kristian of Âme?
Yeah. When I play alone, I very much have a masterplan for the next hour. With Kristian, it’s about me getting rid of my ‘German behaviour’. |
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| JonDC |
| quote: | Originally posted by 2techs
I've never consciously mixed harmonically but if the keys are off, then something is wrong with that transition, period. |
I wouldn't have said so - I've done loads of transitions that I know are out of key which I think sound class. That's obviously up for debate though! |
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| rubez |
not saying i understand it, just that i don't need it as a crutch. you should know in your mind if the two proposed tracks will work well... if you don't, you're not a dj.
too much key mixing makes for a bland, inoffensive set. don't mistake that for flow. |
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