DJs mixing in key?

[OllieScott]

How many of you mix in key? would you say it improved your sets? or does you feel restricted?

[press]

theres a few things that i dont understand about it i guess, first and foremost is lets say your mixing a 142 tune with a 138 tune how much would the pitch then effect the key, im guessing they will still be close and probably still sound better together than two whos keys blatantly clash, ive never done the math or the mixing to figure it all out but it seems it would be a factor. Then theres the times when im mixing two tunes together for other reasons than how they sound right ontop of eachother or whatever, like one has vox at the beginnign of a phrase or section and the other at the end so you get a cool mix out of the way the vox play off eachother, or you can get a cool mix out of the way the drumz work with eachother. It seems theres so much more to good mixes then matching keys. Also i think alot of times i do it on accident, we have all found those two tunes that just sound good together and all though i may not know it or be doing it on purpose they are in key. Im just not sure all the fuss about it is for me.

[Huts]

I used to take key into consideration, especially when mixing new tunes I just bought. Helps lay some groundwork for what tracks could potentially work together. Most all digital systems (CDJs, Serato/traktor) have keylock functions so you can shift the pitch while the track still stays in key. For the most part though I just ignore key

[fuzion]

I'm not sure if its a good or bad idea because it does restrict you from playing some tracks you might want to play and also means your set all has the same kind of vibe to it and is predictable (in some cases) but you can easily mix two songs of a different key without anyone noticing and it actually sounding good so tbh its just another case of people using their eyes rather than ears in music

[Neutr4l Numb3r]

Depends on if your crowd even gives a shit.

I feel like theres a lot more to worry about when DJing then just mixing in key.

[Sharmaji]

as long as they don't clash awfully together, you generally get 2 camps of mixes-- tunes that sound good together, and tunes that sound amazing together. play more of the latter and you're pretty much mixing in key.

and then throw in some clangers to clear the dancefloor every 90 mins and start fresh.

[didi]

I don't consiously mix in key, but if I'm about to bring a track in, and I hear dissonance with the one already playing, I'll change the tune I plan to mix in.

So yeah, I suppose I go out of my way not to mix out of key, so I guess I mix in key.

[dublerium]

I generally pick tunes that I think will work, I don't think about key, just blends that will be interesting. Sometimes I pick tunes I know will be a bit difficult together, with decent eq work these can sometimes be the best imo.

[AxeD]

If I'm on after 2am I'm not going to bother My techno sets usually aren't that melodic anyway though.

[Efrafa11]

if you know your music then you know whats gonna work

[blinx]

I mix in key by ear, if the tracks sound good musically then thats good enoughbfor me. It can be cool to mix something in that is luke a ffth or fourth spart for dranatic effect.

[AxeD]

I mix in key by ear, if the tracks sound good musically then thats good enoughbfor me. It can be cool to mix something in that is luke a ffth or fourth spart for dranatic effect.

[ksonic]

A lot of people like to think that they don't need harmonic mixing because they "use their ears," but they really are mixing in key with an increased chance for error. I prefer to know the key of each of my tracks because it opens up possibilities that I may not have considered before. Though I guess you don't really need harmonic mixing if you are only mixing the intros and outros of tracks.

Also, there is a misconception that using the Camelot system means that you are limited to only going up or down by a single key, but in reality there are 6 different options for key changes, which is more than enough!

[Basic A]

Isnt mixing in key the whole point of a DJ not being deaf?

Like, if your software tells you the BPM + the key - its fair well covered both reasons you need a DJ.

You should know if its not gonna work... Bigger chance for error? Get off the stage until you stop making errors how bout it?

Mixing tunes that flow well together should be like, instinct, you should be doing this already, not needing some piece of software or a circle of fifths to tell you that some tunes dont work together as well as other, if people cant even select with flow, god help the turntable culture.

[Basic A]

Im getting fair well sick of popularity contest DJs using 'less chance for error' as an excuse for key detection and sync buttons - what the hell happened to practicing something?! Theres no chance of error if you just practice it until you get it right.

[OllieScott]

i know its not gonna make me an instantly better dj, I use CDJs when I play out and I practice when ever i have free time. I'm just looking for other options to technically tighten my sets.

I haven't given it a go yet, would of have to spend some time working out the key of every song i wanna play, and looking online doesn't look like the software options are very accurate.

[press]

Im getting fair well sick of popularity contest DJs using 'less chance for error' as an excuse for key detection and sync buttons - what the hell happened to practicing something?! Theres no chance of error if you just practice it until you get it right.

I agree with sync, that is not djing anymore, but djs have been noting bpms and key and cue points since the begining of djing, letting the software do it for you is no big deal imo, but shit tons of tunrtablist and OG hip hop guys have been writing key and bpm on records since day dot, so i dont see ther big deal for using or having that info on your screen for digital djs.

agreed nothing beats practice...same shit for producing hwo about spending years toiling over sounds before asking how to make "inset new hot producer here" basslines.

[blinx]

Bah mix by ear...god forbid you make a mistake doing something unpracticed live just ride it out with your bass face on 0.o !!! The crowd will just think you mean to do that "wrong" drop lol.

[baseband]

certain sounds blend well with certain sounds. pitching the turntables up or down are gonna bomb your intentions if not pre-meditated with care. id say just avoid pushing one sound into another if both are too strongly harmonic. works sometimes, sometimes requires a bit of a chop on the faders

[ksonic]

While it's fine to practice fundamentals, using a harmonic mixing system allows you to do something that a lot of scrubs are afraid of: mixing an unplanned set :gasp:. Personally I'm against planning a set ahead of time, but I'm aware of the advantages that it can offer. I just have more fun understanding the energy of each of my tracks without having to waste time both figuring out the bpm and seeing if the key will either fit or clash.

Granted, I'm more of a 120-139 bpm DJ, so some of my transitions will last for up to 5 minutes in some cases, which is why mixing in key is important for me. For some genres (like dubstep) harmonic mixing isn't always needed because damn near everyone either mixes in the first/last 45 seconds of the tracks, or they mix ~15-30 seconds into a breakdown (which is typically percussive without a whole lot of harmonic content).

Also, I'm sick of people who try to say that harmonic mixing isn't needed because they are the DJ and they use their ears so they must be right and anyone who uses it isn't good enough. From what I've seen (and heard), most of those people would benefit from harmonic mixing based on the number of key clashes in their mixes. Food for thought.

In the end it's up to you. Top DJs in the world use either method, but it is really a matter of how you want to prepare for spinning live.