Lets not forget that Rekordbox also has key detection now

Well, I used Key Finder a long time and just played “in key”. Since a few weeks I stopped this. I missed the relationship between me and my tracks. I just had eyes for the keys. For sets on a radio it’s okay to play in key, but I think it’s much better to play without key detection to play your set’s like you feel them – and not what the key feels.

does traktor’s key detection work on aiffs?

even if the above graph is only halfway correct, it means the death of the competitors.

Just tested this: the answer is yes!

For sure – as well as Virtual DJ and beaTunes, it’s getting a bit crowded out there.

If bringing songs into Traktor that have already had the id3 tags changed by MIK, I’m assuming that Traktor overwrites whatever MIK wrote? Is this an option when Traktor is analyzing (such as when importing new music) or an automatic preference (Check a box in preferences and songs will automatically be analyzed for keys) – is there an option to keep keys the same if already written in the tags and analyze if no key is present? Just wondering what the options are and seeing what everybody’s saying before I go and snag the download.

Ibrahim is a genius. I will still use KeyFinder because is far more accurate than the competition. At least for what I play (psytrance) it’s like 90% accurate.
But he doesn’t want to improve it, it was just a project for his university. So hopefully Traktor will keep improving key detection.

There is a new section in the settings menu under the Analyze Options sub tab called Musical Key which lets you set the way Library view mode shows the key (musical, musical w/ sharps, open key) and if, when analyzing, what type of key to write to file.

When you analyze now, the dialog box that pops up for analysis options has a tick box, “Replace Locked Values” which overwrites whatever was previously in the field.

Hope this Helps
Raw

Requires OSX Lion -_______-

Requires OSX Lion. -_______-

Could someone explain what MIREX compatibility? I can’t find anything about it

I Disagree completely. Listen to nearly any big DJ’s set, and it’s mixed in key. It depends on your style of mixing for sure, but if you want to play two tracks at the same time, they should be in relative keys otherwise it’s going to sound like crap. Simple music theory.

Yes! I’m curious to see how Rekordbox holds up against these others. At first I thought mixed in key did better than Rekordbox, but now I think I’m finding that Rekordbox is more accurate.

Agreed with Jake, it depends a lot on what genre are you playing. You can avoid mixing in key hip-hop or any other kind of music where the set is not really constantly flowing, where you can change from say 3A to 12B without problem. People is not expecting a harmonic set in some styles. But for example, I play psytrance and mixing in key is a must, you can’t break people’s trance by changing the key abruptly or playing two tracks at the same time when they are clashing the hell out of everything. It’s simple music theory, C and C# will sound like crap when played together.

Amen.

Glad to see these results, and glad to see that key detection is becoming a standard.

I use this old fashioned thing called a Ear…

Does the Key detection work on PC??

Thanks Raw! Kind of inconvenient to be forced to lock each track that you know the key is correct for, regardless of if the BPM is checked correct – but since Traktor seems to be on par with MIK5 I guess it doesn’t matter too much!!

i dunno why appears as none in the key section, help guys?
what do i need to do to start analyzing the tracks/keys?

That could be a good thing for Traktor in the long run. With a large amount of choices, people will prefer to stay with the Traktor in house software instead of trying to search for a 3rd party software. It will also be another hassle that new comers don’t have to worry about when switching to digital or picking their software for the first time.

I moved away from MIK and key detection over a year ago and i found freedom again, I agree with Manuels point below about t he relationship between yourself and the tracks.

I just upgraded, re-analyzing my files and will check to see if its on the money.

You and your new school mixing. When I started DJing there were no such things as “keys.” Chords were barely a known thing and theory hadn’t been invented yet.

The problem I discovered is, that you have to use traktor’s own playlist to work with the key detection. Different to MIK Traktor doesn’t write the key into the ID3 tag (comments field). So the key will not be shown when you are using the iTunes integration. Or do i miss something?

MIREX is an academic forum (offhand I’d guess Music Information Retrieval Exchange) who ran a few competitions for key estimation algorithms. Their scoring method takes into account the fact that some “wrong” keys are a lot closer than others, essentially.

Easy there! I would love to improve KeyFinder’s algorithm and have several ideas for doing so. But I also have a full time job etc =)

where can i find a chart, where i can see which key fits into another?

Hey all, ibsh here.

I didn’t expect this graph to get the front page treatment, so worth saying a couple of things. 100 tracks is not nearly enough to make any real conclusions. All it was designed to do was show that KeyFinder is in the right league, not give an absolute sense of accuracy. And 100 tracks is twice as many as 50, mentioning no names! =)

I’d love to get a base of more like 1000 tracks estimated by humans (already 10% there!) so if any musically trained people on here are interested in keying a few hundred tracks, drop me a line on the website (ibrahimshaath.co.uk/keyfinder).

FINALLY!!! NO MORE MIXED IN KEY!! I WANT MY MONEY BACK! lol

From MIK, that is. If only I knew, this was going to happen. I’m glad it did, tho!! :D

Right click –> Analize.

Than, select “Special” and put a “v” next to KEY :) G’luck

Yepp :)

You were a DJ in the Stone Age?

Key finder is a awesome piece of software! I’m kinda upset this is my first time hearing about it. I was actually thinking about buying MIK on Friday when i got paid….maybe I’ll donate to Keyfinder instead! :)

What key detection do Beatport use?

Whatever it is, it is super inaccurate. In my release catalogue of around 40 tracks more than half are listed as the wrong key.

KeyFinder is the truth fellas. don’t forget to donate!

KEYFINDER FTW

This is also my question…
I use iTunes basically because of smart playlists and I dont want to fully migrate to traktor collection until it has some sort of smart playlist feature…

yeah but sometimes those one semitone jumps (as long as you do a break cut and don’t actuall mix them) can have a really cool energy boost effect.. like in bon jovi – livin on a prayer

I can’t believe how many top 40 Friday night mixes on radio are out of key and sound like crap!!! Just because everyone wants to be a DJ or Producer doesn’t mean all you need is software or we wouldn’t hear this complete armature music production and mixing on live clearchannel, comcast, timewarner radio owned stations. You don’t need software people, you just need ears!!!!!! If your ears can’t tell when two things don’t go together then you need to find a new hobby cuz you suck at mixing music.

I just started using Key Finder. Damn I wish I new about this program a while ago. Already payed for MIK but I am pretty sure I’ll be moving to Key Finder.

I think the artist state it themselves when they upload the track don’t they? Which is EXACTLY why they’re wrong, because most of them don’t have a clue.

whats the difference between the “key text” and the “key” slot?

Nah, it’s an automated system but they wouldn’t tell me which one.

Maybe I missed this somewhere below but can anyone tell me if there is a solution to getting the new key function to work with iTunes playlists.

Does any one else notice that all of the options are less than 70% accurate in this test? Doesn’t that make all of them kind of bad at detecting the key anyways?

Congratz man, I have been using this since it first surfaced on the Serato forums. Its a great piece of software to add to the tools even if you don’t mix in key all the time.

Btw: If I already noted the trcks key in the “key” field will it then be overwritten by Traktor?
Wouldn’t be that cool…

Yeah, but where’s Traktor’s “Energy Level” detection algorithm, huh?

Too bad that Mixed in Key has the copyright on the Camelot wheel. Also, admittedly, I have no idea what the hell the Open Key tags mean. All the tracks I’ve analyzed so far are just a number 1-12 with a lower case m or d after it. Not any more random that the Camelot tags, but I can’t find an explanation anywhere.

All the Camelot wheel is is a circle of fifths. Mixed in key basically copied it and called it something new. If you spend a day or two learning music theory (key signatures, modulatin keys) the same basic principles apply. Moving left or right two spaces on the Camelot wheel is equivalent to modulating a major second up or down (eg C-Bb or C-D). Moving left or right one space on the wheel is equivalent to modulating a fourth or fifth (eg C-F or C-G). Google search circle of fifths and you’ll see the Camelot wheel is just an oversimplified circle I fifths.

I think there is far to much focus on harmonic mixing. Sure it has a place but there are so many other way to mix tracks with effective and creative outcomes, that if the whole set is only mixed harmonically it can become one dimensional. That said i am happy to see it as a feature of Traktor and also think Keyfinder is a fantastic FREE key detection tool.

What about rekordbox’s detection?

what about beatunes?

don’t give me that. bloody new fangled ears. i use the cosmic vibrations, maaan.

Rekordbox’s algorithm is also in the same ball park, I tested 50 tracks with Traktors and the results, although clearly different, were similar in terms of accuracy.

I woud suggest you to look at my ios app ‘RekordKrate’ which makes harmonic mixing a joy.

I somewhat agree, mixing in key feels bland sometimes. But its nice to have both options available.

[...] just recently added key detection and organization. Even though Mixed in Key is heavily used by DJs, Trakor chose to implement an [...]

key = ni intern key
key text = third party software like mik, key finder etc…

I agree.
While it’s obviously helping to blend two irrelavent songs more ‘bravely’, the problem is sometimes it can be a total mood killer to keep checking keys when you are DJing live.
It’s like a harmony police starring and saying to you “Yeah i know you wanna play this song after, maybe it will be bomb. But look at the keys its a no go!” =)

I prefer checking keys when i’m at home practicing (its very good for ears to understand why they are good blending together etc. i think) or recording a live mixtape etc.