Could someone explain the whole "mix in key" concept?

[deevey]

Sometimes even though it says the key is right, it just sounds off

The key may just be "as close as it can get" to a whole semitone.

I find that if two tracks are off my any more than 10/100ths of a semitone on a vocal or synth line for example, its going to sound really horrible and clashy.

But thats why we have the transpose knob

When I used to mix Vinyl I occasionally had a lead guitarist play live over my house sets, according to him 99% of the stuff I was playing harmonically meant he stayed in E (no joke)

[Yakov MIK]

Hey guys,

I created Mixed In Key and wrote a book advanced DJing with my co-author Eric. I think I know the answer why so many people choose to mix harmonically -- It's usually done by DJs who want to be 100% in control of their audience. What I love about this technique is that you will predict how the crowd will react *before* you play each song. And nobody will accuse you of bad mixing.

The downside of mixing harmonically is that it can lull people into boredom if the DJ doesn't change keys often enough. Most of the top DJs I know change keys with almost every track. Here's an example of a Kaskade essential mix:

1. Kaskade and Adam K - "Raining" (Intro Mix) - 7A
2. Kaskade - "Eyes" - 8A/8B
3. Tiësto and Hardwell - "Zero 76" - 8A
4. Kaskade - "Angel on My Shoulder" (EDX Mix) - 8A
5. R3hab and Swanky Tunes - "Sendin My Love" (Kaskade Mix) - 8A
6. Kaskade - "Dynasty" (Dada Life Mix) - 7A/10B
7. Tommy Trash - "The End" - 7A
8. Nicky Romero - "Solar" - 7A
9. Kaskade - "Empty Streets" (Acapella) - 7A/8A
10. Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike with Dada Life - "Tomorrow" (Digital Lab and Pedro Henriques Dub) - 6A
11. Kaskade - "Stars Align" (Acapella) - 6A
12. Skylar Grey - "Invisible" (Kaskade Mix) - 5A/5B
13. Michael Woods - "First Aid" - 4A
14. Kaskade and deadmau5 - "Move for Me" (Acapella) - 4A
15. Kaskade with Rebecca and Fiona - "Turn It Down" - 4A
16. Boy Lost - "Itza Trumpet Thing" (Mind Electric Mix)- 3A
17. Fedde Le Grand - "So Much Love" - 2A
18. Laidback Luke - "Natural Disaster" (Instrumental) - 1A
19. Kaskade - "All That You Give" (Acapella) - 1A
20. David Guetta and Avicii - "Sunshine" - 12A
21. Sebastian Ingrosso and Alesso - "Calling" - 12B
22. Alex Gaudino - "Kissed" - 11A
23. Kaskade and EDX - "Don't Stop Dancing" (Acapella) - 11B
24. Wolfgang Gartner - "Undertaker" - 10A
25. Kaskade - "Steppin' Out" (Acapella) - 10B
26. James Blunt - "Dangerous" (Deniz Koyu and Johan Wedel Mix) - 11A
27. Coldplay - "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall" (SHM Mix) - 11B
28. Dirty South and Thomas Gold - "Alive" - 11A
29. DBN and Menck - "Redemption" (Instrumental Mix) - 9A/9B
30. Kaskade - "Step One Two" (Acapella) - 9A/9B
31. Kaskade - "It's You It's Me" (Dance.Love Mix) - 9B
32. Calvin Harris - "Feel So Close" - 9B
33. Switchfoot - "Always Yours" (Max Vangeli and An21 Mix) - 8B
34. Joachim Garraud - "The Computer" (Kaskade Mix) - 8A
35. Late Night Alumni - "Finally Found" (Max Vangeli Mix) - 7A
36. David Guetta - "Paris" - 6A
37. Alex Kenji, Starkillers, and Nadia Ali - "Pressure" (Alesso Mix) - 5A
38. Sander Van Dorn - "Koko" (Bingo Players Mix) - 5A


Download on Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/kaskade/kaskad...io-1-essential


Have any of you tried Energy Boost mixing?

[Woah]

Well, while the idea is okay, I think it would limit my creativity abit. Plus I think 50 dollars is way overpriced for something you can easily do yourself.

[Yakov MIK]

Well, while the idea is okay, I think it would limit my creativity abit. Plus I think 50 dollars is way overpriced for something you can easily do yourself.

True, it's fun doing it yourself. When I lived in the same city as my parents, I used to sit down with my dad and play vinyl records for him. He'd key them on a Radio Shack keyboard. It was quality time, and I miss it.

After I moved away, doing key detection by hand became a chore. I had thousands of tracks, and it took forever to key them all. That's why I made Mixed In Key in the first place.

We've analyzed about half a billion (500,000,000) music files so far. It has saved a lot of time for pro DJs.

[fullenglishpint]

It would only 'limit your creativity' if you stuck to it rigidly and didn't let yourself stray from the pattern. At the end of the day it's just another little piece of info about your track that you can use if needs be or ignore if the mix requires.