ledmanville
Hi, i'm Dj Led Manville. I dj electronic music, mainly futurepop, synth, industrial, ebm, synthpop... Not vey common music genre in this forum though it's very danceable and the basis for genres such as trance, psychedelic, techno and progressive. I'm djing since 1987, almolst 20 years now. I've been djing in many clubs in Madrid. I'm also a composer and remixer of some electronic bands. Well, that's a brief introduction. :)
I work on harmonic mixing, which basically is to know the keys of every song and mix them following the harmony rules. So, appart from beatmatching, also harmonies, instruments and sounds fit from one song to another. This technique adds consistence to the mix and let's you mix songs, apparently quite different with incredible results, and play with them as you never thought before.
As a DJ, you must understand that most songs have a key, or tonal center. Keys are based on scales, usually major or minor. Scales essentially describe subsets of notes that go well together. The 1st note of the scale is the tonal center, known as the tonic note. The 4th and 5th notes of a scale are known as the subdominant and dominant notes, also referred to as perfect 4ths and 5ths. Whether the scale is major or minor, subdominant and dominant notes are always 5 and 7 half-steps up from the tonic note, respectively.
A song will be harmonically compatible if it is in:
* the same key (tonic)
* a relative major/minor key
* a subdominant key (perfect 4th)
* a dominant key (perfect 5th)
For example, a song in Cm is compatible other songs in Cm, its relative major D#/Eb, its subdominant Fm and its dominant Gm. Subdominant and dominant keys are easy to find because they are the 4th and 5th scale notes from the tonic note. Relative majors are 3 half-steps above the tonic note of the minor key (in this case, C to D#/Eb). Conversely, relative minors are 3 half-steps below the major's tonic note.
When matching songs harmonically, you must be aware that changing the speed of a song also changes its key, unless a key or pitch lock feature is used. To be exact, a 5.94631% shift in speed will shift the key by a half-step. So if you're mixing a song in Cm at +6%, it's going to be in C#m/Ebm. Similarly, a change in RPM on your turntable from 33 to 45 will shift the key up 5 half-steps, from Cm to Fm.
As an example of it i leave this link with last session i've made :)
http://www.virtualdj.com/forums/1968/Music_discussion/VirtualDJ_users_personal_mixes.html?page=16
I hope you like it and start practicing :)
I work on harmonic mixing, which basically is to know the keys of every song and mix them following the harmony rules. So, appart from beatmatching, also harmonies, instruments and sounds fit from one song to another. This technique adds consistence to the mix and let's you mix songs, apparently quite different with incredible results, and play with them as you never thought before.
As a DJ, you must understand that most songs have a key, or tonal center. Keys are based on scales, usually major or minor. Scales essentially describe subsets of notes that go well together. The 1st note of the scale is the tonal center, known as the tonic note. The 4th and 5th notes of a scale are known as the subdominant and dominant notes, also referred to as perfect 4ths and 5ths. Whether the scale is major or minor, subdominant and dominant notes are always 5 and 7 half-steps up from the tonic note, respectively.
A song will be harmonically compatible if it is in:
* the same key (tonic)
* a relative major/minor key
* a subdominant key (perfect 4th)
* a dominant key (perfect 5th)
For example, a song in Cm is compatible other songs in Cm, its relative major D#/Eb, its subdominant Fm and its dominant Gm. Subdominant and dominant keys are easy to find because they are the 4th and 5th scale notes from the tonic note. Relative majors are 3 half-steps above the tonic note of the minor key (in this case, C to D#/Eb). Conversely, relative minors are 3 half-steps below the major's tonic note.
When matching songs harmonically, you must be aware that changing the speed of a song also changes its key, unless a key or pitch lock feature is used. To be exact, a 5.94631% shift in speed will shift the key by a half-step. So if you're mixing a song in Cm at +6%, it's going to be in C#m/Ebm. Similarly, a change in RPM on your turntable from 33 to 45 will shift the key up 5 half-steps, from Cm to Fm.
As an example of it i leave this link with last session i've made :)
http://www.virtualdj.com/forums/1968/Music_discussion/VirtualDJ_users_personal_mixes.html?page=16
I hope you like it and start practicing :)
Posté Fri 23 Jun 06 @ 10:45 am
JeremK
To find the key of all your tracks i recommend using the software from www.mixedinkey.com
Posté Fri 23 Jun 06 @ 11:08 am
joetmen
I just like it, above all, 'cause I'm also a musician...
on mixedinkey.com there is a trial version of this software and I downloaded it...but, is there a real free software to find the key of tracks??
on mixedinkey.com there is a trial version of this software and I downloaded it...but, is there a real free software to find the key of tracks??
Posté Fri 23 Jun 06 @ 11:41 am
ledmanville
Yes, there's one freeware called "Rapid Evolution". You can download it at http://www.mixshare.com/
I use it and it works fine, it also tells you how harmony changes depending on the pitch of the song (when you're djing with time stretching feature off)
I use it and it works fine, it also tells you how harmony changes depending on the pitch of the song (when you're djing with time stretching feature off)
Posté Fri 23 Jun 06 @ 1:14 pm
Supacon
You can't change the key of the songs in VirtualDJ can you? That'd be a nice feature, but an advanced one that probably not too many people would use.
Posté Fri 23 Jun 06 @ 1:44 pm
DJ_whiteDVL
well as far as changing the key in VDJ you can by changing the pitch however don't expect to beatmatch afterwards. this feature has been asked to be added however not sure it is yet or will be soon.
Best Regards
DJ White Devil
Best Regards
DJ White Devil
Posté Fri 23 Jun 06 @ 2:05 pm
joetmen
@ledmanvile
really thanks for the free software!
I now want to try it...
bye
really thanks for the free software!
I now want to try it...
bye
Posté Fri 23 Jun 06 @ 2:48 pm
tunic
Hi,
Excellent post. I downloaded that mixshare a while ago but haven't yet had the chance to use it properly but will do soon (though in a few tests it seemed to work well). A friend of mine DJ'd trance using harmonic mixing to some fantastic results.
Excellent post. I downloaded that mixshare a while ago but haven't yet had the chance to use it properly but will do soon (though in a few tests it seemed to work well). A friend of mine DJ'd trance using harmonic mixing to some fantastic results.
Posté Fri 23 Jun 06 @ 2:56 pm
djderricke
I've been doing this for years without software. :) But I'm a trained musician too, so that helps. I would like to play with the software though just to see how well it works.
Posté Mon 26 Jun 06 @ 2:51 am