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Thread: Harmonic mixing? has any of you ever used it? examples?

  1. #1

    Harmonic mixing? has any of you ever used it? examples?

    im curious about the topic of harmonic mixing

    utiliing 'mixed in key' software vs dj software that tells you (guesses?) the key of a song

    iv never found a need for it myself, but out of curiosity any of you ever used it? and can you show examples of how it can be beneficial?

  2. #2
    Moderator DJ Bobcat's Avatar
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    Don't use it. Not saying I wouldn't. Just not sure how much time it would take doing that much prep. I already spend a pretty good amount of time putting playlists together for each event. Looks like Mixed In Key could make your mixes a little smoother if you end up playing the tracks in a pre-established order. But that's not what ends up happening with me. I start off with 6-8 different lists, then end up pulling a track or two from one, then pulling the next track or two from another. I try to look for similar tempo, but having to factor in key would add to the complexity... and I'm all about keeping it simple.😊


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  3. #3
    I use mixed in key and platinum notes. They take a long time to process depending on the size of your library, but I feel it is worth it. I do not strictly adhere to the key all the time, for melodic tracks it is put to good use. Platinum Notes is awesome - it converts all your tracks to the same volume. You can get the whole suite for like $150 or so. It comes with some other programs I don't use, but I think it is worth it.

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    Member steveryan's Avatar
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    If you know your major and minor scales on the piano, you wont need mixed in key because you'll know what key to adjust the incoming track to in order for it to mix harmonically.

    Sometimes, mixing harmonically is just the trick you need to make a mix sound good. It's usually okay without it though. I've found that songs that tend to be heavy on the chords and vocals will need a half-step adjustment one way or the other. A lot of the tech house stuff I mix seems fairly neutral.

  5. #5
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    Harmonic mixing comes in handy when making mixes to put on the internet. It just sounds better when songs are mixed harmonically. It's not always practical when mixing at a club, since you have to play for the crowd, but for pre recorded mixes, you have all the time in the world to do the mix, so why not throw some harmonic mixes in there. It will make your mix sound better. It's always good to throw a few harmonic mixes at a club too. But is just not about harmonic mixing, you have to beat match perfectly, and phrase match perfectly in order for the harmonic mix sound good.

  6. #6
    Deez Beats! KLH's Avatar
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    I only use it when I mix country and classical music.
    -KLH
    Visit DJF's Beginner's MEGA thread and drop by my Facebook Fan Page.
    I've read the books like How to DJ right... to learn about... beatmatching, phrasing w/e , Speed Test Scrabble Word Finder Solitaire but when I go to mix...

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Panotaker View Post
    Harmonic mixing comes in handy when making mixes to put on the internet. It just sounds better when songs are mixed harmonically. It's not always practical when mixing at a club, since you have to play for the crowd, but for pre recorded mixes, you have all the time in the world to do the mix, so why not throw some harmonic mixes in there. It will make your mix sound better. It's always good to throw a few harmonic mixes at a club too. But is just not about harmonic mixing, you have to beat match perfectly, and phrase match perfectly in order for the harmonic mix sound good.
    very good answer thanks

  8. #8
    can anyone show me any particular good examples please ? :-) im curious

  9. #9
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    The only real good way to demonstrate harmonic mixing is to listen to a harmonic mix of songs that you are familiar with. If you listen to a harmonic mix of songs that you are not familiar with, it is just going to sound like a one hour long mix of one long song, even though there are 20 songs in the mix. Now if you are familiar with the songs, and you listen to a harmonic mix that was phrased correctly, and beat matched perfectly, you will be able to tell where the mix is, and you would say, wow, that was a smooth mix. If you are not familiar with the songs, its just going to sound like one long song. For example, I mainly mix old music from the 70's and 80's, because I'm older than dirt. If a young person listens to my mix, they would probably think I played a song that is 30 minutes long, because the mix is beat matched perfectly, phrased matched perfectly, and harmonically perfect. If and old person listens to my mix, they would go WOW, that is a bad ass mix, because they are familiar with the songs, and they can tell where I mixed it. Here is an example of one of my harmonic mixes: https://www.house-mixes.com/profile/...funk-disco-mix But like I said, if you don't know the songs, you might not be able to tell where I mix them. Harmonic mixing is mainly important in songs that have a lot of vocals in them. If you play a song with a singer, and mix in a song that has another singer, and they are singing in different keys, it is really noticeable if they are not singing in the same key. Now if you mix in a song with a singer that is singing in the same key as the first singer, the mix will sound 10 times better, because it is mixed harmonically, assuming you phrased it right, and beat matched it perfectly. If you mix songs with few vocals and instruments, harmonic mixing is not that important. To make a good mix you need 3 things, beat matching, phrase matching, and harmonic mixing, in that order. Out of those, beat mixing is the easy part, phrase matching is the hardest. You can make a good mix with just the first two, but the mix will sound a whole lot better, if you throw in a few harmonic mixes in there also.

  10. #10
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    It's a good skill to have.

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