Lately I've been playing around with harmonic mixing. When I first started DJing, I would only mix into tracks with the same BPM range, without necessairly paying attention the key. My question is, when deciding the next track you want to mix into, do you look at tracks in the same BPM range or for a track in the same BPM range AND same key? Do all mixes have to be harmonically sound?
Yeah, it's not as black and white as that, I think. It's a good tool but not prescriptive. What it does do is help eliminate those times when you cue something up in your headphones and then think, nope that clashes. It can also give you inspiration to try mixing things that you are unlikely to have considered. In answer to the first post, of course all mixes don't need to be harmonically sound. All mixes don't have to be in the same bpm range either. In fact, there are no rules - if it sounds good, it sounds good.
True to all the above... always play the right track harmonic or not. Also dissonance is not necessarily a bad thing... the way the MIK circle works is by using the circle of fifths - which is really simply the easiest way to make things match; however there are WAY more ways to use keys in a mix - if you follow MIK on twitter they have tips that show some different ways of mixing around the circle.
The answer is that the BPM and key need to match. If they don't, you get round if by engaging keylock, but use your ears as this can make tunes sound bad.
As Phil has pointed out, the keylock algorithm when used with wild variance of pitch takes a lot of processing power, and this can sometimes cause distortion in the tune
Scientists agree that only a very small small percentage of people on earth is "tone-deaf". What this means is that even if you do not have ANY musical education or classical notation knowledge, your ears (in fact, your brain) can spot two out of tune sounds. To better comprehend the above imagine that a totally "tone-deaf" person would not be able to tell a man from a woman on the phone . So, my opinion, is don't get too caught up with these "in key" programs - your ears can definitely do a good job spotting tracks that do not mix well together because of tonality (key of each track).
Lot of valid points raised above, but here's my two cents worth. Some genres are much more amenable to harmonic mixing. I mainly play trance and this certainly is one of them. Harmonic mixing is especially useful if I'm mixing in and out of tracks quickly and makes the transitions a lot smoother. Armin Van Buuren is a big advocate of harmonic mixing and a lot of his mixes are organised this way. That being said I totally agree with DJ GRE that dissonance used correctly can be a very striking effect. Also DJeengenious you ask do they have to be in the same key. Short answer is no. If you've ever experimented with musical chords and arpeggios you can hear how some work together whilst others clash. Just experiment with it and see what you like and do what you think sounds good...that's one of the greatest things about DJing, it is whatever you want to make it. Just like Jem said there are no rules.
Harmoniously compatible into harmoniously compatible into harmoniously compatible at similar BPM can rapidly become boring though.. the ear craves those off key changes Something to bear in mind
Likewise. Sometimes it can give you an idea, but you'll know from messing around what works. MIK has suggested things that in practice sound outright terrible.
of all the DJ "mistakes" I witness, mixing out of key is the one I forgive the easiest. I'll recognize it, say to myself "well that didn't sound very good" but eventually my ears make the transition to the new key and life moves forward. As for myself, I play it by ear. If I don't like how it sounds, I simply don't do it. I don't know my scales anyway So even if a program tells me the key I can't do anything with it. Unless I consult "the wheel of truth" aka the camelot scale
Once you understand harmonic mixing though it is possible to put key changes deliberately into your mixes for dramatic effect...
