Making first mix.

[Boss101]

When making a mix how much pre-planning goes into it? Do people actually set marks then to bring in another song or is it more freestyle?

[Mitch]

I freestyle everything.

However i do know my tracks.

Some people plan out what they are going to play before they start mixing.

I don't plan anything beforehand, and only plan a couple of tracks ahead of me at most and improvise it all

[GREMM1S]

You talking a mixtape or a live set?

You can never plan a live set but you can organise a mixtape.

[Boss101]

Just going to record a mix I do tomorrow.

Not a live show.

[GREMM1S]

Yeah man if you want it to stand out sort your set so it has a good progression, sort all your tunes by key and practice your transitions to nail your phrasing.

[Boss101]

What do you mean by key?

[GREMM1S]

Its basically a mixing technique whereby you mix songs that have similar harmonic tones.

http://www.mixedinkey.com/HowTo

Not needed but i think it helps alot.

[Boss101]

No worries. Thanks.

[Boss101]

Where do I find what 'key' the song is made from?

[Mitch]

Two programs that most use are mixed in key or rekordbox.

mixed in key can analyse the song and give you the key in one of two formats: Their Camelot format (1A, 2A, 3A etc.) or standard notation. This Camelot format is easier for when you don't know your musical keys and which ones harmonically work well together. However the program costs approx 50 bucks

Rekordbox will also tell you the key, however it only gives you the key of the song in standard notation (e.g. E minor, F major etc.) and requires you know which keys mix well together (e.g. F minor and C minor mix well together harmonically).

Hope this helps and I haven't confused you more.

[Gandy]

^ as an addition, the camelot wheel also tells you the corresponding standard notation, so you can always double reference that if you dont want to pay the $50 for camelot comments/know your theory

[GREMM1S]

Just be weary with rekordbox key analysis i dont tests have been done on its accuracy yet?

[Boss101]

I might pay for the mixed in keys. Will it automatically tell me the kreys in Traktor Pro 2 or would I have to keep referring back to mixed in keys? If that makes sense.

[Boss101]

Also do I have to do my tracks one by one or will the program tell me all of my tracks.

[Scottie]

I'm pretty sure Mixed in Key writes the key into the 'key' section of the tags on the file, which Traktor or any other software can then read and display.

[Mitch]

As Scottie said, Mixed in Key (MIK) can be set to write to the key field, which you can look at from within traktor.

You can drag as many songs as you want in at once and it will go and process them all for you. Depending on your computer's processing speed and your internet connection speed, it may take a while to do your whole collection.

[Boss101]

Cool, I just purchased it then. Can't use my DDJ til the morning though.

[GREMM1S]

As Scottie said, Mixed in Key (MIK) can be set to write to the key field, which you can look at from within traktor.

You can drag as many songs as you want in at once and it will go and process them all for you. Depending on your computer's processing speed and your internet connection speed, it may take a while to do your whole collection.

Was so depressed the day my net went down and thought ah well ill re analyse all my music.

[Mitch]

Cool, I just purchased it then. Can't use my DDJ til the morning though.

Do some reading on how you read and mix different keys together while all your music analyses

[eggssell]

i usually just mix for a couple of hours to warm up.

Then i hit record, and play a handful of the tracks i just used in my warm up

Occassionally shit doesnt work and i stop and try again chopping out the track that messed me up.

Never really ever fully planned a mix

[Boss101]

Will do Mitch. Thanks for your help.

Keep an eye out for my first mix when I upload it. Would love your advise.

[Boss101]

Thanks all!

[Kodiak]

Traktor also now has key analysis, but I am not 100% on how to read it. It isn't in the same Camelot system as used by mixed in key but looks similar. Theory is the same with the numbers and a letter to indicate major or minor key. I purchased MiK before Traktor could do this so still use it for my harmonic mixing (and I am a big advocate of it.)

I'm still very much a noob. I know my way around my S4 and Traktor, but without both of these I am lost. I am kinda stuck and now reliant on the visual element that Traktor provides. I purely mix for my own enjoyment. I make my own mixes with songs I like for my own enjoyment. So I am a meticulous planner because I want to be hearing perfect mixes. Playing live is different and minor imperfections are less noticeable.

The other guys who have said they just wing it when they play are very experienced. After seeing Mitch play I think he could mix the 1812 overture with the crazy frog and somehow pull it off. But for a new person, getting to know the art and their equipment, plan it out to start with.

My couple tips I can give with my year or so with traktor....

1. Plan your mix... Different songs have different energies. I like to build a set, starting with fairly melodic tunes and ending on a high with the bangers. For a half hour mix build until the end, don't let up.

2. Plan transitions. Different songs require a different transition for that perfect sound. Most common things I use is incoming or outgoing song needs mids or lows faded or cut (I personally rarely touch treble...but that's me). I also like to use the filter occasionally for this. Audition and practise these.... Super Traktor tip --> You can save notes on your cue points. I write my instructions on what I am going to do on the incoming tune's que point. The one shown in the example is the transition between the first and 2nd song (2nd song starts coming in about 5:10 in the mix). Cue point 3 starts on the incoming tune at 7 on the outgoing track. Bit of gibberish but I knew what it meant at the time....

3. Harmonic mixing generally sounds more pleasing, especially if you like long transitions like I do. As already discussed you can either use MiK or Traktor. I have used both and they both work. The mix below was using Traktor's key recognition and it sounds perfectly fine to me. You can see in the playlist the key progression. I assume "m" is for minor and "d" is major as minor keys seem to be the most common for EDM. The way Traktor notates it is different to MiK but the basics are the same. 1 to 12 either "m" or "d". You either go the same key or usually -/+1. It is also possible to -/+2 or -/+7. This isn't exactly a solid rule though. If a mix sounds good but doesn't follow the rules then so be it. I break the rules a couple times in this mix, but sounds good enough to me...

4. Click on the dot next to the "Key" knob - Shift + Play on S4, to turn Keylock on. This makes it so much easier to change tempo without it being audible in a pitch change in the music, just the beat will change. A non-issue if all your songs are at same tempo, or you are mixing at a constant tempo. But really useful for those genres changes like a 110bpm Moombah song to 120bpm Electro tune.

5. Bit of a cheat here and the purest might get upset. But I say use what technology you got at your disposal. Click on the blue button next to "Gain" knob. Will change to orange and all songs will be loaded up at the same gain level.

click for full size

http://soundcloud.com/dj-drc1/march-electro-mix-1

[GREMM1S]

+ rep Drc

[yizzle]

+ rep Drc

2nd.

Top post mate.