Having trouble mixing harmonically? In this tip, Pyramind DJ instructor Shawn Mercado (aka M3RC) walks you through a simple way to analyze your songs and plan your set accordingly. This will be especially helpful for those of you who aren’t very familiar with music theory.
For more info on our Dj courses:
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Using Mixed in Key (rated the Best DJ Tool of the Year by DJ Magazine), Shawn analyzes songs based on their location on the Camelot Wheel, a system used to identify compatible keys. In the software preferences, you can easily set key notation to be displayed as Camelot or traditional keys (B Min, D Maj, etc).
Next you will learn how to use the Camelot Wheel (or circle of fifths) as a visual aid to know which songs will mix well together. This incredibly easy to use system allows you to stay in key, avoiding harsh harmonic transitions during your set which could potentially clear the dance floor.
Using Rekordbox, Shawn tests out a transition between two compatible songs. He sets a memory location at the beginning of the last 16 bars of one song’s drop, to time it out with the 16 bar intro of the second song. He slowly crossfades between the two songs to demonstrate that they are in the same key and very compatible. When preparing your sets, you can just click and drag tracks directly into Mixed in Key from Rekordbox and they will get analyzed and tagged. From there, you can get an immediate idea of which songs work in your set, or which songs you need to add to bridge gaps.
Mixed in Key -
http://www.mixedinkey.com/
