Dubspot

written by DJ Endo

A lot of DJ’s today are Mixing Harmonically and using Mixed in Key to scan their digital music collections so they can organize their music by key and quickly find tracks that will sound good together. In my previous article I discussed how to mix harmonically and how to use the Camelot easy mix chart.

I also mentioned that to effectively use this system, you must either play tracks that are very close in tempo, or to use “Key Lock” or “Master Tempo” to lock the keys of your tracks. Until Recently, I’ve been against using key lock since it can be a CPU hog, or cause Audio Glitches and Artifacts, and also take away some high and low frequencies. Recently Traktor Pro and Ableton Live have adapted a new time stretching algorithm (Z-Plane Elastique Pro), which almost sounds perfect, but still changes the original sound of the record, especially when pitched up or down significantly.

The problem with Harmonic Mixing is when you are beatmatching two records, you are changing the speed of the records, which also changes the key. When you speed up a record, the key of record changes. If one record is pitched up to 6%, this means that the record is in a new key, one semitone, or half step up (ex. A record B minor played at 6% in now in the key of C minor). If you play a record at -6%, you are in a new key, a half step down (ex. C minor to B Minor).

Another example is you’re playing two tracks that are in B minor. One is pitched down 3%, and the other is pitched up 3%. These two records are not going to be in key with each other anymore. One record will be between B flat Minor and B minor, and the other record will be between B Minor and C Minor.

So to effectively mix harmonically without using key lock, you must know what key your first record is at based on the speed its being played at, and also what key your next record will be in when played at that tempo. Nobody wants to think about that when they have thousands of screaming clubbers in front of them.

It was because of this, that I created a new system of Harmonic Mixing called “Relative Key.” Relative Key is a system of Harmonic Mixing where you figure out the key of every record at the same BPM. Once you know the key of every record while played at that BPM, you can then sort your playlists by the new key at that BPM. Then no matter what pitch both tracks are played at, as long as they are in complimenting Relative Keys at that BPM, you know that they will mix harmonically with each other, even though key lock is off for both decks.

Although you can use this concept using other DJ Programs, this system was specifically designed for Traktor Pro, since Traktor will tell you what the new key of your track is based on its tempo.

Here is how I key my tracks using my Relative Key system and Traktor Pro.

1) In Traktor, go into the preferences – Deck Details (or “Decks” – depending on what version you’re using) and in the Deck Header section, show the field called “Key”.

2) Pick the BPM value you are going to use. Try to pick a BPM value that is the average tempo that your tracks are made at. I use 126 BPM. Keep in mind you are going to key EVERY song at this tempo (for all genres), so choose your BPM wisely.

4) Make sure Key Lock is turned off in the Deck in Traktor, and raise the songs tempo to your default Relative Key Tempo (for me it would be 126 bpm). A good trick is to set the master clock to Internal Mode, type in your BPM, and then sync the decks to the master clock, so they are always at your BPM (126 for me).

When the song is at that BPM, look in the deck header in the key field and take note of how much the song has changed from its original Key. If the key field says +1, that means it’s a semitone (half step) higher. If it says -1, that means the track is a semitone (half step) lower. Make a note of the new key at your default tempo (ex. C minor, or 5A).

(In the picture the BPM (132.84) is the speed the track is being played at. The +6.3% means the track is pitched up (speed up) at 6.3%. +1.05 means the track is raised 1.05 semitones (which I would round to 1).

5) In Traktor I like to put the original Mixed in Key (Camelot Code) tags into the “Key” field. I then write the actual key in the “Catalog Number” field (since I never use that). When I figure out what key the track is at @ 126 BPM (or whatever BPM you choose), I will write that new key in the “Key Lyrics” field (since I don’t use that for anything). Then I write the Camelot Code for the new key @ 126 BPM into the “Comments 2” field.

When all is said and done and I’m ready to play I will hide everything, except for the Comments 2 field, and sort my playlist by the column “Comments 2”. Then I can play all night with key lock off, and know that whatever tempo I’m pitching my tracks up or down to, that as long as I mix another track that’s in the same or complimenting “Relative Key”, that it will mix Harmonically, and won’t lose any of its sound quality due to Key Lock.

While this may sound like a lot of work, once you get the system down, it only takes me a half hour more to prepare my gig playlists and makes a huge difference in the sound and saves me a lot of time thinking about tempo and key during my gigs.

Endo is a DJ and product specialist for Native Instruments and lives in Brooklyn. Listen to mixes from him at www.djendo.com.