MixedInKey.

com - How To Use Harmonic Mixing

Page 1 of 1

Harmonic Mixing
Harmonic mixing greatly improves your DJ sets. From Sasha to Paul Oakenfold, thousands of professional DJs use harmonic mixing to enable smooth transitions. Harmonic mixing eliminates key clashes. When you mix harmonically, your vocals, melodies and basslines will be in key. Harmonic mixing opens a new realm of creativity and allows you to achieve a "live mash-up" effect when you DJ. You can find unusual combinations of songs to mix (The Beatles vs. Jay-Z), or just enjoy flawless mixing like Armin Van Buuren and Paul Van Dyk. To start using harmonic mixing, you need to know the key of every song that you play. Mixed In Key scans your entire MP3 and WAV file collection, greatly simplifying the process. When processing is done, Mixed In Key displays your results in the Camelot Easymix notation (ex. 4A, 6B).

Using Harmonic Mixing

The Camelot notation was created to simplify harmonic mixing. Here is a picture of the Camelot Easymix Wheel:

(Image showing the Camelot notation) On this wheel, musical keys can be seen as "hours" on a clock. For example, 4 o'clock corresponds to 4B or 4A. The "B" letters on the outside circle represent Major keys. The inside circle represents Minor keys. To use harmonic mixing in your DJ sets, you can transition between songs by subtracting one hour (-1), adding one hour (+1), or staying in the same hour as your last song. If you're in key of 4A, you can stay in 4A, mix into 3A or mix into 5A. It's just like subtracting or adding one hour. Harmonic mixing works for any genre of music because it is based on music theory. Your mixes will be harmonic if you follow this simple method.

Improving Your DJing

Using this method does not require you to play the same key the whole night. You can always move around the Camelot wheel one step at a time. For a special effect, you can mix between the inner and the outer circle. For this technique, you can change the letter (A to B) but not the number. For example, you can mix from 10B to 10A and then start moving along the inner circle. You can then mix back into 10B (previous key), 9A (subtract one hour), 10A (your current key), or 11A (add one hour).

The Mixed In Key Advantage

For your first harmonic mix, analyze your music with Mixed In Key and find two songs that have the same key code. Mix them together using your favorite DJ equipment or software, and you'll hear a smooth transition every time. From there, you will be able to experiment with other harmonic transitions. Mixed In Key gives you a competitive advantage as your DJ sets will sound creative and professional.

Get the Full Version

Mixed In Key can detect the key and tempo of all MP3 and WAV files. Read details about your digital download purchase

http://www.mixedinkey.com/HowTo.aspx

5/3/2007