Mixing In Key

don’t have my records/cd’s with keys on them but i know what tracks will go with what…(a track will start playing in my head when i’m mixing, and that’ll be the next track i’ll put on)

It’s all about your ears, I totally agree.

Something need not be perfectly, exactly in key to go, and you can also obtain a nice harmony from things in different keys, provided there’s no dissonance, i.e. the range of notes is limited in one of the tunes at least.

But yeah…just use your ears. I’m lucky enough to have grade 8 music knowledge so it’s definitely never gonna be an issue for me. Besides, trial and error works nicely too…

Danny Detox wrote:

Im just interested in how much you DJ types base your selection on Key vs Beat / Groove?

Most of my mixes are based on key, however mixing with the beat is always the better way. Having said that it won’t always sound right, it may sound ok to the untrained ear, but if you listen very, very carefully you can hear it’s not 100% matched that’s when mixing in via the key note is a really handy way of compromising.
If you listen to some of the mix compilations that you can get from the retail shops, they are really badly mixed. They just try and mix in the huge hits, I bet if they used the key mixing theory they would sound 100% better and more professional. Some mixing programs do come with a note analyzer, but I believe they are not always on target.
There is a key/note chart on one of my links pages, and it explains how to mix the "harmony" way. I’ll try and find it and post if here for you.

Edit: Found it It’s a program called :-
["Quote"=mixshare.com] "rapid evolution" is an advanced harmonic music library tool for dj’s, designed to be used while you mix. it helps profile your songs by saving important properties, such as the bpm, key, time signature, styles, comments, etc. you can then instantly see which songs are within bpm range, in key harmonically and in similar styles. more importantly, it lets you save comments and information about each individual mix you come up with. use it to enhance your knowledge of your music and remember the important details of what you do. you will quickly take your mixing to new levels! the software includes automatic bpm and key detection, as well as tools to determine this information yourself–a bpm tapper and a midi keyboard. it also lets you share all song and mix information with other dj’s. use it and start evolving!["quote"]
If you get it from the above site, it also has a forum with loads of discussions on this program.