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 harmonicmixing

HARMONIC MIXING



Harmonic Mixing or Key Mixing is the mixing of two or more songs that are in the same or similar key. Along with traditional mixing techniques such as beat matching, harmonic mixing theory helps create a more seamless transition by pairing similar sounding tracks in order to avoid audible clashing.

Using Harmonic theory can make your DJ set flow smoother and give you the ability to change the energy of the room like a Pro.


THE CAMELOT WHEEL

The Camelot Wheel acts as a Harmonic Clock that displays major keys on the outer ring and minor keys on the inner ring. Every key value on the clock is compatible with the other keys that are adjacent to their immediate position. This allows you to find a compatible key for your next track by moving one position left, right, up or down on the clock.

Example:
If your current song is 12B you can mix it with 12A (down), 11B (left), or 1B (right).

Continuing to move around the clock in this manner will insure that your set sounds better and gives you the ability to change the energy of the mix by using the inner and outer rings. Major keys (outer ring) have a brighter or happier sound, while Minor keys (inner ring) are more melancholic or sad sounding.




HARMONIC MIXING IN VIRTUALDJ

VirtualDJ takes the guess work out of harmonic mixing by integrating harmonic theory directly into the decks and browser. These integrations not only allow you do adjust the key of a track but will dynamically update the browser to display compatible tracks in relation to the master deck.

In the decks, there is a Key Value and Key Match dropdown menu.




Clicking on the Key text will provide its value in 2 different views; Harmonic (03A) or Musical (A#m). Changing the key scale in the deck will also reflect the Key Field in the browser.

The Harmonic Scale is best used for mixing songs in key while the Musical Scale is better used for Karaoke where a singer would like to sing in a specific musical key.

Harmonic Key Display
Musical Key Display


Clicking on the Key Match menu will provide the ability to change the key (listed in semitones). Click on the desired key to instantly change it.

Selecting Automatic Key Match from this menu will change the key by up to one semitone on the opposing deck when a track is loaded. If the track has a greater difference than one semitone, it will remain unaffected.

Once the key is changed in the deck, the new key value will be displayed on the deck and the difference (+/- semitone) will be displayed on the Key Match button.

When the Key and Key Difference fields are enabled in the Browser's FileList it will provide accurate information of what is compatible in relation to the Master Deck.

When the key value is set to Harmonic it displays the keycode and color of the track based on the harmonic scale.

The Key Difference field displays the difference in semitones based on the active deck. If the key matches or is off by 1 semitone to the current track on the master deck, a check mark will appear beside the key value to indicate that it is safe to mix harmonically.

A bright check mark indicates an exact match while a darker check mark indicates that the track is off by one semitone but still safe to mix.




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