Harmonic mixing or key mixing (also referred to as mixing in key) is a DJ's

continuous mix A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together to appear as one continuous track. DJ mixes are usually performed using a DJ mixer and multiple sounds sources, such as turntables, CD players, digital audio players ...

between two pre-recorded tracks that are most often either in the same

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

, or their keys are

relative Relative may refer to: General use *Kinship and family, the principle binding the most basic social units society. If two people are connected by circumstances of birth, they are said to be ''relatives'' Philosophy *Relativism, the concept that ...

or in a

subdominant In music, the subdominant is the fourth tonal degree () of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance ''below'' the tonic as the dominant is ''above'' the tonicin other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdomina ...

or dominant relationship with one another. The primary goal of harmonic mixing is to create a smooth transition between songs. Songs in the same key do not generate a

dissonant In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive Sound, sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness ...

tone when mixed. This technique enables DJs to create a harmonious and consonant mashup with any

music genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from ''musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are some ...

Traditional methods

A commonly known method of using harmonic mixing is to detect the root key of every music file in the DJ collection by using a

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

. The root key that fits the track perfectly may be used to create harmonic mash-ups with other tracks in the same key. The root key is also considered compatible with the subdominant, dominant and relative major/minor keys. A more advanced harmonic mixing theory has been proposed which accounts for the various modes as well ( aeolian, ionian, lydian,

mixolydian Mixolydian mode may refer to one of three things: the name applied to one of the ancient Greek ''harmoniai'' or ''tonoi'', based on a particular octave species or scale; one of the medieval church modes; or a modern musical mode or diatonic scal ...

, dorian and phrygian). It is shown that these alternate modes can be seen as variations of the traditional major and minor keys. The corresponding traditional key will share the same number of sharps and flats as the mode, though it will "feel" as if it's in a different key. Which notes are in the scale is much more important than which is the tonic, so these can be converted to one mode, such as minor. For example, F lydian and B locrian contain the same notes as A minor, so these should be compatible, and slightly less with D minor and E minor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmonic Mixing DJing Audio mixing

Traditional methods

See also

References