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Color Coding vs. Keys and & Matchlists

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Aaron

05 Mar, 2010 11:08 AM

Hi, just want to start off by saying i love your program and I am just trying to figure out a few things. First off which is better for harmonic mixing, mixing songs by colors or keys? I am also trying to perfect the matchlist, i want to create perfect match lists based on color coding. How do i brake down each matchlist so that every song is seperated into different lists based on color? I have tried messing around with it but noticed that the color variations are slight and cannot tell as the colors change a shade lighter or darker. I use Serato and store all my music on an external hard drive. I will have to drag and drop all the folders back into itunes then analyze and separate all the songs into playlists based on either keys or colors. Then open Serato and create identical crates to the playlists and drag all the playlists into the crates. Since I have over 900 gb of music it will take me a little while but I just want to make sure that my matchlists are seperated correctly so that I can keep adding to serato and have each crate sounding similar.

1. Support Staff 1 Posted by hendrik on 05 Mar, 2010 04:22 PM

   

   Hi,

   first of all, by definition you need keys for harmonic mixing - colors will not do the job.

   You write, "How do i brake down each matchlist so that every song is seperated into different lists based on color?" - I'm not sure I understand that question... Any chance you could rephrase it?

   Thanks,

   -hendrk

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2. 2 Posted by bootcockie on 05 Mar, 2010 08:31 PM

   

   I USE SERATO AS WELL. I UNDERSTAND WHAT U ARE SAYING. YOU BASICALLY HAVE TO GO THROUGH 3 PROGRAMS TO GET FILES TO SHOW UP IN SERATO CRATES. NOT REALLY A BEATUNES ISSUE BUT VERY PAIN STAKING, DUE TO HAVING TO DO THIS EVERY TIME A NEW SONGS IS ADDED.

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3. 3 Posted by Aaron on 06 Mar, 2010 01:26 AM

   

   So when songs are grouped together in colors doesn't that mean they are similar in sound? I'm just trying to understand what the difference is between matching keys and matching colors since I read in a previous post that beatunes analyzes songs and can determine if the songs sound the same then color code them. Or maybe I'm just very confused. I have also looked at Mixed in key, what are the differences or should I say pros of Beatunes and it's key/color coding vs. Mixed in Key and it's Camelot System?

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4. Support Staff 4 Posted by hendrik on 06 Mar, 2010 07:17 AM

   

   Yes, similar color implies similar sound.

   But it does not imply the same or a matching key. To understand harmonic mixing you have to understand the circle of fifths (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_fifths) - color can help you, but the important thing are keys.

   The Camelot Notation is nothing more than a notation for keys. So instead of C minor you call it some number and a letter (for minor/major). This helps people who don't understand the circle of fifths or keys - but in the and it's really just using a number instead of the key name. That's why it's called a notation.

   Color in beaTunes is not about keys, but more about spectra... similar color means similar spectrum, which is not the same as key. Two songs can have a similar color, but be in a completely different key.

   Hope this clarifies the issue a little.

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5. 5 Posted by bootcockie on 06 Mar, 2010 07:22 AM

   

   THAT HELPS ME!!! :)

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6. 6 Posted by Aaron on 06 Mar, 2010 05:46 PM

   

   I'm asking the question from a Dj's perspective. If I wanted to create a perfect set, mixing songs of multiple genres with similar bpms and similar sounds then I would pay more attention to the color of the track rather than the key? I usually have to just play everything by ear and memory now if I can just analyZe which tracks sound similar to eachother I can group them together and save a lot of time doing so

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7. Support Staff 7 Posted by hendrik on 06 Mar, 2010 07:21 PM

   

   To achieve that goal, I'd go to the beaTunes Preferences, Song Matching tab and create a new rule set with just the key and the color rule. If harmonic mixing is more important, choose a higher value for key than for color. If being in matching key is not so important, choose a higher value for color. You might also want to add some BPM and similar rating, but with lower weights.

   Then go to your music collection and decide how many color bins you'd like. Let's say three (red green blue). Choose one very red song and create a matchlist with the ruleset you defined. Then a very green song, etc.

   However, beaTunes will not create perfect sets. Oftentimes it's probably smarter to do the following:

   • Make sure you use the Ruleset you defined above
   • Open the matchlist pane (Edit -> Show matching songs)
   • Select a song you'd like to start your playlist with
   • Create a new playlist with selection (File menu)
   • Select the song in the new playlist
   • The matchlist pane now shows matching songs (according to the defined ruleset, which you can always tweak)
   • Drag the songs you deem matching into the playlist
   • Select the just added song (in order to get new matches) and drag the next song into the playlist.

   This way beaTunes supports you in finding songs that match certain criteria, but lets you build the playlist yourself - cause you know your songs better than beaTunes does.

   -hendrik

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