Folder Hierachy (DJ'ing in Key)

Patch · Post by **Patch** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 6:51 am

Hey,
I've had an idea for folder hierachy in Live for arranging tunes/loops but I'm not sure how to go about it... I've started cataloguing my tunes, adding the key and the bpm to the filename. What I want to be able to do, is have a folder containing all the tunes in the key of , say, D Flat, and within that folder have another folder for each of the compatable keys (A Flat, F-Sharp and E Major - Camelot Easymix - and I'm open to any hints regarding other methods!). This way, the only options available to me will be harmonically compatible.

Now, obviously, there will be A LOT of overlap in these folders, and you'd need many copies of the same tune/loop in multiple folders...

My question is this (I think!) - If I had a Folder containing shortcuts to files instead of the actual files, would they show up and be selectable in Live's browser? You'd obviously need shortcuts to the corresponding .asd file as well.

AND, as each folder would have at least 3 other sub folders in it, once a tune/loop has been selected you could just make the folder it is contained in the root folder. So you'd be constantly going in circles (kind of) with the folders in the browser...

I dunno - is this possible? I'm at work and have not got t'interweb at home - so I thought I'd better get this idea in writting before it disapears along with all the Number One smash hits I never seem to remember when I sit down at the DAW!

Stay Live!

John Sweet · Post by **John Sweet** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 9:17 am

shortcuts/aliases are working fine for me. Not sure how that affects Live's browser search function, but I never use that anyway because it can't handle my hard drive. My folder system has gotten so out of hand that it's hard to remember how to add new tracks into all the little niches, but it has totally changed the way I DJ for the better. There's a little more info here:

http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic. ... ht=aliases

jackmazzotti · Post by **jackmazzotti** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 3:22 pm

as far as djing in key is concerned you should be abele to do that by ear with the transpose knob
as long as its instrumental
vocals don't sound good transposed by more than a whole tone usually

this is part of the beauty of live

the vinyl purists of course dump on us but they don't realize or forget that the tempo and pitch are locked together on records and cds (change one and you change the other)
with us just about anything can be played together

Adman · Post by **Adman** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 3:54 pm

Have you tried Rapid Evolution 2? http://www.mixshare.com

It's free, does key and bpm detection (with full manual override so you can correct those tracks that it might have got wrong) and you can seach your tracks based on key and BMP and drag and drop from it right into Live.

It even shows you which of your tracks are compatable and which need to be pitch shifted to get them to be compatable....

You don't need to even touch Live's browser.

DJ VAKIS · Post by **DJ VAKIS** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 9:54 pm

Adman wrote:Have you tried Rapid Evolution 2? http://www.mixshare.com

It's free, does key and bpm detection (with full manual override so you can correct those tracks that it might have got wrong) and you can seach your tracks based on key and BMP and drag and drop from it right into Live.

It even shows you which of your tracks are compatable and which need to be pitch shifted to get them to be compatable....

You don't need to even touch Live's browser.

Mac version?

John Sweet · Post by **John Sweet** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 12:27 am

It's Java, so it runs in Mac OS fine. I can't figure out how to get it to make any noise but I guess maybe that's because I didn't authorize it, I can't remember. Everything else works.
One of my favorite things has been to feed it non-melodic things, like poetry recordings or sound effects, & have it guess at what the tonality might be.

the dark wizard · Post by **the dark wizard** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 2:35 am

jackmazzotti wrote:as far as djing in key is concerned you should be abele to do that by ear with the transpose knob
as long as its instrumental
vocals don't sound good transposed by more than a whole tone usually

this is part of the beauty of live

the vinyl purists of course dump on us but they don't realize or forget that the tempo and pitch are locked together on records and cds (change one and you change the other)
with us just about anything can be played together

im not a vinyl purist, im into a bit of everything.....but im quite sure vinyl PURISTS are aware that the tempo and pitch are locked together.....if theyre not they cant be pure to their medium

ableton dj daftie

Adman · Post by **Adman** » Sun Jun 18, 2006 1:41 pm

It's Java, so it runs in Mac OS fine.

Yup work a treat on the Mac.

I can't figure out how to get it to make any noise but I guess maybe that's because I didn't authorize it, I can't remember. Everything else works.

Make noise? It has a built in player, but you have to tell it what track to play. Right click (on PC or if you have a multibutton mouse on the Mac) on any track and select play...

A player window opens and starts to play the selected track. It's a little sluggish to respond but that is the nature of Java I guess...

The app can be used to detect live audio key also. If you have a line in on you sound card connected to a sound source it can detect the key of that input.

Also... your tracks don't have to be digital for you to use the app to cataloge them. You just manually add the info and it will be stored in the DataBase. Ideal if you have a mix of vinyl, CD and digital stuff...

I think the best thing about the app is the responce from the developer to suggestions and feedback... bugs are looked at really quickly and each release just gets better.