The widget allows you to see whether your two songs would work together as a mashup by analyzing their musical key and providing a pitch shift that should of worked. By simply clicking and dragging with your mouse (or track pad), it is easy to control. Alternatively, if you are working away at something and want to make small changes quickly, you can do so using your computer keyboard.
In the top left-hand part of the screen, you need to select a key for your anchor track. To do this, you simply have to choose the tonic note and decide if it is a major or naturaly minor mode. Once done, this track is set and doesn’t move as you play around with the second track.
How to Use the Tool
On the right-hand side of the screen, you want to select the key/mode of the track you wish to change. This becomes the song you can pitch shift and get into place. To change the pitch of the movable track use the slider that is underneath the movable track settings. Simply drag it to the left to lower the pitch and to the right to increase the pitch. There’s plenty of space to play around with. From six semitones up to six semitones down.
As you slide the slider across the screen, a new key appears that changes to match your position. This also displays how many pitch classes the two scale share in real-time. The middle image shows the zipper diagram. In this case, it’s a picture of the overlap between the scales with their teeth representing the notes within them. So green teeth are notes that both songs has together… Which is good because they’ll combine and sound harmonious; whereas red or highlighted teeth are clashing notes. Which may result in dissonance.
The score reflects how well these keys fits together, with a better score meaning they interlock more cleanly. The right-hand report tell you why the combination works, or why it might require some care. To do this, click on the best shift button and it’ll find the strongest match between your tracks. This means that the tool will scan the available range and snap the slider into the best position for you.
You can stitch an eight bar chorus to get a quick preview of what the mashup is going to sound like and hear both tracks playing together. If you prefer to compare the two tonics directly, use the alternate button instead which will play them through in turn. To listen to the problem notes in isolation, press the “isolate clash” button. What you’ll then hear is the sound of each track’s unique pitches. That way, you’ll know exactly where the clash is coming from. Because the audio can get pretty darn loud, use the mute button to stop whenever you’d like. The louder you make it with the volume slider, the more intense it will become for your ears.
You can use your computer keyboard for quick adjustments while you work, or you can control it with your mouse. To increase the pitch, press the right bracket key; to decrease it, press the left bracket key. To begin playing back the stitched chorus, press the M key; to mute any clashes, hit the C key; to delete the sound, press the X key. These options leave your fingertips glued to the keyboard as you adjust the settings.
If you’re having trouble with the theory there’s a bit more information in the help panel. To find out what it means, click the how to play button. It gives you more information on the scoring and notes. It also explains relative keys. The report on the right explain why the pairing works or why it might need care. Use the fullscreen button if you’d rather not be distracted while looking at the widget, as this will make it bigger to view better.
Next, experiment with the modes of both to discover how one interacts with the other; don’t just stick to matching modes, as you may find that if one is in a minor key, then another in a close relative works really well. Experiment with small shifts before trying extreme changes. Listen out for where the common notes reinforce the harmony and melody, and adjust using the clash isolation to eliminate any jarring combinations.
This is a simple tool that makes it easy to match keys with your music. No more guessing about pitch shift and scale, just trust what you see on screen. The response is instant and lets you hear quickly whether an idea will work in a mix or not. This gives you the feedback to make decisions on what sounds good, from electronic to pop hits.
Select some keys and see what matches.