As an experiment this morning, I taught Dennis Mellon's ICI/PRO Podcast 287 A little Bit of Everything Audio Class PROfile and used his harmonically mixed playlist. They appeared to like it and two members asked for the playlist after class. I realize that it's a small sample, but it's rare that that happens in my class.
I didn't follow Dennis' profile exactly - I let each song play out to the end, rather than manually transition mid-track. This had a few of the intervals flowing through the song transitions - which actually worked to my advantage. The difference was subtle, and yet I'm now realizing quite profound. Even though there was a song change, it didn't appear (or sound) disruptive. I use the full 12 second cross-fade feature in Spotify and, because most of the transitions were in compatible keys, they flowed together nearly perfectly. Or as they say; "smooth like butta."
Love to know your experiences with harmonic mixing if you've tried it.
Tonight I'm dusting off my PeeWee Herman costume (complete with the 70's white shoes and obligatory shoe mirror*) for my 5:30 class. I'm going to use both the profile and playlist from ICI/PRO Podcast 231 “The Gate” Halloween Mixed Ride Audio PROfile From Kim Moody
*In case you're wondering, Amy hates my costume 🙁
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John is a member on the AFS (Association of Fitness Studios) Advisory Council.
Holding certifications from; Schwinn, Heart Zones, Team ICG and Life Time Fitness, John's held regularly scheduled cycling classes between 1998 and 2015 when he moved to Florida.
When the weather permits, you'll find him riding and leading outdoor groups by himself or with his Tandem partner (wife) Amy.
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I have used harmonic mix on and off for my classes. After a while, I reverted to using my own harmonic mixer analyzer, a.k.a. my ears, and haven’t turned back.
If you can’t tell that a mix is bad, you probably should not be doing mixes.
On the other hand, mixes aren’t always meant to be harmonic. Sometimes a sharp change in mood requires an abrupt change in harmony – i.e: going from a flat to a steep climb.
Alan,
We are introducing harmonic mixing as another tool instructors can us to give class participants the best experience possible. Just because you may be gifted with an ear for harmony doesn’t mean everyone else is. This software helps those that may be “tone-deaf” put together great mixes.
Dennis,
You left out that great mixes aren’t just harmonic mixes.
Yes, harmonic mixes are a part of one’s arsenal. However it is not the only thing that determines a great mix.
To be very simplistic, transitions can be done to the beat, as a fade in/fade our, or as a simple cut.
The article describes 12 seconds cross-fade between songs using Spotify. That is definitely not the best way of creating a mix.
I have tried the harmonic mix software just to abandon it on a corner of my hard-drive.
If you are tone deaf then you can rely on other people that aren’t and use their playlists.
Alan the 12 sec Xfade is how I use Spotify. It works well to cover quiet/slow intos and is the only option we have with Spotify. Those 12 seconds can create a problem when the keys clash.
You’re lucky you can hear the differences… my excitement with this is #1 it didn’t occur to me that harmonic mixing would have any value and #2 now that I’m aware of it, having some technology to supplement my tone deaf ears is a huge relief 🙂