Rapid Evolution
Encyclopedia
Rapid Evolution is a freeware
software tool for DJs, providing advanced filtering and searching features suitable for musicians. It can analyze audio files and automatically determine many properties, such as the musical key, beats per minute (BPM), beat intensity and ReplayGain. It currently supports the following file types: MP3
, MP4, WAV
, FLAC
, OGG
, AAC
and APE
. It helps DJs to organize and profile their music, and ultimately assists in the process of mixing music by utilizing song metadata to be able to show harmonically compatible songs and songs of a similar style. It allows DJs to save and remember which songs are good matches (like a personal, digital mixing journal) and to even plan entire mix sets.
One of its popular uses is to assist in a DJ technique called harmonic mixing
. Once the musical key and BPM is known for a set of songs, DJs can use music theory
(such as the Circle of Fifths
) to identify songs that are harmonically compatible. The act of mixing harmonically can help eliminate dissonant tones while mixing songs together. Since identifying whether songs can be made harmonically compatible can be quite complex (once features such as pitch lock are introduced), the software assists DJs by being able to show them which songs in their collection can be made harmonically compatible with any particular song. It can also assist DJs in the act of beatmatching
by showing which songs are in a compatible BPM range, and the percent of BPM difference.
Rapid Evolution is created and released through Mixshare.com. The metadata generated by Rapid Evolution is shared through the central servers at Mixshare.com, which can be browsed online. There are currently over 1 million songs added to the database sharing information such as key, BPM, styles and ratings.
environment and released in 2003. Starting in version 2.0 it was switched to run on the Java platform, allowing it to run in virtually any environment. It is still actively developed and the developer is quick to respond to questions, address feature requests, and fix bugs.
Several improvements to the key detection algorithm have been introduced over the years. Rapid Evolution is the only program which can detect advanced key modes, such as aeolian, ionian, dorian, phrygian, lydian and mixolydian. To date, there has only been one serious comparison of key detection accuracy (including programs such as Mixed In Key
and Mixmeister). It was shown that Rapid Evolution is the most accurate.
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
software tool for DJs, providing advanced filtering and searching features suitable for musicians. It can analyze audio files and automatically determine many properties, such as the musical key, beats per minute (BPM), beat intensity and ReplayGain. It currently supports the following file types: MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
, MP4, WAV
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
, FLAC
FLAC
FLAC is a codec which allows digital audio to be losslessly compressed such that file size is reduced without any information being lost...
, OGG
OGG
Ogg may refer to:*Nanny Ogg, a character in the Discworld series of books*Ogg, a multimedia container file format, in computing*Ogg Vorbis, the Vorbis free software/open source audio codec, commonly used with the Ogg container...
, AAC
AAC
AAC refers to Advanced Audio Coding, an audio compression format successor to the MP3 format.AAC may also refer to:-Aviation:* AAC, IATA airport code for El Arish International Airport, Egypt...
and APE
APE
An ape is a member of the Hominoidea superfamily of primates.Ape or APE may also refer to:- Computing :* AJAX Push Engine, an open source Comet/push server...
. It helps DJs to organize and profile their music, and ultimately assists in the process of mixing music by utilizing song metadata to be able to show harmonically compatible songs and songs of a similar style. It allows DJs to save and remember which songs are good matches (like a personal, digital mixing journal) and to even plan entire mix sets.
One of its popular uses is to assist in a DJ technique called harmonic mixing
Harmonic mixing
Harmonic mixing or key mixing is a DJ's continuous mix between two pre-recorded tracks that are most often either in the same key, or their keys are relative or in a subdominant or dominant relationship with one another....
. Once the musical key and BPM is known for a set of songs, DJs can use music theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
(such as the Circle of Fifths
Circle of fifths
In music theory, the circle of fifths shows the relationships among the 12 tones of the chromatic scale, their corresponding key signatures, and the associated major and minor keys...
) to identify songs that are harmonically compatible. The act of mixing harmonically can help eliminate dissonant tones while mixing songs together. Since identifying whether songs can be made harmonically compatible can be quite complex (once features such as pitch lock are introduced), the software assists DJs by being able to show them which songs in their collection can be made harmonically compatible with any particular song. It can also assist DJs in the act of beatmatching
Beatmatching
Beatmatching is a disc jockey technique of pitch shifting or timestretching a track to match its tempo to that of the currently playing track e.g. the kicks and snares in two house records hit at the same time when both records are played simultaneously...
by showing which songs are in a compatible BPM range, and the percent of BPM difference.
Rapid Evolution is created and released through Mixshare.com. The metadata generated by Rapid Evolution is shared through the central servers at Mixshare.com, which can be browsed online. There are currently over 1 million songs added to the database sharing information such as key, BPM, styles and ratings.
History
Rapid Evolution was originally developed for the WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
environment and released in 2003. Starting in version 2.0 it was switched to run on the Java platform, allowing it to run in virtually any environment. It is still actively developed and the developer is quick to respond to questions, address feature requests, and fix bugs.
Several improvements to the key detection algorithm have been introduced over the years. Rapid Evolution is the only program which can detect advanced key modes, such as aeolian, ionian, dorian, phrygian, lydian and mixolydian. To date, there has only been one serious comparison of key detection accuracy (including programs such as Mixed In Key
Mixed In Key
Mixed In Key is Windows and Macintosh software that simplifies a DJ technique called harmonic mixing. The latest version of Mixed In Key analyzes MP3 and WAV files and determines the musical key of every file. Knowing the key, DJs can use music theory to play songs in a harmonically-pleasing...
and Mixmeister). It was shown that Rapid Evolution is the most accurate.