How to classify Vinahouse and EDM tracks your own way

Why genre tags fail for Vinahouse and EDM

• Tags are close to useless. Remixes and tracks passed around in sharing groups usually say "Dance", "Electronic", or nothing.
• Vinahouse has no standard subgenres. Vinahouse is Vietnam's club sound, hard-hitting and bass-heavy, and the crates DJs use, like Houselak, Xung Sáng (bright), or Xung Tối (dark), exist only in DJs' heads. No store tags them.
• BPM and key aren't enough. A track at 132 BPM in 8A can be a bright, floaty Xung Sáng tune or a dark Xung Tối roller with a heavy bassline. The difference is in the timbre, the energy, the way the bass hits.

So the right question isn't "what genre is this?" but "which crate does this belong in for my sets?"

Step 1: Choose labels that match how you play

There's no label set that's right for everyone. A few starting points:

Four rules for a label set that lasts:

1. Start with 4–8 labels. Too few and each label is too broad; too many and they overlap.
2. Labels must sound different. Split by artist, release year, or download source and the software can't tell them apart, because it only hears the music.
3. One main label per track. If you keep hesitating between two labels, they're too close.
4. Name them the way you think behind the decks. If you think "time to go hard", call the label Hard.

Step 2: Gather example tracks for each label

• About 100 tracks per label. Two is the minimum, but the more typical tracks you give it, the closer the predictions get to your taste.
• Pick the "I know it in 10 seconds" tracks. The most typical tracks of that label, not your personal favorites.
• Leave the in-betweens out. A track that's half bright, half dark blurs both labels.
• Never put a track in two label folders. That teaches two answers to the same question.
• If a label keeps getting it wrong, add examples to that label before you rethink the whole set.

Step 3: Let the software label the rest

With your example folders ready, the software analyzes every trait of every track, from rhythm and energy to timbre, learns what each label sounds like, then labels your new music. Every track comes with a confidence score.

All that's left for you is to re-listen to the tracks it isn't sure about. An outlier, say a psytrance track hiding in a fresh folder of Vinahouse downloads, usually gets low confidence and lands in the review pile. You decide: add a new label, or leave it out.

Want it to learn from a track you just relabeled? Copy that track into the right label folder and the next training picks it up.

FAQ

Can I classify by energy instead of genre?

Yes. You name the labels, so Hard and Rolling are energy labels, Bright and Dark are mood labels. As long as the labels clearly sound different.

What if a track is both bright and hard?

Each track gets one label. If you think along two axes, pick the one you use most when choosing the next track mid-set, and keep one label set for that axis.

Can I add a new genre later?

Yes. Add a new label with its own example folder and the app analyzes and retrains on its own.

Can I share my labels with another DJ?

Yes, on Premium. Export a label as a label pack (a .tdlabel file) for someone else to import on their computer. Packs contain no audio.

Do it fast with Taxonomy DJ

Automatic music classification in Taxonomy DJ runs these three steps right on your computer:

1. In the Training tab, click Add label for each example folder, or From parent folder if all your label folders live in one place. After training, the insights tell you which labels get mixed up and which need more tracks.
2. In the Music Library tab, click Add music folder, choose Run full analysis, then click Scan. About 100 tracks a minute, depending on your computer.
3. Click Quick filter ▸ Needs review, listen, and fix labels with the 1–9 keys.
4. Select tracks, then File ▸ Copy to folder: one subfolder per label, originals untouched.
5. Added tracks to a label folder later? Choose Analyze ▸ Scan for new files and the app retrains by itself.

Training and automatic labeling need Premium. Read more: how to classify music without listening to every track.