Using Apple iTunes to Diversify Your Music Mixes
Diversify Song Selection with iTunes, Smart Playlists, and Comments
Sep 2, 2009
Many years ago, music buffs had very little control over how their respective CD players shuffled music. However, today there is more flexibility when it comes to directing MP3 player counterparts to channel a specific style or sound.
While some people prefer iTunes to filter music for them, using default methods, many grow frustrated with the software's tendency to lump unlike songs together under the same genre. To create a diverse mix, it is critical for iTunes users to be proactive in singling out variations in genre.
Identify Genre Variations
Mos Def's "Blue Black Jack," released on his sophomore album, The New Danger, sounds like it could be a hidden track on any John Lee Hooker tribute album, boasting a soulful 12-bar blues scheme that might sound awkward if tossed into a mix full of true-blue Hip-Hop music.
However, hear it stuffed in the context of a mix that shines a spotlight on music representing the Mississippi Delta, and it suddenly feels like home.
iTunes allows users to change information that Apple attaches to each song in the form of an ID3 tag, and the obvious solution to this dilemma would be to alter the song's predetermined genre.
Of course, genre may not always be the sole discriminatory parameter that stands between a music fan and their goal of creating the ultimate, harmonious mix. Also, Mos Def is a Hip-Hop artist at heart, and principle dictates that someone like him should stand out as such in a room full of classic blues men.
Add Song Comments
There are ways to pay homage to an artist's ability to transcend genre without removing the umbrella that they so naturally stand under, and one way is by adding comments to individual songs, which serve as a unique reference that a Smart Playlist can identify.
To accomplish this, click on the song in question and go to the File Menu. Next, click Get Info, find the Info tab, and enter a phrase into the Comments field. For this example, something along the lines of “Delta Blues" would suffice. Then, click OK.
Next, identify other songs in the library that may be appropriate matches for the sound that the mix aims to achieve. Given the example, try sorting the library by genre and sifting through tracks that fall under the "Blues" category, selecting songs that also fit the bill.
Repeat the process of adding the same identifier to the Comments field of the selected songs using a bulk edit. Finally, find other songs, regardless of genre, that can be thrown into the mix to make it more diverse.
Create A Smart Playlist
Once songs are identified and comments added, go to the File Menu and create a Smart Playlist that gathers tracks containing the unique identifier entered into each song's Comments field.
Now, sit back and enjoy a blues mix that occasionally drops a song recorded by a rap artist, or a rock mix that plays something released by a folk singer, or even a country mix sporting a track performed by a well-known pop idol.
Ultimately, the only real limit to achieving a more mixed bag of music in iTunes is the diversity that exists within a person's own library.
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