Organize Music and Join the Digital Age

It's important to organize music because it is an indispensable part of our lives. It is practically impossible to go one day without hearing music. Most of us have the music we love scattered and unorganized in several locations such as the computer, an mp3 player, on CDS, etc. It is possible to organize music, and by doing so, to help bring that which we love closer to us on a daily basis.

In this article, I will address how to organize music in order to enter the modern age of digital music. CDs are quickly following 8 tracks (remember those?) in becoming obsolete. The new and future trend is that all music will be in a digital format.

If you are going to organize music, do it right by getting all of it into digital format if possible. You first consolidate your music in one place (on your computer), and then take it on the go with an mp3 player or other digital music device. If you know how to use Windows Explorer (or something similar if you have a Mac), you can organize music files with a little time and effort.

First...

The first step to organize music is to create digital files for all of your albums and songs. If you've downloaded songs from the internet, you already have them on your computer. If you want to make digital files from your CDs, you can do that easily if you have a CD drive on your computer.

There are many programs available to help organize music (i.e., iTunes, Windows Media Player, MediaMonkey, and WinAmp, etc.). Any of these will allow you to edit and control your music library. Download one now, and we'll come back to it later.

First you need to design the basic file organization scheme on your computer. Choose a folder to store your music. Windows automatically adds a "My Music" folder, so I recommend just using that folder.

Then you should decide how you want to name your music files. The most common format is "Artist - Title".mp3. For example, "Dave Matthews Band - The Space Between.mp3".

Most people also organize music files in the library in folders as follows: Artist, Album, Songs. That means there is a folder for each artist, with subfolders for each album, and in each subfolder the song files for that album.

For example, "Dave Matthews Band" folder, "Everyday" album subfolder, and "The Space Between.mp3" song in that subfolder. The Artist folders can then be sorted alphabetically to find them easier. This is just one example, so choose the organization scheme that works best for you.

If you already have downloaded digital music files, try to put them all in the same location. Using Windows Explorer, consolidate all of your music files into the My Music folder if possible. If you want, you can manually select and edit songs, albums, and artists using Windows Explorer until you've satisfactorily organized your music. Or, you can use a software program to help organize music in more detail later.

There are different file formats in which you can save your files, but I recommend using .mp3 because this format can by read by any mp3 player. That means when you import your CDs to your computer that you may need to convert the files into mp3 format. To do this, I recommend using a program to organize music and to import your CDs onto the computer. My personal preference is using iTunes. You can download and use this program for free, even if you don't have an iPod.

Next...

Now to import your CDs onto your computer. This is a great idea not only to simplify and organize music collections, but also to have digital copies of your songs in the event that the actual CD is damaged or un-readable.

To import songs from a CD and change them to mp3 format, use a program such as iTunes or Window Media Player. There are also free downloadable software programs just for converting between file types.

Instead of repeating all of the details here, please visit the your program of choice's tutorial that explains how to import music and convert file types.

Here is how I configured my import settings using iTunes:

• First, I needed to let iTunes know WHERE to store my music.
• At the top of the screen choose "Edit"
• Choose "Preferences"
• Click on the "Advanced" tab
• find "iTunes Music Folder location"
• iTunes will have created a subfolder automatically in your "My Music" folder. This is a good place to store your imported music.
• Click "OK" to close the Preferences screen.
• Next, I want iTunes to know how to import my music so that all of the songs will be in mp3 format:
• At the top of the screen choose "Edit"
• Choose "Preferences"
• Click on the "General" tab
• About half-way down it says "When you insert a CD:"
• Set to "Ask to Import CD"
• Then click "Import Settings"
• Change "Import Using" to "MP3 encoder", and choose whichever quality setting you want. Remember that the higher the quality, the larger the file size.
• Click "OK" twice to close the Preferences screen.

Now whenever I put a CD in the drive, I'm asked if I would like to import the songs. When I say "yes", iTunes automatically reads the CD, converts the song into a digital mp3 file, and puts it in my iTunes music library. If you have chosen the option to automatically organize mp3 files, iTunes will save the files in a folder under the Artist's name in your library. This is very convenient.

In iTunes, you can edit songs by right-clicking on the song, choosing "Get Info", and changing the title, artist, genre, etc., and even add lyrics. Any changes you make will automatically be saved as part of the mp3 file.

Yes, it does take some time to get your music library organized just right, but it's worth the effort when you can easily find your music because you know exactly where it's located.

Now that you've "digitized" all of your music, you can enjoy your mp3s in several ways:

You can:

• Create playlists and play music on your computer speakers
• Sync your music library with an mp3 player, and take your tunes with you
• If you want to listen to your mp3 player in your car, you may be able to connect it if there is an auxiliary input, or you can buy an accessory that lets you listen to the music over a FM radio connection.

So, what do you do with all of those old CDs?

• If you want to keep them, consider removing the paper album jacket from the CD case and putting it, along with the CD, in CD storage sleeves in a 3-ring binder. This will cut down dramatically on the amount of storage space you need for your CDs. You can store computer software CDs in sleeves like this for easy access.
• You can often sell your CDs to a re-sell shop for about $1 each.
• Have a "CD Swap Party", and invite all of your friends to bring their CDs to exchange and find some new tunes.

And what if you're not ready to go "digital" with your music?

Just make sure to organize your CDs in some sort of protective carrier to protect from heat, pressure, etc. If you decide to organize your CDs in their cases, consider alphabetizing them or grouping them by genre (rock, hip-hop, alternative, jazz, etc.).

Don't Forget! Backup Your Music Library!

By consolidating your music into one location on your computer, making backups of your library is much easier. If it's not too large, you can backup your music library to CD or DVD. Another option for larger libraries is to backup your My Music folder to an external hard drive or a secure online back-up site. I recommend IDrive as it is cost effective with good service. You can get a free test drive below: