Armen's guide to music selection

[Armen]

After trial and error I've come up with a method on how to choose songs for your devices and how to organize them. Everyone has their own methods so feel free to share yours.

What songs/tracks to Not sync:

- Don't sync songs that you think may come in handy in a certain situation some day. Chances are this day won't come. (for example don't have the monster mash on your device all year because you may need it on Halloween)

- Don't sync songs that you think others may like. Unless you use your device to DJ assume you will be the one listening to these songs.

- Don't sync songs that have you reaching for the "next track" button within 20 seconds. You'd be surprised how much time is spent skipping songs on your commute to school/work.

- Don't sync songs you wouldn't be able to listen to 2 times in a row. (my songs are so fine tuned that I could listen to the same song 3 times in a row and not mind).

How to Organize your music:

Mood/Emotion: All songs have an emotion to them. They can be angry, sad, upbeat, inspirational. As a general rule I keep similar "emotion" songs together otherwise you end up on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. (Imagine an angry Metal song followed by a Lionel Richie song.)

Genre: This is a no brainer. Rock songs, Rap songs, Dance songs.


Feel free to share how you organize your songs.

 

[chfilm]

I once read about a very clever way to use intelligent playlists for syncing and am doing so since then. It's super convenient, because since I do it like this, I always seem to have all my music with me, in the way that I never miss anything, because the system really covers everything I listen to at the time.

I own a 16 GB iphone so space is limited. Here's my way of sorting:

"Cool old tracks"
last played not during last month
is not podcast, language, soundtrack
rating is above 2 stars
limited to 600mb, sorted after most played - very often.

Favorite Tracks (old)
Added not within last 3 months
Last played during last month
Max 350 mb sorted after most played - very often.

Favorite Tracks (new)
Added within last 3 months
last played during last month
rating above 2 stars
max 600mb sorted after most played - very often.

Soundtrack gems
Media is not podcast
Genre is soundtrack
Rating is better than 3 stars
max 800mb sorted after most played - very often.

Top 35 Pop
Added during last 12 months
Rating better than 3 stars
Genre is not soundtrack
More than 5 Plays
Max 35 objects sorted by most recently added.

All Time Top 25
Added after 2008
Max 25 Objects, sorted by Most played

And the Recently added list
added during last 3 months
no films, books, voice
max 1900mb

plus one custom list where I add certain tracks that I just wanna make sure are with me. Works like a charm!

 

[Armen]

I once read about a very clever way to use intelligent playlists for syncing and am doing so since then. It's super convenient, because since I do it like this, I always seem to have all my music with me, in the way that I never miss anything, because the system really covers everything I listen to at the time.

I own a 16 GB iphone so space is limited. Here's my way of sorting:

"Cool old tracks"
last played not during last month
is not podcast, language, soundtrack
rating is above 2 stars
limited to 600mb, sorted after most played - very often.

Favorite Tracks (old)
Added not within last 3 months
Last played during last month
Max 350 mb sorted after most played - very often.

Favorite Tracks (new)
Added within last 3 months
last played during last month
rating above 2 stars
max 600mb sorted after most played - very often.

Soundtrack gems
Media is not podcast
Genre is soundtrack
Rating is better than 3 stars
max 800mb sorted after most played - very often.

Top 35 Pop
Added during last 12 months
Rating better than 3 stars
Genre is not soundtrack
More than 5 Plays
Max 35 objects sorted by most recently added.

All Time Top 25
Added after 2008
Max 25 Objects, sorted by Most played

And the Recently added list
added during last 3 months
no films, books, voice
max 1900mb

plus one custom list where I add certain tracks that I just wanna make sure are with me. Works like a charm!

Now THIS is a work of science. That is pretty damn cool

 

[chfilm]

Now THIS is a work of science. That is pretty damn cool

Thanks