Getting started with Music Scheduling part 5 - voice tracking, rules and history

In previous sections, we've covered getting started with your firstplaylist, plus setting some of the more advanced options – including the sequence of items and similar artists/titles. Finally, we'll take a brief look at some of the other sections of the Music Scheduling software!

And remember you can try for free for up to 30 days – no obligations, and you don't need to provide us with an e-mail to use the trial.

History

This contains your previously saved playlists – handy if you need to resave a playlist you previously created. There is also an option to check previous items in your history when creating a playlist – so if a track was recently used in another playlist, it won't be included in the one that is currently being created.

Rules

From here you can set items to appear after every number of tracks (e.g. if you wanted a jingle to be played after every 8^th track) or for rule tracks to appear within a particular range (for example, you may have an A List of tracks, and need 3 in every 10 tracks to be tracks from the A List).

Voice Tracking

These are options to make it easier to add pre-recorded voice tracks to your playlist. This includes having tracks that ALWAYS appear in your playlist, no matter what (e.g. if a voice link you want to add refers to that track), associating particular tracks with voice links (so when a track is added, that matching voice link is added before or after) or adding pre-recorded voice links to the start, middle or end of your playlist.

The Music Scheduling includes full help and documentation, and of course you can experiment with the different sections and features, and see which ones work best for you!

We are also happy to answer any questions – you can e-mail simon@libraryplayer.co.uk

We hope you enjoy using the Music Scheduling software to create your playlists.

Getting started with Music Scheduling part 4 - similar artists and track titles

From the “Similar Artists and Titles” section of the Music Scheduling software – you can identify similar artists or track titles, that you don't want to appear close together in your playlist.

For example, you may want solo tracks from former band members to be considered the same artist (e.g. Take That and Robbie Williams to be considered the same) and spaced apart accordingly.

It can also be used for track titles that are known by different names.

You can import similar artist/title information, and a sample file is available from our Download section.

You can add, modify or remove similar artists be using the buttons next to the list – you can also right click and double click (to modify) to access various options.

When you untick an item in the Similar Artist list, that item will be ignored when creating the playlist.

If you'd like to discuss further, and how Music Scheduling can help you, contact simon@libraryplayer.co.uk

Getting started with Music Scheduling part 3 - playlist sequence

Previously we covered getting started and creating your first playlist (part 1) and then setting some of the options, including length and spacing (part2). This time, we'll look at setting the sequence in which items appear in your playlist.

Sometimes you may want to set the specific order or sequence in which particular items appear in a playlist, e.g. a particular set of tracks, a jingle every number of tracks, etc. You can do this from the Sequence section of the Music Scheduling software.

Select the Set sequence/rotation of playlist items option at the top to enable the sequence section.

You can add items to the sequence by dragging and dropping or using the buttons – this includes folders (so a track in that folder will be included when creating that playlist), specific audio files (e.g. if you want a jingle to be played after every number of tracks), rules and a track from the available tracks (i.e. a track from the Tracks section covered in part 1).

Items can be added to the sequence multiple times (e.g. if you want a track from a particular folder to be included more then once).

Each time a playlist is created, it will add a track from that sequence item before moving to the next item in the sequence – once it reaches the end of the sequence, it starts from the beginning again until a complete playlist is created.

Items in the sequence override the options you set in the Tracks section (i.e. tracks from the Tracks section are only included if you add “Available Tracks” to your sequence at least once).

Right click the sequence for a range of options, including adding an item again or editing the sequence item.

You can move items up and down using the buttons or by dragging and dropping.

Double click an item to edit that sequence item – for example, you can specify that only tracks from a particular year are included for this sequence item, or particular genres.

As always, experiment with the Sequence section (and the other Music Scheduling options) to discover how they work, and which settings are best for you. And if you have any questions, send them to simon@libraryplayer.co.uk

Getting started with Music Scheduling part 2 - playlist length and spacing options

In part 1, wecreated your first playlist using the Music Scheduling software, by adding tracks and clicking Create Playlist. In this part, we'll have a look at tailoring your playlist.

Remember you can try the Music Scheduling software for free for up to 30 days!

The first option you may want to change is the length of the playlist – this can be changed from the Options section.

You can either set the length in the number of minutes, or number of items.

When setting the playlist length in minutes, the Music Scheduling software will create a playlist as close to that time as possible, but won't be exactly that length (e.g. it may be an extra few minutes over that length). However in many playout systems there will be an overlap time between one song ending and the next one starting, so when playing the tracks the difference is unlikely to be noticeable.

If you are creating playlists for a live show, remember to take into consideration the time for speaking when creating your playlist (e.g. if you present an hour long show, you may want to set the playlist length to 45 minutes, allowing 15 minutes for speech).

From the Options section, there is options to set the minimum spacing between different artists, titles, albums, etc. (so they don't appear close together in your playlist).

You can also set the minimum and maximum year – ideal if you want music from a particular decade or only more recent tracks to appear in your playlist.

The Split Playlist section allows you to split a large playlist into smaller playlist files when saving – for example if you have an 8 hour playlist, you may want each hour as an individual playlist.

Don't be afraid to experiment with the different options to discover how they work, and which options are best for you.

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss the Music Scheduling software in general, contact Simon Pittman at: simon@libraryplayer.co.uk