Your New Best Friend: Playlists

So, you have a listening exam coming up and you want an easy way to make sure you study all your listening examples. What do you do?

One answer is to make a playlist. University Libraries provides access to three streaming audio databases: Naxos, Classical Music Library (CML henceforth), and DRAM. In both Naxos and CML, it is possible to make your own playlists and to see those of others. (In some cases, your instructor may have even already put together a playlist for your class.) In CML it is even possible to make playlists that include links to other sources outside of CML-- so you can put all your listening links in one place, even if they're not in the same database. You can even add links to other things, like webpages and scores in IMSLP.

Here's how it works:

1. Go to the Listen Online links on the Allen Library webpage.

2. Click on the database you want. We're going to use Classical Music Library, since you can put all the links in one place, but the process is similar for Naxos if you prefer to use that database.

3. On the CML webpage in the upper right hand corner there is a link to sign in. Click on the link to sign in. If you haven't created an account, there is a link there to create one.

4. Once you are logged in, there will be more links in the upper right hand corner. Click on the one that says "My Playlists".

5. Click on the blue link that says "Create playlist" on the right side of the page. From there you will get a page that asks you to give the playlist a name. In the box that says "annotation" you can put additional information about the playlist, or you can leave it blank. You can also choose who is allowed to see the list. Right now the option "just my class or group" is not working, but you can allow everyone who uses CML to see it, everyone at this institution, or you can keep it private by choosing "just me". If you are working with a study group, one person can create the playlist and everyone could use the same playlist, if you choose. After you've filled in the fields, click on the "Create" button.

6. At this point you can click on the link that says "Add items to Playlist" and begin adding items. To add an item from outside CML, paste the URL in the field that asks for the URL. If you are linking to a score on IMSLP, you will need to link to the page that the score link is on, not the score PDF. You can also link to items in Blackboard, on Naxos, DRAM, or from anywhere on the web.

7. To add an item from CML, simply search within CML and click on the blue circle with the white plus sign in it, and then choose the playlist you'd like to add it to, or at this point you can also choose to create a new playlist and then add the item to that playlist instead.

8. Once you have added items to the playlist, you can go back and edit or remove items, or change who can see your playlist. To use the playlist, simply select the playlist from the My Playlists tab (or institutional playlists if you want a playlist someone else has created and made public). Then you can click on Play all items, or click on the individual titles shown in blue to play individual tracks or access individual pages. That's it! When you're done using CML be sure to remember to log out so someone else can use it, we have a limitation on the number of people who can be using it at one time.

For more help creating playlists or any other assistance with library resources, feel free to drop in to see us, call or email us, or use the handy chat window on the homepage. Remember, we're here to help you make the most of what we have to offer, and we like to help!