12. Playing and Managing Music
In this chapter, you learn to play your favorite music on the phone. Topics include the following:
Using the Music app to play songs stored on the phone
Creating, using, and managing playlists
If you’re in the mood for musical entertainment, your Galaxy S5 is up to the task. In this chapter, you find out how to use the built-in Music app to play songs and other tracks stored on your phone.
Playing Stored Songs with the Music App
You might have amassed a collection of your favorite tracks in iTunes, Windows Media Player, or another PC or Mac media organizer. By following the techniques described in Chapter 16, “Transferring and Sharing Files,” you can use USB, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth to copy those songs to your phone. Using Music, you can play these songs whenever you want.
Some Songs Can’t Be Played
Most tracks stored on your PC or Mac will play in Music. Copy-protected songs, such as those encoded with Apple’s AAC (protected) codec, can be copied to the phone, but they will not play.
Select and Play Songs
The first step in playing music is to select the song you’d like to hear. You can select a track to play from any of Music’s tabs (at the top of the screen).
1. From the Home screen, tap Apps, and then tap Music.
Another Music Player
A second music player app is preinstalled on the Galaxy S5. Play Music is a general music player that works much like Music. In addition to playing content stored on your phone, Play Music links directly to Google Play, enabling you to preview and buy new songs.
2. To find the first song you’d like to hear, tap the Tracks, Albums, or Artists tab to view an alphabetical list of your songs, albums, or artists/groups. Alternatively, tap Playlists to view playlists (groups of songs) you’ve created, as well as your favorite, most played, recently played, and recently added tracks. See “Working with Playlists,” later in this chapter, for additional information. You can customize the tabs, as explained in “More Fun with Music.”
I Can’t Find the Tab I Want
If you don’t see the tab you’re looking for at the top of the main Music screen, scroll horizontally until it comes into view.
Song Selection Affects Playback
The song you initially select determines what other songs automatically play after the selected song ends, as well as what additional songs are available to you without returning to the main screen. For instance, if you select a song from an album, all later songs from the album will play until the last track is completed.
3. If the song you want isn’t visible, continue tapping icons to narrow the results. For instance, when viewing the Artists list, tap an artist, tap an album, and then tap the song you want to play.
Searching for a Song
You can search for music, too. Tap the Search icon to search for the song, album, or artist you want to hear.
5. You can display the album cover or the current track list by tapping the music or album icon in the lower-left corner. Switch to Track List view if you want to select a different track from the album, playlist, or selection.
6. Tap the Play/Pause button to pause or continue playback.
7. To go forward or backward in the song, drag the playback slider or tap the spot on the line that is approximately where you’d like to be in the song.
8. Press and hold the Previous or Next button to rewind or fast forward through the track. Tap the Previous or Next button to play the previous or next track in the album, playlist, or current selection, respectively. (In Album Cover view, you can also switch tracks by swiping the cover to the right or left.)
Returning to Music
If you leave Music to run another app, you can return to Music by launching it again or by tapping the album icon in the Notification panel or the Music widget (if it’s installed). Note that you can also control playback in the Notification panel, in the widget, or on the lock screen.
9. Optional: Tap the star icon to mark or unmark the track as a favorite. (Favorite tracks are denoted by a filled gold star.) Your favorites can be found in the Favorite Tracks playlist (see “Working with Playlists,” later in the chapter).
10. Adjust the volume by pressing the Volume control or by tapping the Volume icon and adjusting the slider that appears.
What Happens Next?
When the song ends, the remaining songs in the album, playlist, or track list play until the final song ends. You can select a different song to play by tapping the Previous or Next button to move backward or forward through the current track list, switching to Track List view and tapping a track title, or pressing the Back key repeatedly. When you reach the main Music screen, you can repeat this process starting with Step 2.
Use the Equalizer
SoundAlive is Music’s equalizer. While a song is playing, you can use SoundAlive to adjust levels to suit the music and adapt to current acoustics. SoundAlive settings affect the playback of all songs and remain in effect until you change settings again. (Note that SoundAlive settings aren’t song-specific and aren’t saved with each song.)
1. Tap the SoundAlive icon on the volume slider or tap the menu icon, Settings, SoundAlive to change the equalizer settings. You can alter settings on the Basic and/or Advanced tabs.
2. Use the Basic tab to do any of the following:
• Tap a square that best represents the tonal qualities of the music to which you’re listening. Higher squares boost the treble, whereas lower ones boost the bass. Squares to the right emphasize vocals, and ones to the left emphasize instruments.
Let SoundAlive Do the Work
Tap the Auto check box to allow SoundAlive to analyze the current song and select a square for you.
• Select an effect from the horizontally scrolling Effect list. Note that certain effects can be selected only when you’re using earphones. (To remove an applied effect, tap None.)
3. Use the Advanced tab to fine-tune the Basic settings. You can drag level sliders; emphasize bass, emphasize clarity, and/or simulate 3D sound; and apply an effect from the horizontally scrolling list. Note that 3D sound and certain effects can be selected only when you’re using earphones.
4. Tap Done to apply the SoundAlive settings, Cancel to ignore all changes, or Reset to reapply the default settings.
Working with Playlists
Playing a specific song or album isn’t always what you want to do. For those occasions, you can create special song groupings called playlists. A playlist is any combination of tracks that you want to play together. For instance, you might create a playlist that includes all albums by a favorite group or songs from a genre, such as electric blues, techno, or classical.
Create a Playlist
You can create a new playlist in several ways, but the simplest—and the one you’re most likely to remember—is to start from the Playlists tab.
1. Press the Back key as many times as necessary to reach the main Music screen, and select the Playlists tab.
2. Tap Create Playlist in the My Playlists section.
3. Name the new playlist, and tap OK.
4. The new, empty playlist appears. Its name is added to the My Playlists section.
Add Songs to a Playlist
There are several ways that you can add songs to any user-created playlist—whether it’s a new, empty one or a playlist that already contains tracks:
• To select from an alphabetical list of all songs on your phone, select the Playlists tab and then open the playlist by tapping its name. Tap the plus (+) toolbar icon. The Tracks tab is automatically displayed. Select songs/tracks by tapping their check boxes, and then tap Done.
• Add entire albums or all material by a given artist to a playlist by tapping a view tab (such as Albums or Artists) to help you find the material to include in the playlist. Press and hold the artist or album name to select it. You can select additional artists or albums, if desired. Tap the Add to Playlist toolbar icon, and then select the playlist to which you want to add the material.
• While browsing songs from an album or by an artist, you can add multiple songs by tapping the menu icon, choosing Select, selecting songs you want to add, tapping the Add to Playlist toolbar icon, and selecting the target playlist.
• Add a song that’s currently playing to a playlist by tapping the Add to Playlist icon (beneath the playback line) and selecting the destination playlist.
• When playing a song in Track List view, press and hold its title (or the title of any other listed song) to reveal the Add to Playlist command in a pop-up menu.
That’s a Big Oops
When adding songs to a playlist, Music won’t warn you if you inadvertently select songs that are already in the playlist nor will it prevent you from adding them again—and again.
1. Return to the main Music screen by pressing the Back key as many times as necessary. Tap the Playlists tab to view the defined playlists, and tap the playlist that you want to hear. Your created playlists (My Playlists) appear below the built-in ones (Default Playlists).
2. Tap the song that you want to hear first. (If you select the first song, the entire playlist plays.)
3. The selected song begins to play. When it’s done, other songs from the playlist play until Music reaches the last song in the playlist or you halt playback.
What’s Next?
To view the playlist and see the songs ahead, switch to Track List view (see Step 5 of “Select and Play Songs”). In this view, it’s also easy to pick a different song to play next—rather than accept the one that’s next in the queue.
4. Optional: Tap the Shuffle icon to toggle between playing the songs in order (slashed) and playing them in random order (no slash).
Manage Playlists
You can modify your custom playlists in several ways, such as removing songs, changing the playback order, and editing a playlist’s title. You can also delete any playlists that you no longer want. To learn how to add songs to a playlist, see “Add Songs to a Playlist,” earlier in this chapter.
Switch Between List and Grid View
1. Select the Playlists tab on the main Music screen.
2. Tap the menu icon. Choose List View or Grid View to specify the manner in which playlists are displayed on the Playlists tab.
Change a Playlist’s Title
1. Select the Playlists tab on the main Music screen and open the custom playlist that you want to rename.
2. Tap the menu icon, and choose Edit Title.
3. Edit the title, and tap OK.
2. Tap the menu icon, and choose Delete.
3. In the My Playlists section, select the custom playlist(s) that you want to delete and tap Done.
4. Tap OK to confirm the deletion(s).
Remove Songs
1. Select the Playlists tab on the main Music screen and open the custom playlist from which you want to remove songs. (Note that removing a song doesn’t delete it from your phone; it only removes the song from the playlist.)
2. Tap the menu icon, and choose Remove.
3. Select the songs you want to remove, and tap Done. The selected songs are immediately removed from the playlist.
Change the Track Order
1. Select the Playlists tab on the main Music screen and open the custom playlist for which you want to change the track order.
2. Tap the menu icon, and choose Change Order.
3. Use the dot pattern to drag a song up or down to change the song’s position in the playlist. When you finish, press the Back key or tap the Back icon.
Deleting Unwanted Songs
You can delete songs that you’re tired of hearing or if you want to reclaim their storage space for more important material. If you know where on the phone they’re stored, you can delete them in My Files. The simplest method, however, is to find and delete them within Music. There are several ways to delete single or multiple songs.
Delete a Track While Playing a Song
1. When the song is playing, tap the icon to switch to Track List view.
2. Press and hold the name of the track that you want to delete. It can be the song that’s playing or any other song in the current track list.
3. Choose Delete from the pop-up menu.
4. Tap OK to confirm the deletion.
Delete Tracks While Browsing
1. Select the Tracks, Albums, or Artists tab. As necessary, drill down to display the track list from which you want to delete songs.
2. Tap the menu icon and choose Delete.
3. Select each song that you want to delete and tap Done.
4. Tap OK to confirm the deletion(s). All selected songs are deleted from the phone.
Delete an Album or Artist
1. On the main Music screen, tap the Albums or Artists tab (depending on what you want to delete), tap the menu icon, and choose Delete.
2. Select each album or artist that you want to delete, and tap Done.
3. Tap OK to confirm the deletion(s). All songs by the selected artists or in the selected albums are deleted from the phone.
>>>Go Further: More Fun with Music
• The Galaxy S5’s external speaker has similar fidelity to that of the inexpensive transistor radios that were commonplace in the early 1960s. For better sound, place the phone on a solid surface, such as a desk or table. For much better sound, connect earphones. As mentioned previously, several SoundAlive effects are available only when you use earphones.
• Music can also be run with the phone rotated. A subset of playback controls is presented, similar to those available to you in the Notification panel, on the lock screen, and on the Music widget (if it’s installed).
• If you select a song and choose Set As from the menu, you can use it as a phone ringtone, caller ringtone, or alarm tone. See the “Create Ringtones from Songs” sidebar in Chapter 3, “Making the Phone Your Own,” for instructions.
• Although it’s far from a core function, you can use the Group Play app to share music with nearby friends—enabling the members’ phones to act as stereo speakers.
• Be sure to explore Settings—tap the menu icon and choose Settings. For example, Tabs enables you to control the tabs that appear above the Music lists; Music Auto Off ends playback after a time interval (like a sleep timer); and Smart Volume automatically adjusts all songs to use the same playback volume. If your hearing is subpar or differs between ears, you can enable Adapt Sound to improve music playback when you’re listening with earphones or a Bluetooth headset. To set up Adapt Sound, see the “Personalize Call Sound” sidebar in Chapter 4, “Placing and Receiving Calls.”
>>>Go Further: Streaming Music from Pandora and Spotify
