Use Mini Player
Mini Player lets you control
playback without the main Music
app window in view. As before,
it’s activated from the Window
menu or by pressing Opt+Cmd
+M. In macOS Catalina, Mini
Player now displays album
artwork; in fact, initially that’s all
you’ll see. When you move the
mouse cursor over the floating
window, the play bar and
transport controls appear. Drag
the bottom edge to enlarge the
window and you’ll get both
artwork and a play bar, with the
track name displayed below until
you roll over to show the controls;
or drag it upwards to kill the
artwork. Drag the window even
taller, or click the menu icon at
the right, and your Up Next list
appears below, with tabs toswitch to History or Lyrics. You’ll
probably want to go to Music >
Preferences > Advanced and
check “Keep Mini Player on top
of all other windows” to control
music while using other apps.
You can click its controls, or click
its window then use its shortcuts:
the Space bar to pause or play,
Left Arrow or Right Arrow keys
to switch tracks.Library list
After you upgrade to Catalina,
Music lists your existing library in the
left sidebar just like iTunes did. As before,
you can hold Opt while launching the app
to choose a different stored library or
make a new one.Search party
Can’t see the track you want?
Press Cmd+F or click the search box,
now at the top left. Suggestions pop
up as you type into this. Music’s main
browsing pane blanks until you press
Return; results then appear here.Location, location
Your local library is stored on this
Mac in the location shown in Music >
Preferences > Files. The Music app can
also catalogue tracks stored elsewhere,
if you uncheck “Copy files...” here and
then use File > Import.Store turn
The iTunes Store (where you can
buy tracks to keep, versus using Apple
Music’s streaming with temporary offline
access) is now found in the left sidebar,
unless you disable it via Music >
Preferences > General.Fill your boots
Clicking a connected device lists
music files synced from your local library
via this app (distinct from iCloud Music
Library). Autofill adds as much music
as will fit. Sync Settings shows more
options in the Finder.Sync your tunes
Under General, iTunes’ iCloud
Music Library check box is replaced by
Sync Library, which adds all music files
you’ve imported into iTunes (and now
Music) on any devices. This requires an
iTunes Match or Apple Music subscription.HOW TO Find and organize music
Enlarge Mini Player
window for Up Next,
History, or Lyrics.maclife.com DEC 2019 19macOS Catalina: Music