Windows 10
Free apps you can’tlive without
April 2020 | |^19
W
Boost your PC’s music player
MUSICBEE: probably the best music player
for your PC – and it’s completely free
ith Windows Media
Player slipping into
obscurity, those who
love to listen to music
on their PC should
install MusicBee
(https://getmusicbee.com/) instead.
Think of it as Windows Media Player on
steroids with everything you need to
build, organise and – of course – enjoy
your audio collection. It even boasts
native support for Groove Music.
The app is also geared towards
audiophiles with playback controls
designed to fine-tune the sounds
coming out of your speakers – including
a handy graphic equaliser (10- or
15-band) with smart auto-select option
to switch the settings depending on
what genre of music is currently playing.Get started
On first launch you’ll be prompted to
select the location of your music. You
can also opt to import tracks and
artwork from either WMP or iTunes.
Once done, click ‘Scan Now’. Your library
will appear in an iTunes-like view, with
list of artists down the side and the
currently selected artists output
(organised by album) in the main pane.
Alternative views are available – try
Music Explorer for one showing artist
bios, top tracks and other information.
Click the + button to create your own
custom views, then tweak it further by
clicking the? button and choosing‘Arrange Panels’ You’ll also see a ‘Select
Skin’ option for changing its colour
scheme, plus shortcuts to handy mini
and compact player views and a useful
Now Playing Assistant.
Take the time to explore all MusicBee’s
menus under its name – and focus on
Tools. Here you’ll find bonus features
like a tool for converting from one
format to another, plus tools to help fill
in missing tags and artwork for your
existing library. Connect your iPhone to
sync music, audiobooks and other
content between your phone and PC.
And if all that isn’t enough, you can
expand MusicBee’s capabilities furtherusing plugins – go to ‘Edit Preferences >
Plugins’ to both manage existing ones
and add new plugins (get these from
https://getmusicbee.com/
addons/s/?type=all&overview). Uoi can
add support for AirPlay speakers, turn
your phone into a remote control and
integrate Spotify into MusicBee.ALSO CONSIDER: If you don’t need
CD-ripping capabilities and some
other advanced features, Winyl
(https://winyl-player.github.io/) offers
all the core music player features you
need: play, organise, tag and even
stream online radio.MusicBee is almost infinitely customisable, but sometimes simple is best.1
Add Gracenote
By default, MusicBee only
interrogates the MusicBrainz database
for CD information – click? and choose
¶(GLW3UHIHUHQFHV!7DJV ·&OLFNWKH
hamburger (three lines) next to tags, then
WLFN¶*UDFHQRWH·IROORZHGE\8SGDWH!
$SSO\WRLPSURYH\RXUFKDQFHVRIÀQGLQJ
a match for your CD.2
Tag by album
Click ‘+’ at the top, then use
the File pane on the left to navigate
to an album folder containing your
XQWDJJHGÀOHV3UHVV>&WUO@>$@WR
VHOHFWDOOWKHÀOHVLQWKHPLGGOHSDQH
then right-click and choose Auto-Tag
by Album to open the Album
Auto-Tagger window.3
Enter search terms
Type the name of the artist
(Various if it’s a compilation) and the
DOEXPQDPHLQWRWKHUHOHYDQWÀHOGV
then click Find. Browse the results,
selecting the correct match. Verify
the track names match up, then click
¶$SSO\7DJV·WRWDJWKHÀOHVZLWKWKH
selected information.7DJXQLGHQWLÀHGPHGLDLQ0XVLF%HH