Play higher starred songs more often?

Question

Level 1

1 points

Play higher starred songs more often?

For iTunes for PC, version 12.3.1.23, I am curious about this particular feature which I have looked into to the best of my ability. From what I can tell, it can only be done with a "Smart" or "Genius" Playlist. Playing from the pre-set "My Top Rated" Playlist, do higher rated songs automatically play more often in shuffling? Or is there an option somewhere to turn it on? Or do I have it all completely wrong? Also, was there an older version of iTunes that had this option available for regular playlist shuffle, like I thought I had seen in my preferences some time ago? Or was I imagining things?

DELL brand Personal Computer-OTHER, Windows 10

Posted on Nov 9, 2015 6:07 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Cguy8 Author

Level 1

1 points

Nov 21, 2015 5:10 PM in response to Cguy8

I've received no reply in almost 2 weeks, so I felt it necessary to bring my question back to the top of the list. I apologize if this is an inconvenience.

Reply

Answer 2

hhgttg27

Level 5

5,597 points

Nov 21, 2015 5:16 PM in response to Cguy8

The "Top Rated" smart playlists selects songs based on their rating, but when shuffled will use the same (pseudo)random sequencing as any other playlist.

Reply

Answer 3

Cguy8 Author

Level 1

1 points

Nov 21, 2015 5:22 PM in response to hhgttg27

Alright, that makes sense. But is there any other method of changing this shuffling option? If there is an older version of iTunes that had this option, is there even a way to download that version? (I don't mind dealing with getting rid of any fancy new features if I can get that old one back.)

Reply

Answer 4

hhgttg27

Level 5

5,597 points

Nov 21, 2015 5:27 PM in response to Cguy8

I don't recall that feature in earlier versions, but it could have been there - personally, I don't use ratings (I only recognize good music, which I have in my collection, and bad music, which I don't) and have never intentionally used shuffle mode. Others may be more familiar with those functions in older iTunes releases.

Reply

Answer 5

turingtest2

Level 10

278,297 points

Nov 22, 2015 1:57 AM in response to Cguy8

Make, for example, three smart playlists, one matching say 25 random tracks rated at 3 stars, another matching 50 at 4 stars and one matching 75 at 5 stars. Put all three playlists inside a playlist folder. Shuffle play the folder. Tweak the numbers to taste.

tt2

Reply

Answer 6

turingtest2

Level 10

278,297 points

Nov 22, 2015 2:48 PM in response to turingtest2

I've just realised the smart playlist rules also need a Last played is not in the last one days rule to make sure they auto-update.

tt2

Reply

Answer 7

Cguy8 Author

Level 1

1 points

Nov 22, 2015 2:52 PM in response to turingtest2

I see why that would work, just not quite in my situation. My purpose in this is to have one playlist with all 1300 of my songs, just with the ones I want to hear more often being starred higher. Making exact numbers of each rank and leaving out all the rest would defeat the purpose in my case.

Reply

Answer 8

turingtest2

Level 10

278,297 points

Nov 22, 2015 3:16 PM in response to Cguy8

You could extend the scheme, or simplify it with one list for say 4 & 5 stars and another for everything else. The relative size of the lists controls the frequency with which the playlist folder picks ups songs with different ratings. The last played rule eliminates a song once it has been played which draws in new songs. The system will still draw on all your music, or any specific playlist that you want. I'm on an iPad at the moment so I can't show you the exact rules I would create but it ought to let you play higher rated songs more often.

tt2

Reply

Answer 9

Cguy8 Author

Level 1

1 points

Nov 22, 2015 3:35 PM in response to turingtest2

Okay... this is starting to go a little bit over my head. But I've had a sudden realization of a really simple way to do it, with duplicate songs. Make a playlist of 5 of every song rated 5, 4 of every song rated 4, and so on. Theoretically, that would give me exactly what I want if it shuffles at random. Or maybe if I don't want 5 stars really playing 5 times as much, I could do 3 of every 4 and 5 star song, 2 of every 3 star song, and 1 of every 1 and 2. I'll have to see how I feel about each. I'll check to make sure it works before I mark this question as answered. Thanks for the suggestions anyways.

Reply

Answer 10

turingtest2

Level 10

278,297 points

Nov 22, 2015 3:44 PM in response to Cguy8

The smart playlists in a folder take a little more effort to set up, but will be much easier to adjust once they have been created. The single playlist method is harder to adjust and is likely to play the same track twice in a row from time to time, whereas the other method cannot do so.

tt2

Reply

Answer 11

Cguy8 Author

Level 1

1 points

Nov 22, 2015 4:35 PM in response to turingtest2

I get it now! It all makes perfect sense. Thank you very much. And it works! Thank you for pushing it, or I wouldn't have even tried. It's not the perfect solution, since the actual ratio of different ratings within the entire library isn't taken into account, but it will have to do.

Reply

Answer 12

turingtest2

Level 10

278,297 points

Nov 22, 2015 4:42 PM in response to Cguy8

You're welcome. 🙂

Now it is set up you can tweak the actual number in each smart list until you get a distribution that is closer to what you want.

tt2

Reply