Why is this Smart Playlist empty?

Question

Level 1

13 points

Why is this Smart Playlist empty?

I have many tracks that whose genre contains "Classical" and does not contain "Vocal". Why is this Smart Playlist empty?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Apr 29, 2017 12:10 PM

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Answer 1

SETHtunes Author

Level 1

13 points

Apr 29, 2017 8:52 PM in response to poikkeus1

Thanks for the reply, poikkeus1.

Please see screenshot below of a Smart Playlist I created with the criterion: Genre contains "Classical".

The Smart Playlist contains 756 songs.

Should I not expect that the Smart Playlist Genre criterion read simply what is in the Genre field in the info window for the track?

My suspicion is that the secondary criterion of "does not contain 'Vocal'" is not functioning as it should when used in combination with the primary criterion "contains 'Classical'" to create a Smart Playlist of only the tracks with Genre containing "Classical" that do not include the word "Vocal".

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Answer 2

poikkeus1

Level 4

2,474 points

Apr 30, 2017 9:43 AM in response to SETHtunes

If you sort with the Smart Playlist, the criteria may not be dependable, genre-wise. You have to look at the tracks, album by album.

For example, on my classical playlist, I found two obvious inaccuracies - and I wasn't looking that hard:

Both examples are "classical" (at least in a very general sense). The first album, from Susato, shows "Renaissance" as the genre; the second, from Beethoven, doesn't even show the genre at all. Both tracks were from CDs.

But your main point is well taken: the Smart Playlist sort should have caught the choral exception.

In any case, I believe you'll have better luck addressing this problem by combing through the iTunes metadata before you use a Smart Playlist.

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Answer 3

SETHtunes Author

Level 1

13 points

Apr 30, 2017 10:30 AM in response to turingtest2

Thanks, turingtest2.

I checked and double-checked that my tracks were checked.😉

I use checked/unchecked tracks along with the "Match only checked items" Smart Playlist option to exclude unchecked duplicate tracks or seasonal stuff like Christmas music, which I leave unchecked except during the Christmas season.

I've noticed that the same Smart Playlists in my iCloud Music Library often seem to disregard the "Match only checked items" criterion. But, that's a topic for another thread.

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Answer 4

poikkeus1

Level 4

2,474 points

Apr 29, 2017 3:31 PM in response to SETHtunes

I don't have access to your playlist or its setup, but there's a trick that's worked well for me.

On your Smart Playlist, use only one criterion - "Classical" - and that's it. You should see a list of all your Classical tracks in iTunes. But I'd be willing to bet that quite a few aren't listed. The Smart Playlist will only list tracks that are specifically labelled; if the "Genre" metadata says "Baroque," "Modern," "Choral," or something like that instead of Classical...well. that might be your problem.

Your first step is to comb through your iTunes playlist and verify if the metadata is correct. Open iTunes in Album View, highlight the tracks, and press command-I to see the metadata. In your case, make sure it's "Classical," and nothing else.

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Answer 5

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Apr 30, 2017 6:22 AM in response to SETHtunes

The most likely answer is that your all your classical tracks are unchecked. Remove the tick against match only checked items and they should appear.

Chances are that at some point you cmd-clicked a check box which sets or unsets all tick boxes in the current view.

tt2

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Answer 6

SETHtunes Author

Level 1

13 points

Apr 30, 2017 10:06 AM in response to poikkeus1

I really appreciate you helping me get to the bottom of this.

Are the two example tracks from a Smart Playlist of yours? If so, what criteria did you use to create the "Classical" Smart Playlist? I'm wondering how the second example with no genre specified was included in a "Classical" Smart Playlist.

I've been using iTunes and Smart Playlists (successfully, for the most part) for many years, but I'm by no means an "under-the-hood" expert. Just so I'm clear, by the term "metadata" are you referring to any information in the track file beyond what I can view and edit in the track info window?

Once I realized my need to separate my classical tracks by instrumental and vocal, I began adding the word "Vocal" to the Genre field of tracks that were not purely instrumental. Genre and Grouping are the two main fields I use to create my Smart Playlists. I've been adding comma-separated keyword "tags" in the Grouping field to fine-tune Smart Playlist results beyond Genre. I've been pretty OCD about updating these fields all along. That's why I'm frustrated to have done all that work and can't seem to put it to use in an instance like this. I just want to make sure I'm not missing something.

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Answer 7

SETHtunes Author

Level 1

13 points

Apr 30, 2017 10:05 AM in response to poikkeus1

So, this issue is occurring while using iTunes in macOS Sierra 10.12.4. Don't even get me started on the iPhone sync issues.😉

Where would I go in iTunes in macOS to uncheck all Smart Playlists, if not syncing with any devices?

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Answer 8

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Apr 30, 2017 10:54 AM in response to SETHtunes

How odd. 😕 You could try turning Live Updating off and on again to see if the list populates correctly. Alternatively you could restructure the rules as:

Match Any

Genre is Classical

Genre is Classical Instrumental

The only other thought is that in the font face used in iTunes a capital i looks the same as a lower case l. It could be a simple typo.

tt2

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Answer 9

poikkeus1

Level 4

2,474 points

Apr 29, 2017 10:15 PM in response to poikkeus1

I just found this on an iPhone subforum, but the basic principle should apply:

In other words, uncheck all Smart Playlists, reapply the changes, and sync.

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