I’m not sure where he got it from but props to David A. for this ingenious music management idea.
Sometimes, don’t you wish you could listen to some good music without having to create a brand new playlist? Or maybe you want to rediscover some good oldies in your library, but don’t feel like scrolling through thousands of songs. Here’s a way to set up a smart playlist that will have you rediscovering your favorites for a long time.
1. Rate all your songs. iTunes has a rating system that uses 5 stars. You’ll have to go through and rate all your songs, or at the very least, rate the good ones as either a four or five star song. This step will take the longest, but it’s worth it in the long haul.
2. Add a new Smart Playlist. Once you’re done rating, click File > New Smart Playlist.
3. Set-up Fresh Music Rules. Check “Match all of following rules”. For your first rule, set “Rating” “is greater than” 3 stars (assuming you’ve rated your favorite songs as either 4 or 5 stars). For your second rule, set “Last played” “is not in the last” “2 weeks”. Check the “limit to 25 items” field to keep your playlist at a manageable size and check “live updating” which will update your playlist dynamically (i.e. once you’ve listened to a song, it moves off the playlist and adds a new fresh song).
Once you’re done, a new Smart Playlist should pop up in your playlist column. You can name it (I titled mine Fresh Music). What you’ll have is a playlist with 25 songs (great size for transferring to iPods and iPhones) that you prequalified and don’t have to micromanage. The best part is, it stays fresh with new music and anytime you sync your iPod or iPhone, you’ll have a new playlist of fresh music.
