Having a hard time requesting a song while driving? Or maybe you want to preview a song without playing the whole thing? What about when you can’t find a particular song? Spotify is an awesome for listening to (and for teaching) music, and while it doesn’t take a music degree to create a new playlist or put your library on shuffle, there are some handy tricks to the app that are a little more under the radar. Check out these 11 tips that will add utility and ease to the software:
1. Quality vs Data
On both desktop and mobile you’ve got the option to either stream or download music on Spotify. By default, this process strikes a balance between fidelity and data, but through the Settings menu you can actually tweak which gets priority.
To do so (on Desktop) open the Settings menu from the drop-down under your profile picture. Scroll down until you see Music Quality. Use the ‘streaming quality’ drop-down to manually select either normal, high, or very high quality for your streaming.
You can use this function via mobile, too; just open Settings from Your Library and find it under Music Quality. On iOS specifically, you can find it under the Streaming Quality menu.
2. Keep tabs with Last.fm
Spotify is integrated with Last.fm, a service that lets you track and discover new music. If you make an account with Last.fm (which you can do right here) it can connect directly to Spotify and you’ll be able to browse through the records it keeps of all the tracks you’ve been listening to on any of your devices. It’s even free!
3. Sing along with the lyrics
How does the second verse to “Tiny Dancer” go? Whether it’s because you’re trying to sing the song on the fly, or simply because not knowing what the singer is saying has always bothered you, it helps to have the lyric sheet handy.
Spotify might have the lyrics up for you already – all you have to do is tap on the album picture while the track is playing. Spotify is partnered with Genius and certain songs have the lyrics integrated right in. Alternatively, you can switch this feature to “Behind the Lyrics” mode which tells information about the song alongside its lyrics.
4. Set up the queue
One of our favorite features for Spotify is that you can set multiple tracks in a queue, and they’ll play one after another. Doing so is very easy; on mobile all you need to do is select the song and press the ellipsis. From here you can do all sorts of things (view the album, check out the artist, add it to a playlist, or go to the radio), one of which is “add to queue.”
Once the current song is finished playing, it’ll start the next one in your queue, and then afterwards it’ll go right back into whatever playlist you were in before. It’s especially useful when you’re in something like a “classic rock” playlist but are hankering to hear one specific jazz tune before resuming.
You can also view the default queue of songs as well as your song history at any time by pressing the “queue” button on the bottom right (on desktop) or by looking through the queue menu on mobile.
5. Preview a track
If you’re a fan of instrumental music, you might not recognize a song by its title (since there are no lyrics to go by). Or maybe you just can’t remember how a song starts.
A neat trick on mobile is to press and hold the song title for a quick preview. That way you can navigate away from the page, check out other music, or show your friend a quick sample without committing to the whole track.
6. Follow artists
It’s always exciting to find a new artist you like, and Spotify makes it very easy to look up more tunes, more information, or even upcoming concerts from artists in its huge roster.
Next time you’re listening to a song on Spotify, click on the artist’s name (or find it via pressing the ellipsis on mobile) and it’ll take you right to their page. Here you’ll see their most popular tracks, albums they’ve put out, and even recommendations for other similar artists.
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Book your next concert with Spotify!7. Crossfade tracks
If you want your Spotify experience to sound extra fancy, you can set it to seamlessly blend from song to song using crossfades between tracks.
To engage this just go back into your Settings menu and look for “Playback.” Enabling the crossfade feature is the only option here; just toggle it on.
If you’re on desktop you might find this option under “Advanced Settings” instead. Just scroll down and you’ll see a button for it.
8. Request tracks via voice command
Texting and driving is a terrible idea, and that’s why it’s illegal. If you use Spotify on mobile, there’s a good chance you listen to it while driving, too. Sometimes, there’s a song we really want to hear and it’s tempting to scramble during a red light to try and put it in queue – but there’s actually a much safer, more convenient way.
Spotify can recognize voice commands, so just hit the mic button on your smartphone and tell it the song you want to hear. Tap it and it’ll start to play immediately. It’s faster and nearly hands-free!
9. Make a collaborative playlist
Planning a road trip with friends? Maybe trying to organize a list of songs for your band to cover? Maybe your friend’s getting married and you and the other bridesmaids are in charge of making a playlist.
Start making a new playlist and then right-click on it. In the drop-down you’ll see an option to “make it collaborative.” Select this and then select any friends with whom you’d like to share the monumental task of picking the most appropriate music.
Good luck with that.
10. Recover deleted playlists
There’s definitely a moment of panic when you think you’ve accidentally deleted an entire playlist. Fear not; there’s a way to fix it.
Go to Spotify’s website right here, log in to your profile, and there’s a Recover Playlist option right there. You’re welcome!
11. Add music that isn’t on Spotify
Spotify’s got thousands of tracks out there, but there’s still the odd outlier that you can’t find in their massive library. If you’re willing to take a few minutes, there’s a way you can add your own local MP3s to your playlist.
All you have to do is access your Local Files via the Settings menu, add a source (giving Spotify the path through your File Explorer), and then sync it up with whatever playlist you like. Check out our full walkthrough of the process for details!
How to add your own MP3s to Spotify
Have all your music in one placeWe hope these tips and tricks will make using Spotify easier and allow you to use it more effectively.
Let us know in the comments below if there’s one that we missed, and stay tuned with Softonic for more Spotify news and info!
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