Classical Mode: help needed!

[Stephen Healy]

Would not that be resolved by applying filters as is currently the case when sorting by artist and applying the filter by tags?

It would, but it'd be a comparatively longer process as you would need to make sure you enabled every single tag synonymous with all your classical composers. Having a pre-defined Classical Composers list with the option to sort by Release would, I assume, be a faster alternative. Although one benefit of having the option in the main Albums view as you say would be the ability to make Smart Mixes out of that, however, I would guess Smart Mixes perhaps do not lend themselves well to Classical? Would be great to get insight on that too.

 

[guardajoias]

Yes, but as Stephen mentioned, wouldn’t this already be made simpler by just using the Composer category within the Classical library section. Adding as Stephen proposed a “sort by release” option there would achieve the same result, showing albums associated with each composer while removing extra steps and avoiding the need to apply filters in the main music library view.

Unless I’m missing something here, in which case please do enlighten me.

This is proving an interesting exercise.

Hi Dan. Point taken, but it is a bit unclear to me which will be faster until I see it in action: going into Classical then Composer, then release may or may not be faster that go to Album, sort by Composer and apply thee Classical filter... Maybe it will depend where I am coming from and maybe both options are possible is the case today where you can browse by Album and sort by artist or browse by Artist (and select composer)...

 

[guardajoias]

It would, but it'd be a comparatively longer process as you would need to make sure you enabled every single tag synonymous with all your classical composers. Having a pre-defined Classical Composers list with the option to sort by Release would, I assume, be a faster alternative. Although one benefit of having the option in the main Albums view as you say would be the ability to make Smart Mixes out of that, however, I would guess Smart Mixes perhaps do not lend themselves well to Classical? Would be great to get insight on that too.

Yes, I am not sure which will be faster in practice. In addition to specific tags, I also apply a generic "Classical" tag to all classical music so I would only need apply one filter to get all classical music. Or I could look only at say Baroque composers with that tag...

A classical music smart mix would be great, but currently it does not work too well because of awkward results with tracks expected to play in gapless modes. It would be great if smart mixes could apply not only to tracks but to works...

 

[DanCollier]

Hi Dan. Point taken, but it is a bit unclear to me which will be faster until I see it in action: going into Classical then Composer, then release may or may not be faster that go to Album, sort by Composer and apply thee Classical filter... Maybe it will depend where I am coming from and maybe both options are possible is the case today where you can browse by Album and sort by artist or browse by Artist (and select composer)...

To my understanding, I believe this approach will be faster. Hopefully, we can share some visuals soon to better illustrate our ideas for you all.

 

[Stephen Healy]

Yes, I am not sure which will be faster in practice. In addition to specific tags, I also apply a generic "Classical" tag to all classical music so I would only need apply one filter to get all classical music. Or I could look only at say Baroque composers with that tag...

A classical music smart mix would be great, but currently it does not work too well because of awkward results with tracks expected to play in gapless modes. It would be great if smart mixes could apply not only to tracks but to works...

So Smart Mixes that mix the results on a work level, not a track level. That makes sense and I think is an interesting idea, I am not familiar with any other platforms/apps that could offer this, and we would like to offer some interesting points of difference.

 

[pending]

Would this still work for you on the assumption that it might include a lot of composers from non-Classical artists? For example, in this mode you would get Keith Richards, John Lennon, etc very likely appearing as Composers as well in this view.
An alternative might be that under the new Classical Library section we plan to have a Composers category of which you can ensure is strictly Classical Composers. Perhaps under this section would be a better place to have a 'Sort by Release' option to ensure only albums affiliated to Classical Composers are shown?

I agree, your alternative is a better solution than what I'd proposed. However imo for the sake of consistency it should be labeled 'Sort by Album'.

In hindsight I believe that sorting all albums by Composer is not feasible, for at least 2 additional reasons:
1) The composer tag applies to tracks, not albums.
2) Many Classical albums contain works by multiple composers.

 

[Stephen Healy]

I agree, your alternative is a better solution than what I'd proposed. However imo for the sake of consistency it should be labeled 'Sort by Album'.

In hindsight I believe that sorting all albums by Composer is not feasible, for at least 2 additional reasons:
1) The composer tag applies to tracks, not albums.
2) Many Classical albums contain works by multiple composers.

I agree, I did consider the point that some albums will have multiple composers appear on it. Therefore, in a a full album list of all your composers, the same album could appear multiple times throughout the list, since that album could technically be attributed to multiple composers. But I think that is just the nature of the beast with such a feature, and perhaps not strictly a negative thing.

 

[guardajoias]

I agree, I did consider the point that some albums will have multiple composers appear on it. Therefore, in a a full album list of all your composers, the same album could appear multiple times throughout the list, since that album could technically be attributed to multiple composers. But I think that is just the nature of the best with such a feature, and perhaps not strictly a negative thing.

Indeed, it is useful for the album to appear under each pertinent composer...

 

[Stephen Healy]

So, initial points of consideration from the feedback thus far:

1. An Album List view similar to the existing one, but rather than sorted by Artist it is sorted by Composer.
2. Ability to make a Smart Mix that does randomise included works but does not randomise the tracks/movements within a work, ensuring that a work is properly played in its entirety.
3. More information on the Now Playing screen, to include Composer and the title of the Work.

These would be good additions, so that's good feedback so far, thank you!

Anything else to consider/suggest?

 

[guardajoias]

So, initial points of consideration from the feedback thus far:

1. An Album List view similar to the existing one, but rather than sorted by Artist it is sorted by Composer.
2. Ability to make a Smart Mix that does randomise included works but does not randomise the tracks/movements within a work, ensuring that a work is properly played in its entirety.
3. More information on the Now Playing screen, to include Composer and the title of the Work.

These would be good additions, so that's good feedback so far, thank you!

Anything else to consider/suggest?

That will be awesome. Point 3 is absolute priority (Now Playing info) in my view.

At some point, but maybe at a later stage so as not to delay the excellent additions you are planning, I hope you can also implement:

1. the custom tags/metadata override for Qobuz (and other services as needed) so that Qobuz albums can be included in searches and browsing by composer etc. This is not strictly a classical music issue as it is also a problem to find tracks from Albums added to the Library as whole albums, but it is particularly frustrating when browsing or searching by composer.
2. Ideally we could browse works under each composer, and from there, see available releases, both local and streaming, similar to Idagio or Apple Classical... (see examples below)

 

[pending]

So, initial points of consideration from the feedback thus far:

1. An Album List view similar to the existing one, but rather than sorted by Artist it is sorted by Composer.
2. Ability to make a Smart Mix that does randomise included works but does not randomise the tracks/movements within a work, ensuring that a work is properly played in its entirety.
3. More information on the Now Playing screen, to include Composer and the title of the Work.

These would be good additions, so that's good feedback so far, thank you!

Anything else to consider/suggest?

Great! Features 1 and 3 would be most useful to me.

Btw thank you for soliciting feedback from us. I imagine few of your competitors engage their customers in this way.