Listening to music with Spotify

Listening to music is central to Spotify. Users can play albums and songs from all kinds of international and Dutch artists. Anyone who has a device with internet access can use the music service. Spotify is a streaming service by the way. That means people can play the music over the internet, without saving it to a device first.

In this article we will discuss the possibilities of Spotify on the computer. We assume a free account. Read in the articles below how to download or use the program on other devices.

• Download Spotify on Windows PC
• Download Spotify on Mac
• Using Spotify web player
• Using Spotify App

The program window consists of several parts. On the left is a menu with several options. When you click it, the contents of that menu will appear in the main window.

• Home
  The homepage shows recently played playlists. Scroll down for playlists that Spotify chooses or compiles based on music you’ve listened to.

• To search
  In ‘Search’ the most important part is the search bar at the top. This search bar provides access to Spotify’s massive database. In addition, this page contains recent searches, but also references to charts, new music and suggestions.
• Library
  Under ‘Library’ are the options ‘Playlists’, ‘Podcasts’, ‘Artists’ and ‘Albums’. Here you will find all the songs, albums, artists or podcasts you follow or have favorited.
• Create playlist
  This option allows you to create a new playlist.
• Playlists
  Below the line is an overview of playlists. These are self-created lists and lists that you follow. Double click on a list to start the music.

At the bottom is a bar with playback options.

• When Spotify is playing music, it will show on the left which song is on.
• In the middle is the pause/play button. Click to start or pause a song.
• Click the arrows to the left and right of the play button to listen to the previous or next song.
• Shuffle songs from a playlist via the ‘Shuffle’ icon . The icon is green when the mode is on. Click the icon again to turn the mode off.
• Repeat a song or playlist with the ‘Repeat’ icon . Click once to repeat a playlist. The icon turns green. Click again to keep repeating the current song. A small ‘1’ will appear in the green icon. Click a third time to turn off all repetition.
• View via the ‘Queue’ icon what is the next song that Spotify plays. Click at the top Recently played to see the last 40 songs played. Handy if you were listening to an unknown playlist and came across a nice song.
• Adjust the volume all the way to the right. Click the bar next to a speaker icon. Hold down the mouse button and move the mouse left for softer sound or right for louder sound.

Millions of songs can be listened to via Spotify. Find songs from international or Dutch artists using the ‘Find a song on Spotify’ tip.

A playlist is a collection of songs, for example of a certain genre. There are many different playlists on Spotify. Make your own playlist like this:

• Click in the menu on the left Create playlist.
• click on My playlist.
• Delete the current title with the Backspace key.
• Enter an appropriate name and click Save.
• The playlist has been created and can be seen in the left menu. Songs can be added in two ways:
• 1. Click in the search bar Search for songs or episodes.
  • Enter a search term.
  • Press the Enter key.
  • Click on the desired number Add.
• 2. Search songs as described in the tip ‘Find a song on Spotify’.
  • Move the mouse pointer over the song.
  • Three dots appear after it. Click on this.
  • In the drop-down window click on Add to playlist.
  • Click on a playlist.
• Double click on the playlist on the left in the menu to start the music.

Do you accidentally add a song to the wrong playlist or don’t like a song anymore? Remove it from the list like this:

• Click on a playlist in the menu on the left.
• The list opens in the main window. Move the mouse pointer over the song to be deleted and click on the three dots that appear.
• In the drop-down window click on Remove from this playlist.

Delete playlists you no longer listen to:

• Right-click on a playlist in the menu on the left.
• In the drop-down window click on delete or remove.
• click on delete or remove to confirm.

Spotify has many more options than we discuss here. Read in the article ‘Extras in Spotify’ how to create a joint playlist and listen to podcasts.