7. Managing Your Music

Use Helix Banshee to import CDs, sync your music collection to an iPod*, play music directly from an iPod, create playlists with songs from your library, and create audio and MP3 CDs from subsets of your library.

To open Helix Banshee, click Computer+Helix Banshee Music Player.

The first time you open Helix Banshee, click OK to accept the license agreement. You are then prompted to import music. Choose an import source, such as a local folder, local file, or your home directory, then click Import Music Source. After successfully importing your music, your library is displayed.

7.1. Playing Your Music

To play a song, simply select the song in the library and click the Play button (Banshee play button). You can also use the buttons in the upper left corner (Banshee playback buttons) to pause a song or play the next or previous song. Use Banshee volume button to adjust the volume.

Helix Banshee also has an integrated CD player. When you insert a music CD, your CD title appears in the left panel. Select the title and click the Play button to play your full CD.

7.2. Organizing Your Music

To create a new playlist, click Music+New Playlist (or press Ctrl-N). A new playlist is displayed in the left panel. Double-click New Playlist and enter the name you want. You can drag and drop songs from one playlist to another, or use the options on the Edit menu to remove or delete songs and rename or delete playlists.

To view the properties of a song, select a song in the library and click Edit+Edit Song Metadata. You can view the duration of a song, the number of times it has been played, when it was last played, and when it was imported.

You can edit the name of the artist, album, and title, as well as the track number and track count. If you want to set all fields in a set to the same value, select multiple songs in a playlist, then click Edit+Edit Song Metadata.

7.3. Using Helix Banshee with Your iPod

To play music from your iPod, simply plug your iPod into your system. Your iPod appears in the left panel. Select the song you want to hear, then click the Play button.

When the iPod is selected in the left panel, information about your iPod is displayed at the bottom left, including disk usage and the Sync, Properties, and Eject buttons.

There are three ways to manage the music on your iPod:

  • Manually: Browse your iPod and drag music between your library and the iPod.

  • Automatically sync: Automatically copies everything in your library to the iPod.

  • Automatic merge: All the music on your iPod that is not in your library is downloaded to your library, and all the music that is in your library and not in your iPod is uploaded to your iPod.

7.4. Creating Audio and MP3 CDs

To create audio and MP3 CDs, select the songs you want, then click the Write CD button in the upper right side of Helix Banshee.