What is the problem with multi-track movements on ipods?

[Wunderhorn]

I just got this great 30g ipod, but can't manage to get my Karajan M9 or Salonen M3 on it, because they are multi-disk and multi-track per movement and it seems the ipod is confused over this, so it scrambles it in some alphabetic nonsense. I got my Abaddo-Lucerne M2 video on with no problems though, and my one cd, one track per movement, so I am relatively happy!  

[michaelw]

Hello,

The scrambling is the worst thing in MP3 players. However, iTunes and iPod offer an elegant solution. In the iTunes overview select your disk
and then the tracks of the first CD. Then use right-mouse buttin to get all informations common to all selected tracks. Here you can enter "#CD of# max CD"
In your case "1 of 2". Then you can also enter maximum track number. Then do this for the second part of the symphony.
For the single tracks you can enter then a track number (usually set automatically, but if not use the "Next" button to proceed through your files). Finally each track has a track number and a CD number (the maximum numbers are not necessary, but make the input more complete). 
That's it. Your iPod will play this in the correct order.

With the most recent version, you can also set the option "Gapless Album". Then it's played without the usual interruption between the single parts of the movement.

I hope this helps a bit.

Michael

[Damfino]

I hate it when iPod  does that.  I imported Mahler's 8th, only to have all the tracks scrambled.  I also imported a 2-disc set of the Brandenburg Concertos, and it wanted to name concertos 4,5 and 6 as 1,2 and 3.

I think it is because iPod was developed with pop users in mind.  Many of them download individual songs, and often mix them up.  People like us who want to listen to classical music straight through were not what they had in mind.

Thanks, MichaelW for the "gapless" tip.  I have not downloaded the most recent version (they seem to have one every week, so I don;t bother), but now I think I will.

[michaelw]

I have to add to other hints:

First, try to make all changes at the basic library, not at the iPod. Then better delete the files from the iPod and re-transfer them. Otherwise
you will have a surprise after reloading the whole iPod.

Secondly, when importing a CD, usually the CD is recognized and all track titles are shown.  Then select all tracks belonging to one movement - or whatever you want to see as one -  and use the option in the "ADVANCED" - "Join CD tracks". Then these tracks will be imported as one single "song".
I use this for CD's like the mentioned Karajan or for operas.

By use of the track numbers you can really enforce your own order. If nothings helps, create a play list and order the tracks there, but this really is the last option.

Michael

[Wunderhorn]

thank you for the helpful info!      

[sperlsco]

It sounds like you've had your question answered, but I'll throw in my two cents.  I don't use an Ipod nor its AAC/M4P/M4A files.  I rip my CD's into MP3's using the free software Exact Audio Copy (EAC).  Although EAC will access FreeDB to tag the MP3 files, I always retag my MP3 files to conform to my own personal naming scheme.  Therefore, I never have to worry about disc 1 of 2 being named slightly differently than disc 2 of 2 (nor does the track numbering for Disc 2 have to start over at track number 1).  I tag the whole album with the same name, and make the MP3 track number correspond to the movement number (or sub-section).  In addition, I can choose to give add-on tracks (i.e. songs added to a symphony disc) a distinct album name if I want to listen to and/or list them separately from the main program.  Similarly, if I have a CD with music from different Composers, I can retag each piece with its own album name (so I can always find that tacked-on Danse Macabre from Saint-Saens, since I am giving it its own album name). 

There are lots of free MP3 tagging software.  I predominantly use MP3/Tag Studio, and have also used Foobar's Masstagger and Godfather tagger with good results.  All are free software. 

[Wunderhorn]

sperlco, let me ask you a question. Do you think there is an supreme audio difference between AAC and MP3, or is the AAC simply copyright bravura?

[sperlsco]

I don't know.  My MP3 players (Creative, Rio) will not play Apple file types so I've never made a comparison.  I have used the MP3 format because it was the original lossy standard (as opposed to OGG, which came later) and I have unrestricted free-use rights with it (as opposed to WMA). 

[michaelw]

It’s not my intention to push iTunes, but if you have an iPod now, you will have to use it. The free tagging as Sperlsco has described is totally possible with iTunes too. Usually, I don’t use different CD numbers for one single work, but set increasing track numbers and simply name the whole work as one album. There is no need to use different CD names like M5-Disc1, M5-Disc2 for a 2-CD-set, but you can assign the identical names to all tracks you want (also across CD’s, composers, etc.). The track numbers are open too. Internally, the iPod plays the album ordered with respect to CD number and then track number. It doesn’t matter where these numbers start and stop or whether there is a gap – only the order counts. For e.g. the Chailly M3 with the Bach suite became two works in my administration: the Mahler part as one “CD” with 6 tracks, the Bach/Mahler part another album with the remaining tracks, starting at 1.
If you want to store this is as one album, simply use track numbers 7,8, etc. for the Bach (or 11, 12). Only if you want to see during playing, that you at CD-2 of the set, you have to assign a name like Chailly-M3-Disc2 to the second CD. But the player and the software - as most of the others - support the idea of a "work" independent of the original medium. That's the concept of tagging: order your files independent of their location on a computer, their original name and order etc.

Regarding AAC and MP3: people say, that you can save 30% memory with AAC for the same quality. I did this for a long while. However, whenever you want to switch to other players later on, you will have to re-encode the files (conversion from AAC to MP3 will not really increase quality). I learned this the hard way and since then use higher quality MP3 (192-256 or VBR) only.

Michael

[Wunderhorn]

I've been attempting to put my Bertini boxset on my ipod...very challenging indeed! Some of the disc's information are in Japanese, I'm having to do hours worth of work to get it all organized correctly....

[Leo K]

Today when I imported my Chailly M9 into iTunes, iTunes labeled the first movement as Symphony No.6 and imported the cover of Chailly's Brahm's Complete Symphonies