MediaMonkey Player

Passionato recommends the MediaMonkey player, Available at www.mediamonkey.com

MediaMonkey will help you organise, name and store your downloads.

Unlike many other media players MediaMonkey also plays FLAC files.

Install MediaMonkey

Go to http://www.mediamonkey.com/download and download as instructed.

You should be aware of the differences between the basic free version and ‘MediaMonkey Gold’ which for a small fee allows unlimited encoding of MP3 files (*see note below) and other benefits.

Organising your music with MediaMonkey

Go to your Music folder. The first time you run MM, you'll be prompted to select which folders on your PC to scan for music, and what type of music files to scan for.

Any music files found in the directories/subdirectories will be added to the Library

When music is added to the Library, existing Tags are never modified in any way.

Navigation

Once your files have been added you can navigate your way through your music collection by clicking different nodes in the Library portion of the tree in the MediaMonkey Explorer.

The Track list will update to match the selected node.

Play

To play a Track, simply double-click it in the Track list.

To play Tracks, select several tracks and then click the Play Now button on the toolbar.

Editing your tracks

To edit your track name, right-click on selected Track and choose Edit Properties. Make your changes click 'OK' to update the Track's Tag.

If you're missing information or Album Art, right click on the track and choose Auto-Tag from Web.

Select multiple Tracks and click Edit Properties to change all of the selected Tracks.

Ripping Tracks on MediaMonkey

In MediaMonkey click on Tools > Rip Audio. The Rip CD dialog will appear, from which you can set the bit rate and format (eg. MP3, WAV, FLAC).

Choose the format in which your files will be saved by clicking <Artist>, <Album>, buttons, and click the folder button if you wish to save to a different folder Directory and Filename Press 'Ok' to proceed with Ripping the selected Tracks.

*Note - The Passionato Media Monkey Player also plays, rips and burns FLAC files, one of only a few readily-available music players that offers this function. However due to the royalty payable on the copyright of MP3 format, you will only be able to rip / encode ongoing if you use MediaMonkey Gold. The basic version allows unlimited encoding of Flac files but MP3 encoding is allowed only for a trial 30 day period. If you merely want MediaMonkey for organising your files and handling FLAC files, the basic version will suffice. For more information on MediaMonkey and music Ripping please consult the Passionato Guide to Downloading and the help pages of MediaMonkey.

Transferring Music from MediaMonkey to your MP3 Player

In most cases, when you plug in your device for the first time, it will be automatically recognized by MediaMonkey.

You'll be given the option to configure Synchronization options before syncing (transferring music files). Once a device is recognized, it appears as a node in the left hand locations list.

Where you player’s icon is displayed along the top bar click on the drop down arrow and choose either Auto-Sync or Manual Sync

Auto Sync – will transfer the entire music library or Sync list to your player.

Manual Sync – will allow one-time transfers of selected music files by selecting artist, album or composer views in left hand menu.

You can also select required tracks in the Library menu, right click and send to your player or device.

For More detailed instructions on any of the above processes click on the ‘help’ tab at the top of MediaMonkey player’s tool bar. For a more detailed guide you can also consult the Passionato guide to MediaMonkey by clicking here www.passionato.com/help/guides/mediamonkey/

Classical Composers

At Passionato you can search for classical music composers in our composers A-Z list.. From the most popular, like Bach, Beethoven or Mozart, to those more obscure composers. You can read composers’ biographies, catalogues, recording recommendations, download composer’s recordings or listen to multiple samples of each work.

Genres

Classical music creates new genres constantly splitting off from and being absorbed back into the mainstream, re-invigorating it. There are, for example many different types of classical music forces such as chamber, instrumental and orchestral. Styles such as romantic, neo-classical, serialism ... Passionato can help you make sense of it all!

Conductors

In classical music, the conductor has assumed a position of unequalled authority and in many cases almost mythical status. Passionato guides you through this array of greats and shows you what are the best downloads for composers such as Karajan, Toscanini, Bernstein, Furtwangler, Rattle, Dudamel and many more.

Classical Catalogue

The world of classical music downloads is available at your fingertips. Search our classical music catalogue to find the music you want. Search genres such as orchestral, chamber or opera; or by composer, artist, labels and more. Passionato has an unrivalled selection of music on offer from baroque opera to romantic symphony.

Help

If you’re new to classical music downloads read our download tutorial to help you easily access the music the you want. Visit our FAQ section which features answers to the most commonly asked questions about Passionato. If you require further assistance, our dedicated customer services team is ready to help with any enquiry.