How to Play MP3s

By compressing sound files by up to 90%, MP3 makes it quick and easy to download songs from the internet without losing CD quality sound. All you need is the software - most of which is free and user friendly. Here are simple steps:

Difficulty Level: average     Time Required: 2 hours

1. To play MP3s you need an MP3 player. Some are free. Research your options for PC or Mac. Bells and whistles include playlists and "skins" (designer interfaces), bass/treble control....
2. If you're new to the game, the no-frills freeware will do fine. For PC's choose Microsoft's WinAmp, which combines an MP3 player and encoder.
3. SoundApp is a good free no-frills player only for Macs. I still use it. SoundJam seems to be the most popular commercial product.
4. See my MP3 netlinks page for sites where you can download software and read software reviews.
5. Download the software. This is as easy as clicking the appropriate link. Create a directory for the application as you would for any other application. These are relatively small programs.
6. Go to an MP3 site and browse the music selections. My MP3 netlinks page offers large sites as well as individual artist sites that offer free MP3 downloads.
7. Major sites to check: listen.com and napster.com both help you find pages where you can download most kinds of music; mp3.com is the site where any "musican" can upload songs.
8. Check out this site's MP3 Pick of the Week. Also, check the index of previous picks. Most are free downloads.
9. Check out Fenario - this site's online musical magazine. I upload four new tracks each month, all free. You can also purchase collections of 12 songs on CD.
10. Most sites let you listen to tracks in low-fi streaming audio before you download, and most use Real Audio (you can download the latest version of RealPlayer free). Just click and listen.
11. When you find a file you want, follow the instructions for downloading it - usually the click of a button will do it.
12. Depending on your modem speed and the size of the file, a song can take anywhere from 1 to 30 minutes to download. You can calculate roughly 1 Megabyte per minute of song.
13. Open your MP3 player and use its menu to open and play the sound files you want to hear.
14. Even the simplest MP3 players allow you to create playlists so that you can program whole albums or compilations of your own choice - a virtual jukebox.
    

Tips:

1. When deciding which software to use, factor in the time you'll spend using it. For a $30 investment, the extra features on commercial players may be worth it.
   

Related Features:

• How to Make MP3s
• How to Upload MP3s on the Internet
• How to Listen to Webcasts

Hugh Blumenfeld, Editor
hugh@balladtree.com