Whether you want to play, rip, edit or organize your music, Ubuntu has the tools you need.
To play and organize your music, Ubuntu comes with Rhythmbox Music Player. To start Rhythmbox, choose → → .
When you first use Rhythmbox, it will scan your home folder for any supported music files you have and will make them available to be played automatically.
Rhythmbox supports many useful features, some of which are turned off by default. For example, it can show the album cover of the song currently being played, or share music with others.
To access these optional features, press → and select the features which you would like to use by ticking them.
See the Rhythmbox manual for more information.
When you insert an audio CD, the Sound Juicer CD player and ripper opens automatically. If you are connected to the Internet, Sound Juicer will display the CD artist, album and track names.
To play the CD, click the button or press Ctrl+P. To play a particular track, double-click on the track or select the track and click .
As an alternative to Sound Juicer, the Rhythmbox Music Player is also able to play CDs. Simply insert a CD, ignore or close Sound Juicer, start Rhythmbox and double-click the audio CD item in the Devices list.
If you would like to keep a copy of an audio CD on your computer without needing to insert the CD to listen to it, it is possible to rip or extract the music onto your computer.
Sound Juicer CD Extractor is able to rip CDs. To start Sound Juicer manually, choose → → . Alternatively, it should start automatically when you insert a CD.
Follow the instructions in the Sound Juicer manual on how to rip audio CDs.
Ubuntu provides a wide range of tools for all of your audio playing, editing and recording needs.
-
Change the track details of music
If you have music files which have incorrect or incomplete information about the artist or album which they are from, install Cowbell Music Organizer. Cowbell allows you to edit track details, and can automatically correct track information for many CDs.
-
Use a different music player
Many alternative music players are available apart from the default Rhythmbox Music Player. These include Amarok, Banshee Music Player, Beep Media Player, Exaile! and Muine Music Player. Each player has its own strengths and weaknesses, and which one you use will probably depend on personal preference.
-
Listen to Podcasts
Podcasts are a way of listening to music and radio shows broadcast on the Internet. Thousands of different shows are available, such as BBC Radio, LugRadio and The Naked Scientists. The Rhythmbox Music Player is able to play podcasts. See the Rhythmbox manual for more information.
-
Record sounds and music
If you have appropriate audio hardware (such as a microphone), you can record sounds onto your computer. Choose → → to start the Sound Recorder. Alternatively, press Alt+F2, type “gnome-sound-recorder” and press . See the Sound Recorder manual for further instructions.
-
Edit sounds and music
To edit audio, install Jokosher or Audacity. Jokosher is able to record audio as well as edit it, and Audacity provides many powerful sound-editing features.
-
Install a full suite of multimedia editing applications
If you would like to turn your computer into a multimedia production suite, why not consider installing Ubuntu Studio? It provides a large selection of applications for creating audio, video and graphics.
You can listen to streaming audio from the Internet. This can be thought of as an online radio service, as it is usually broadcast live.
Rhythmbox is able to play most streaming audio, such as online radio shows. However, some services require a special player to be used.
-
Install the Last-Exit player to listen to the Last.fm service.
-
Install RealPlayer 10 to watch and listen to streams in the Real Media formats. RealPlayer is available from the Commercial repository.
See Add Applications for help on installing new software.
