Music

Download music

Instead of going to the shops and coming home with a CD, you can now go on the internet and save the music from websites directly onto your computer.

Most music websites will tell you what you will need to be able to use their website, but for most of them you will need a computer with plenty of hard disk space, a sound card and a connection to the Internet.

To get the most out of any music site, it's better if your internet connection is broadband, as music can take hours to download on dial up, as opposed to minutes. Don't worry if you just have a dial up connection to the internet, you can still download music, it'll just take longer.

Digital music files come in a variety of formats. So you must check that you can download your tracks in a format that is compatible with what you intend to play them on. MP3 files work on most devices, including iPods, but Windows Media Audio (WMA) files are less widely playable.

See the websites page for example of some good websites to use.

Finding music

Once you've found a music website, it's very easy to find the music you're looking for.  Most websites will allow you to search:

• by genre: look for music by the type you want, such as classical, country, jazz, pop and rock

• by the name of the artist, band or song.

Once you've found a track, if you want to be sure that it's definitely the one you're looking for, most websites will allow you to play a short sample of the track before you buy it.,

Buying music

Some websites do provide downloaded music free, but be careful, as these may not be providing music legally. It is best to use reputable websites, such as the ones listed on our website page.

If you want to buy music, you will need to register and give details of a credit or debit card. Online transactions are very secure, but you should not enter details of any credit or debit card into a computer in a public place unless the person responsible for the computer, eg the librarian, confirms that it is safe to do so.

Listen to music

There are several ways to listen to music on your computer and music you have downloaded to your computer:

• transfer the music on your computer to a personal music player, such as an iPod

• many computers have loudspeakers built in or you can buy speakers or headphones to plug into your computer.  Music can then be played directly from your computer (see sound)

• you can copy the music on your computer to a CD and listen to it in your car on your CD player (see CDs)

• if you have a CD drive, a CD that you have purchased can be played through your computer (see CDs)

• listen to live radio programmes or 'listen again' to a programme that's already been on (see Radio).

See the websites page for example of some good websites to use.

Personal music players

A personal music player is a device that is capable of storing and playing digital music, photos and video. Usually, a colour screen is used as a display.

You will often heard them referred to as MP3 players. MP3 is one of the formats used for digital music, other formats include WMA, AAC and WAV. If you want to copy music on to a Personal music player, you will need to check whether the format of the music is suitable for your player.

iPod & iTunes

iPod is a very popular brand of personal music player which is designed and marketed by Apple.

iTunes* is a software which is used to transfer music, photos, videos and games to your iPod from your computer.

The iPod can play several music formats including MP3, AAC & WAV.

As of September 2007, more than 150 million iPods had been sold worldwide, making it the best-selling personal digital music player in history.

* Hampshire County Council is not responsible for the content of external websites.

Watch music

As well as listening to music, you can also go on the Internet and find websites where you can watch:

• music videos
• concerts
• music programmes.

Either watch them on your computer or download them on to your personal music player.

See the websites page for example of some good websites to use.

Create & play music

If you play a musical instrument or would like to create your own 'sounds', there are websites where you can:

• buy and get free sheet music
• get guidance on tuning your instrument
• view tutorials to help you play an instrument
• use a 'composer' tool to create music yourself
• join forums to swap ideas and information with other musicians.

See the websites page for example of some good websites to use.

Websites

Some good music websites to use:

Download music

www.apple.com/uk/itunes/download*

www.napster.co.uk*

http://www.amazon.co.uk/MP3-Music-Download*

www.spotify.com*

Listen to music

See the Radio page for a full list of radio websites

www.classicalarchives.com*

Watch music

http://www.mtv.co.uk/music*

http://www.muzu.tv/*

Create music

http://www.soundjunction.org/createmusicyourself.aspa*

http://www.creatingmusic.com/*

Play musical instruments

http://www.8notes.com/*

http://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/Default.aspx*

* Hampshire County Council is not responsible for the content of external websites.

Tips

• When downloading music, before you decide which website to use, look at the main sites to see which has the right songs for you. Most of them will allow you to search their catalogue of songs without signing up.

• Broadband is a must when downloading music as tracks can take several minutes to download on dial-up. And if you plan to spend hours boosting your music collection, check that you are on the right broadband package.

• Digital music files come in a variety of formats, so you must check that you can download your tracks in a format that is compatible with what you intend to play them on. MP3 files work on most devices, including iPods, but Windows Media Audio (WMA) files are less widely playable.

• Try before you buy - most of the sites offer short clips of songs to listen to before you download.

• If you want to buy music, you will need to register and give details of a credit or debit card. Online transactions are very secure, but you should not enter details of any credit or debit card into a computer in a public place unless the person responsible for the computer, eg the librarian, confirms that it is safe to do so.

• You will usually have to pay for music that you want to download - if it's free, check that it is a legal website.