With Amazon Alexa in the house, you now tin can issue a voice command to society upwardly whatever music you experience similar hearing, all without moving an inch from where y'all are. Playing music is i of almost pop Alexa skills.

How to play music through Alexa

The first affair you lot have to decide is how you want to play your music through Alexa. Y'all have two choices:
  • Use a music service provider. This is a 3rd-party service that supplies y'all with music, sometimes for a fee. Examples include Amazon Music and Spotify.
  • Utilize your mobile device music. If your music is stored on a smartphone or tablet, you tin can stream that music through your Alexa device using a Bluetooth connectedness.

How to link Alexa to a music provider like Spotify

Alexa doesn't have access to music on its own. Instead, you need to connect Alexa to whatever music provider service y'all use. The services supported by Alexa depend on where you live, but common providers include Amazon Music, Spotify, and TuneIn.

Some music providers require you to have a special blazon of account or subscription before they'll allow you connect to Alexa. For example, you can simply connect Spotify to Alexa if you have a Spotify Premium subscription.

Before Alexa can apply a music provider, you need to give Alexa permission to access your account on that provider. This is called linking your account, and you lot demand to link each music provider you lot want to access through Alexa. (The exception here is Amazon Music, which is automatically linked to Alexa when you log in to Amazon using the Alexa app.) Follow these steps to link a music provider to Alexa:
  1. In the Alexa app, choose Menu → Settings. The Settings menu appears.
  2. Tap Music. The Alexa app displays the Music Services screen, which looks similar to the following figure. If the service yous want to use requires permission to allow Alexa to access your account, you see a link to the correct of the service. In the figure, for example, you run across "Link account on Spotify.com" next to the Spotify service.
  3. Tap the link to the right of the service, and so follow the instructions that appear. In most cases, you lot need to log in to your music service and then tap the link or button that authorizes Alexa to admission your business relationship.
  4. When the link is consummate, tap Close (X) in the upper-right corner of the app. The Alexa app displays a notification to permit you know that y'all can use Settings to change the default music provider.
  5. If y'all want to change the default provider, tap the notification's Become to Settings.

alexa-music-services An case of the Alexa app'due south Music Services screen.

Set upwardly a default music provider, like Spotify, for Amazon Alexa

When you connect the Alexa app to your Amazon account, yous get automatic access to Amazon Music, which Alexa sets up equally your default music provider. Here, "default" means that when you inquire Alexa to play, for instance, a song or an artist, Alexa retrieves that music from the default service.

Annotation, too, that but considering you lot gear up one music service as the default, it doesn't mean that you lot tin can't always use another service. For instance, if you lot're using Amazon Music as the default provider, but you also have your Spotify account linked to Alexa, yous can withal play something from Spotify past including the service name as part of your voice command. For example:

"Alexa, play Camera Obscura from Spotify."

If yous're cool with using Amazon Music every bit your default provider, there'due south zippo to come across hither, then experience gratis to move on to the adjacent section. If, instead, y'all want to use a unlike provider as the default, y'all need to follow these steps to gear up that provider as Alexa's default music service:

  1. In the Alexa app, choose Carte du jour → Settings. The Settings menu appears.
  2. Tap Music. The Alexa app displays the Music Services screen.
  3. Tap Cull Default Music Services. The Alexa app prompts y'all to choose a default music library and radio station service, as shown in the following figure.
  4. Select a music service under the Default Music Library section.
  5. Select a music service under the Default Station Service section.
  6. Tap Done. The Alexa app updates your music settings.

alexa-default-music-service Use the Choose Default Music Services screen to prepare your music defaults.

Vox commands for decision-making music on Amazon Alexa

Okay, now it's time to get down, get funky, or become wherever you finish upwards when yous listen to your favorite music. Alexa has an extremely long listing of voice commands for playing and controlling music.

Some notes to bear in listen every bit you work through these commands:

  • Not all these commands volition work on all music services. Almost all of them work as advertised on Amazon Music, only your results will vary if you try them with another provider (such as Spotify).
  • Except where noted, all these commands work on the default music service. To run a command on some other service that you've linked to Alexa, follow the control with "on [service]," where service is the proper noun of the music provider (for case, "on Spotify").
  • You tin replace the word song with rail or
  • You can supercede the give-and-take music with

How to play music by song, album, or artist

Hither are some commands to order up music by vocal title, album title, or artist name:
  • "Alexa, play the song [title]."
  • "Alexa, play the song [title] by [artist]."
  • "Alexa, play the album [title]."
  • "Alexa, play music by [artist]."
  • "Alexa, play popular songs by [artist]."
  • "Alexa, play the latest [artist] album."
  • "Alexa, play that song that goes [lyrics]." (For example, "Alexa, play that song that goes 'Who let the dogs out.'")
  • "Alexa, play the song I just bought."

How to play music by genre

To go Alexa to play songs from a particular music genre, employ the following command:

"Alexa, play [genre] music."

For genre, in that location are dozens of possibilities, only here are the most popular:

Acoustic Electronic Metal
Alternative Folk New age
Blues Gospel Opera
Broadway Difficult rock Pop
Children'south Hip hop R&B
Christian Holiday Rap
Archetype rock Indie Rock
Classical International Soundtracks
Land Jazz Vocal
Dance Latin World
Easy listening Meditation

How to play music by mood and/or activity

One of Amazon Music's virtually interesting features lets you asking music to arrange a mood (such every bit mellow or upbeat) and/or an activity (such as relaxing or running). Although no definitive listing exists, Amazon claims that it supports more than than 500 moods and activities. Here are some commands you lot tin can utilise:
  • "Alexa, play [mood] music."
  • "Alexa, play [activeness] music."
  • "Alexa, play music for [activity]."
  • "Alexa, play [mood] [activeness] music."
For the mood, you can try only about any mental state, including aroused, chill, energetic, feeling skilful, happy, blithesome, laid dorsum, mellow, relaxed, romantic, sad, or upbeat.

For the action, try describing but about anything y'all're currently doing, including cleaning, cooking, eating dinner, going to slumber, meditating, partying, reading, relaxing, running, studying, waking upwards, working, or working out.

This feature generally works only on Amazon Music. Also, not every mood, activity, or mood/activeness combo works. Alexa tries to match your request with an existing playlist that's been created by Amazon, and if no such playlist exists — for case, if you ask for "energetic going-to-sleep music" — then Alexa will tell you it tin't find any music to satisfy your request.

How to play and command playlists

Alexa offers a few commands for creating, populating, and playing custom collections of songs, otherwise known as playlists:
  • "Alexa, create a playlist named [title]."
  • "Alexa, add this song to a new playlist named [title]."
  • "Alexa, add this vocal to the playlist named [championship]."
  • "Alexa, play my playlist named [championship]."
  • "Alexa, shuffle my playlist named [title]."

How to get data about music

If y'all want to know information about a song, album, or artist, Alexa can help. Here are a few commands to try:
  • "Alexa, who sings this song?"
  • "Alexa, who sings the song [title]?"
  • "Alexa, who is in the band [artist]?"
  • "Alexa, what twelvemonth did [artist] release [song or album]?"

How to detect new music on Alexa

If yous're in the mood for something new, here are a few commands you tin can use to heed to music that's new or outside of what yous normally play:
  • "Alexa, play new music."
  • "Alexa, play new music by [creative person]."
  • "Alexa, play new [genre] music."
  • "Alexa, play the song of the day."
  • "Alexa, play [creative person] station."
  • "Alexa, play some music."
  • "Alexa, play more than songs like this."
  • "Alexa, play songs like to this."
  • "Alexa, play songs similar to [title]."
  • "Alexa, play songs similar to [artist]."
  • "Alexa, play some other music I like."
  • "Alexa, play songs I oasis't heard."
  • "Alexa, play [creative person] songs I haven't heard."

How to rate music on Alexa

Alexa can make ameliorate recommendations if you tell it which songs you like and which ones you dislike. Here are some commands that'll help:
  • "Alexa, thumbs upwards."
  • "Alexa, I similar this song."
  • "Alexa, thumbs downwards."
  • "Alexa, I don't like this song."

How to play popular music on Alexa

If you want to hear the most pop songs, hither are some commands that will go you there:
  • "Alexa, play the summit songs."
  • "Alexa, play the top [genre] songs."
  • "Alexa, play the top songs from the [decade]."
  • "Alexa, play the elevation songs in [country]."

How to command the volume of music on Alexa

To get the music volume but right, here are some commands you can use:
  • "Alexa, volume upwardly."
  • "Alexa, increase the book."
  • "Alexa, raise the volume."
  • "Alexa, louder."
  • "Alexa, volume down."
  • "Alexa, decrease the volume."
  • "Alexa, lower the book."
  • "Alexa, softer."
  • "Alexa, gear up the book to [number from 1 through 10]."
  • "Alexa, book [number from 1 through 10]."
  • "Alexa, mute."
  • "Alexa, unmute."

How to command playback of Alexa music

While Alexa is playing music, yous can employ the following commands to control the playback:
  • "Alexa, stop."
  • "Alexa, interruption."
  • "Alexa, play."
  • "Alexa, resume."
  • "Alexa, next."
  • "Alexa, previous."
  • "Alexa, plough shuffle on."
  • "Alexa, plough shuffle off."
  • "Alexa, turn repeat on."
  • "Alexa, plough repeat off."
  • "Alexa, skip dorsum [number] seconds."
  • "Alexa, skip forrard [number] seconds."
  • "Alexa, restart song."
  • "Alexa, restart album."
  • "Alexa, restart playlist."

How to admission Alexa via the Amazon Music app

If you lot become your jams through Amazon Music, non only tin you access your music via any Alexa device, merely you tin too access Alexa via the Amazon Music app, which is bachelor for iOS and Android. This means y'all can use all the preceding voice commands to control the Amazon Music app. Here are the steps to follow to get started:
  1. Install and then get-go the Amazon Music app. The app asks you to sign in to your Amazon account.
  2. Blazon your Amazon email address (or mobile telephone number, if you have a mobile Amazon account), type your Amazon password, and then tap Sign In.
  3. If you have ii-stride authentication turned on, enter the code you were sent and so tap Sign In.
  4. Tap the Alexa icon in the bottom toolbar. The first time yous admission Alexa, the app asks your permission to employ your mobile device'southward microphone.
  5. Tap Allow Microphone Access.
  6. Tap OK (iOS) or Allow (Android). The Amazon Music app is now ready to accept voice commands. Either say, "Alexa," or tap the Alexa icon, and then say your command.
If you want, you can play Amazon Music content through your Alexa device. Hither are the steps to follow:
  1. Tap the Carte icon (the iii vertical dots) in the upper-right corner of the Amazon Music app.
  2. Tap Connect to a Device. The Amazon Music app displays a list of bachelor devices, which includes any Alexa devices on your network, as shown.
  3. Tap the Alexa device you want to utilise for playback. Your Amazon Music content now plays through your Alexa device.

alexa-select-a-device Use the Select a Device to Play Music screen to play Amazon Music through an Alexa device.

The downside to playing your Amazon Music selections through an Alexa device is that you forgo the ability to use Alexa in the Amazon Music app. To get Alexa back on the job in the Amazon Music app, y'all must disconnect from the Alexa device. To do that, choose Carte→ Connect to a Device, and then tap the Disconnect push next to your Alexa device.

How to play third-political party music through Alexa devices

If y'all accept a 3rd-party music provider linked to Alexa, y'all normally ask Alexa to play music from that provider either by specifying the provider name in the vox control (for example, "Alexa, play the Chill playlist on Spotify") or past setting up that provider equally the default.

Even so, in that location's a third method available: You lot tin apply the music provider'southward app to select your Alexa device every bit the playback device. For example, in the Spotify app, if you choose Settings → Devices→Devices Menu, you see the Connect to a Device screen, which offers a list of available devices that you can use for playback. This listing will look similar to the one shown here, which you can see contains a couple of Echo devices and a Sonos speaker. Tap the Alexa device you want to use and then whatsoever music you crank up in the app will play through your Alexa device.

alexa-spotify-connect The Spotify app's Connect to a Device screen, which in this case contains several devices that can exist used for playback.

How to adjust Alexa's music quality

Amazon Echo devices come with a feature sure to warm the cockles of audio-geeks' hearts everywhere: an equalizer. If you're not an audio aficionado, an blaster is a device for adjusting the audio quality by controlling different sound components. Real-earth equalizers bristle with obscure settings, but Echo devices mercifully support but three:
  • Bass: This component controls the lowest tones in the music.
  • Treble: This component controls the highest tones in the music.
  • Midrange: This component controls all tones in the music that lie betwixt the bass and treble tones.
You can use Alexa to control each of these settings equally follows:
  • "Alexa, increment the bass."
  • "Alexa, increase the midrange."
  • "Alexa, increase the treble."
  • "Alexa, decrease the bass."
  • "Alexa, decrease the midrange."
  • "Alexa, decrease the treble."
  • "Alexa, set the bass to maximum."
  • "Alexa, ready the midrange to maximum."
  • "Alexa, set the treble to maximum."
  • "Alexa, set the bass to minimum."
  • "Alexa, gear up the midrange to minimum."
  • "Alexa, set up the treble to minimum."
  • "Alexa, set the bass/midrange/treble to [number from –6 through 6]."
  • "Alexa, reset the equalizer."

If you happen to have the Alexa app open, you tin also employ information technology to make equalizer adjustments. Choose Devices →Repeat & Alexa, tap the Repeat device yous desire to adjust, and then choose Sounds→ Blaster. Use the Bass, Mid, and Treble sliders to adjust the settings as needed.

If you accept an Echo Testify or Echo Spot, you tin mess upwards, er, sorry, mess around with the sound quality by opening Settings and then choosing Sounds→Equalizer. Employ the Bass, Mid, and Treble sliders to adjust the settings to gustation.

About This Commodity

This article is from the book:

  • Alexa For Dummies ,

Well-nigh the book writer:

Paul McFedries is a technical writer who has been authoring estimator books since 1991 and has over 100 books to his credit. These books include Alexa For Dummies, Amazon Burn Television receiver For Dummies, and Cord Cutting For Dummies. You lot can visit Paul on the web at www.mcfedries.com.

This article can exist found in the category:

  • Alexa ,