How to Listen to Music Online

If you’re taking your class to see an RSNO schools concert, it’s a good idea to spend some time listening

to the pieces in the programme and discussing them beforehand. So what is the best way to do this?

There are lots of great ways now to listen to music online for free! We recommend using Spotify or

iTunes. The great thing about using these programmes is that if you search for any one piece, you’ll find

lots of different performances by various orchestras. You might even find the piece arranged for brass

quintet or ukulele! It can be a fantastic opportunity to explore different interpretations of the same

piece.

Here are some simple steps for downloading these music sharing programmes and using them:

Downloading Spotify

Spotify is compatible with any computer, and you can listen to music for free! The only downside is that

it plays ads every half hour or so, but this is a small price to pay for accessing an enormous library of

audio tracks at any time.

1. Go to http://www.spotify.com/uk/ and on the top menu, click on ‘Get Spotify’

2. Choose the option on the far right, ‘Open’. This option is free of cost.

3. Click on ‘Get Spotify Open’.

4. Create a username and a password. Try to include words and numbers in your password to

make it more secure.

5. Enter your email address, postal code, gender and birthday. (You can also enter your telephone

number if you want, but this is optional)

6. If you would rather not receive promotional emails from Spotify, be sure to untick the box that

says ‘Please send me Spotify news by email.’

7. Tick the box that says ‘I agree with the Spotify end user agreement’.

8. Click on ‘Go to the next step’

9. Click on ‘Download’

10. Follow your computer’s instructions to install the software

11. That’s it! You now have Spotify on your computer.

Using Spotify

1. Open Spotify from the icon on your Start menu or Desktop.

2. Enter your username and password.

3. Click on the ‘Search’ menu at the top to search for any piece of music.

4. The results for your search will come up. To play any of these results, just double click on the

title listed in the ‘track’ column on the left side.

5. If you like, you can make a playlist of the pieces. I’ve made a playlist for myself called ‘Maestro

2011’ with the pieces for Maestro Music 2011. This way I can listen to the concert programme

anytime I want!

6. To do this, click on ‘+ New Playlist’ on the left menu and type in the name of your playlist.

7. To add pieces to your playlist, simply click and drag them to your playlist on the left menu.

8. When you’re happy with your playlist, listen to the pieces by clicking on the ‘Play’ button at the

bottom.

Downloading iTunes

iTunes is free to download, but unlike Spotify you do pay for the music. It is also compatible

with any computer, and people often use it with their iPods and iPads as well. You can import

music from your computer or a CD for free, or buy albums and individual tracks from the iTunes

Store. Before you buy a track, you can listen to a short preview.

1. Go to http://www.apple.com/itunes/ and click on the Free Download icon.

2. If you would prefer not to receive promotional emails from Apple and iTunes, be sure to

untick the box that says ‘Email me New On iTunes and special iTunes offers’ AND the box

that says ‘Keep me up to date with Apple news, software updates, and the latest

information on products and services’

3. Enter your email address and select ‘United Kingdom’ as your location

4. Click on ‘Download Now’

5. Follow your computer’s instructions to install the software.

6. That’s it! You now have iTunes on your computer.

Using iTunes

1. Open iTunes from the icon on your Start menu or Desktop.

2. Click on the ‘Search’ menu at the top to search for any piece of music.

3. Your results will include films, albums, songs, books, audiobooks, apps, podcasts and music

videos.

4. You’ll want to look at the results in songs (or maybe albums, if you want to listen to the full

symphony) – click on ‘See all’ to see all the results.

5. You can listen to an excerpt of the piece by clicking on the little Play button to the left of the

title. This is a good way to make sure you’re getting the right thing!

6. To buy the full song, click on the ‘Buy’ button on the right.

7. Enter your Apple or AOL username and password and click on ‘Buy’.

8. You may be interested in some other things on iTunes – for instance, there’s a series of free

podcasts by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra about Beethoven’s nine symphonies. Enjoy

exploring!