Technology – Future Guidebook

If you have an Alexa device, you have probably struggled with playing your favorite album from start to finish. So, how do you get Alexa to play an entire album? You can get Alexa to play an entire album by using this command: "Alexa, play the album [name of the album] by [name of the artist]." If the album you are requesting Alexa to play is from a specific music service - like Spotify, for example - you will need to explicitly add 'from Spotify' at the end of your command. Playing an entire album with Alexa is relatively simple. If you'd like well as some more useful tips and Alexa skills that will make you love playing music on your Alexa device even more, read on. How to Get Alexa to Play an Entire Album If you own an Alexa device, you may have encountered a problem of playing an entire album, not just a song, not even random songs from the album. An entire album from song one to the last piece. For many people, the problem is that they say, "Alexa, play [name of the album]". This command is usually followed by a song named the same as the album. To avoid any misunderstanding between you and Alexa, you need to be as precise as possible: "Alexa, play the album [name of the album] by [name of the artist]." If you are not referring to the music streaming service set by default, make sure to add 'from Spotify", "on Apple Music", etc. If you have already set one of the available services as default and that's where you want to play the album from, then no need to add additional information for Alexa. Playing Music with Alexa: Tips and Tricks If you own an Alexa device, here are some tips and tricks that will enhance your experience and make playing music with Alexa more fun and enjoyable. Tip #1: Pair Alexa with a good Bluetooth speaker. It took Amazon Echo a good two years to introduce the feature of connecting your Alexa device to a Bluetooth feature. Doing this not only allows Alexa owners to listen to music in better quality but also stream music from anywhere around the house. Previously, when connecting to Bluetooth speakers were just a dream for those having the Echo device, listening to the favorite music was possible only in the room where the device was. Thankfully, the struggle is over! Pairing Alexa with a Bluetooth speaker is easy – go to the Settings in the Alexa app, tap the name of your Echo device, select Bluetooth and click on Pair a New Device. Tip #2: Make use of the Multi-Room Music feature. With the Multi-Room Music feature, you can stream music around the house through multiple Alexa speakers. All you need to do is to create a group and include selected devices into it. You can give your custom speaker group a name and have this ensemble spread your favorite notes all around the house. The command for making use of this feature is "Play [music selection] on [group name]." Tip #3: Find music similar to what you like. Although Alexa allows you to play your most loved songs and artists within seconds, sometimes you get bored of what you know. There are times when you are on the hunt for something different, yet similar to what you like. Alexa can help you out in a situation like this. Just ask her to play something similar to one of your favorite songs or artists and see what she has in store for you. This command, although less popular, is one of the most fun ways of changing things up and listening to something new. Tip #4: Create playlists with Amazon music streaming services. If you want to make a playlist - and add music to that playlist - using Amazon Prime Music, use these commands: "Alexa, create a [name] playlist." "Alexa, add this song to the playlist." It's as simple as that. Alexa now can build a playlist for you, rename it, add and remove songs and play it any time you ask her to do so. Although this ability only refers to streaming services owned by Amazon, it is still a great way to come up with a list of your most favorite and most played songs and get it playing anytime you want. Tip #5: Wake up to music with Alexa. Nobody likes the piercing sound of their alarm. Replacing it with a nice song, especially with just a sentence, is all that's needed to wake up at least somewhat less unwillingly. The command for this Alexa ability is: "Alexa, wake me up to [insert music]." You can create music alarms with not only Amazon Music, but also Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and more. Best Alexa Music Skills You may have already known that what is called Alexa skills are essentially the apps that Amazon's clever device works with to be able to perform more tasks. Alexa has got some serious music skills, and here are the ones you don't want to miss. Skill #1. Spotify Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming services as of today. Luckily, it is among the several third-party service providers that enable you to broaden your selection of songs and ask Alexa to play a song or an album that you may not have found on an Amazon platform. When it comes to Spotify, there are two ways it can integrate with Alexa. You either need to set Spotify as a default music library or tell Alexa to play your desired song from Spotify. Once Spotify is selected as a default library, generic commands like"Alexa, play [artist/song/genre]." or "Alexa, play [song] by [artist]." work without errors. There aren't many services you can set as default when it comes to music libraries, but luckily Spotify is among them. Skill #2. Apple Music Apple Music is one of the music streaming services that can go hand in hand with Alexa, and Apple fans couldn't be happier about it. All you need to do is to go on to the Alexa app and link your account to the Echo speaker. From then on, commands like "Alexa, play [song/artist] on Apple Music." will give start to your favorite music accompanying you in your daily activities. However, you can avoid saying Apple Music by merely going into the app and changing some settings. Just like Spotify, Apple Music can be set as a default music service. A perk that comes with this skill is that you can also listen to Beats 1, which is a round-the-clock music radio station owned by Apple. Skill #3. Top Music Chart Top Music Chart is probably the most 'dynamic' of Alexa's skills – it allows listeners to keep up with songs that are most popular at the moment. If you feel like you are falling behind, enable this skill by simply asking Alexa to open Top Music Chart and playing the top albums. This skill is perfect for two types of users – for those who always want to stay on trend by listening to the hottest music in the US, and for those who have their all-time favorites but want to get an idea of what is trending in the country. Skill #4. Pandora Another music service that you can use and set as default with Alexa device is Pandora. What makes Pandora a unique music streaming service is that you can rate the song while it is playing ("Alexa, thumbs up/down!") and discover new songs if you like what you are listening to at the moment. Alexa will instantly tell who is playing or what song it is when you ask. Pandora is a great Alexa skill if you would like a custom radio station that is tailor-made for you and your music tastes.