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Cool tools for the digital DJ [Computing] [Times of India](Times of India Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Here are the superb free software that will help you manage you ever-growing digital music collection - and even let you create your own mixes Clementine Clementine is a nifty music player and tunes organizer for your PC that lets you import the entire song catalogue from your hard drive to create multiple playlists. You can also use it to listen to internet radio from services like Spotify, Grooveshark, SomaFM, Magnatune, Jamendo, SKY.fm, Digitally Imported, JazzRadio.com, SoundCloud, Icecast and Subsonic. Upload your songs onto cloud services like Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive, and Clementine lets you access these from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. It lets you create a hybrid playlist comprising music from your hard drive, your online storage and even web-based radio. You can right-click on songs in the playlist to update ID3 tags, and also convert from one digital audio format (MP3, Ogg Vorbis, Ogg Speex, FLAC or AAC) to another. There's even an Android app called Clementine Remote that lets you control your playlist wirelessly from your smartphone. http:www.clementine-player.org My Music Cloud MMC lets you take your music with you everywhere you go and without making multiple copies on your laptop or smartphone. All you need to do is create an account on the service, install its client software on your PC and the corresponding app on your Android, BlackBerry , Kindle Fire or iOS device. Upload your tunes from these gadgets to the cloud and you will soon be ready with a centralized music library. You can even connect to Google Drive and Dropbox and gather tracks from there. MMC also suggests albums and popular tracks that you can buy and add to the collection. Playlists can be created, and a simple sync will bring them to the device you are currently using. With a free MMC account, you can connect up to ten devices and have 250 tracks in your online library . If you want to store some more tracks, there is always the option to pay and upgrade. http:www.mymusiccloud.com The Parade So you've been asked to be the DJ at a party, but this would mean lugging around your entire music collection. Well, not really . The Parade is a cloud service that lets your save multiple music playlists, which you can then access from anywhere with a good internet connection. First, you will need to create a free account. After that, you can browse through tracks by genre, including Soul, Metal, Pop, Reggae, R&B, Hip-Hop, Rock, Alternative, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, Electronic, Dance, Deep House, Disco Drum, Trance, K-pop, J-pop and J-rock. You can search for songs by name and artist, or browse by current chartbusters; add whatever you want to create multiple playlists, give each one a catchy name and save. When you're at the party, simply login to The Parade, access your playlists and start your jam. The service relies on SoundCloud, YouTube and Last.FM as its back end, so if you've seen a song including Bollywood chartbusters on any of these services, you can also add that to your playlist. thepara.de Minxxx Mixxx is a free DJ console that comes with two digital turntables. You can drop songs from your PC into each to start mixing music like a pro. Each deck displays a scratchable, scrolling audio waveform on which you can mark beats and cue points; speed up and slow down tracks without changing their pitch, and also reproduce vinyl sounds like backspins. And you can create loops of 4-, 8-, or 16-beat segments with the click of a button to extend your beats. This software, with support for MP3, M4AAAC, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, WAV , and AIFF formats, also allows you to use tools like pitchblend and crossfades for seamless mixes. It lets you record mixes complete with your own vocals recorded through a microphone to the lossless WAV or compressed Ogg Vorbis and MP3 formats. These are automatically archived in the library for fast access. If nothing else, during house parties, you can create a quick playlist and let Auto DJ automatically crossfade from one song to the next. In fact, Mixxx is more than just a hobbyist's DJing tool. It comes with a bunch of features five designer skins with various layouts, and support for over 30 professional MIDI controllers that are usually seen only in paid professional software. http:www.mixxx.org (c) 2014 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited |