GMG Classical Music Forum

The Music Room => General Classical Music Discussion => Topic started by: nico1616 on March 02, 2012, 07:28:41 AM

Title: database for your classical music collection
Post by: nico1616 on March 02, 2012, 07:28:41 AM
I would like to have a computer database to organise my collection, in which it would be easy look up all works in which a particular singer appears, or all my versions of a symphony of Haydn...
Currently I have a trial version of CATraxx, but this seems not to be made for classical music, and it looks quite complex.

Can some of you share your experiences? Do you work with your own Excell files? With a program you bought on the net?

I'm sorry if this subject was covered before, but I did not find answers when I searched GMG...
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Mirror Image on March 02, 2012, 07:37:04 AM
This is a good topic, because I, too, have been trying to find a good cataloging software program. Many of the ones I've seen looked too complicated. It would be difficult for me to catalog anything now because I've acquired so much music in the past few years. I used to keep a Microsoft Word list of all of the recordings I owned under each composer and it was in alphabetical order, but once I lost track of entering the new recordings I have bought, the list became obsolete and would take an incredible amount of time to update.

I would really like to find a program that is image based. Like, for example, under Shostakovich there is a list with pictures of all the covers of the recordings I own.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Willoughby earl of Itacarius on March 02, 2012, 07:37:40 AM
Because this kind of software simply doesn't exist that caters for all needs a classical music lover needs.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Opus106 on March 02, 2012, 07:41:52 AM
Quote from: nico1616 on March 02, 2012, 07:28:41 AM
I'm sorry if this subject was covered before, but I did not find answers when I searched GMG...

Some relevant threads here:

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,1153.msg27702.html
http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,18008.msg490854.html

Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Sergeant Rock on March 02, 2012, 08:17:26 AM
I use Microsoft Works Data Base. It's simple and cheap (always comes packaged with the PC). Click picture to enlarge.

(http://photos.imageevent.com/sgtrock/may11/CDDATABASE.jpg)


Sarge
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: nico1616 on March 02, 2012, 08:29:21 AM
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on March 02, 2012, 08:17:26 AM
I use Microsoft Works Data Base. It's simple and cheap (always comes packaged with the PC). Click picture to enlarge.

(http://photos.imageevent.com/sgtrock/may11/CDDATABASE.jpg)


Sarge

That looks very user-friendly and would certainly cover some needs I have, thanks!
Some questions:can you find all entries that have Eaglen as a performer, since now this entry is coupled with other soloists?
And what about box sets with multiple composers? Do you split them up in different entries?

And I would like to have the artwork (cover) of the cds included, I don't think you have that.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Sergeant Rock on March 02, 2012, 08:50:01 AM
Quote from: nico1616 on March 02, 2012, 08:29:21 AM
That looks very user-friendly and would certainly cover some needs I have, thanks!
can you find all entries that have Eaglen as a performer, since now this entry is coupled with other soloists?

Yes, there is a search function that you can use in one of two ways: type in Eaglen and hit either "next data record"--which takes you to each Eaglen entry in turn--or hit "all data records" which then shows you a list with all the Eaglen entries.

Quote from: nico1616 on March 02, 2012, 08:29:21 AM
And what about box sets with multiple composers? Do you split them up in different entries?

I split them up. All my jewel cases are marked with a number and placed on shelves in numerical order. A CD or a box of CDs with multiple composers gets multiple entries in the data base but each entry has the same number.

Sarge

Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: DieNacht on March 02, 2012, 08:57:16 AM
I use Word & a laborious system:

1. Composer name, dates & places of birth & death
2. Biography, maybe list of works or other interesting information, from wikipedia & other sources
3. hard-disk collection
4. collection in old media (LPs, CDs, MCs)

The good thing is that this is very flexible & you can insert all sorts of material and remarks.

An example (the original has clearer fonts and various colours etc. to make everything more easily read):


JEZEK, Jaroslav (25/9 1906 Praha – 1/1 1942 New York):    
                                                                     
(Biografi: Czech composer, pianist and conductor, author of jazz, classical, incidental and film music. Ježek was born in the Prague quarter of Žižkov to the family of a tailor. He was almost blind from a young age. He studied composition at the Prague Conservatory as a pupil of Karel Boleslav Jirák (1924–1927), at the master school of composition with Josef Suk (1927–1930), and shortly also with Alois Hába (1927–1928). Ježek met the playwrights/comedians Jan Werich and Jiří Voskovec (aka George Voskovec), leaders of the Osvobozené divadlo (Prague Liberated Theatre) in Prague, and took up the post of main composer and conductor for the theatre. During the next decade (from 1928 to 1939), he com-posed incidental music, songs, dances, and ballets for the comic and satirical plays of Voskovec and Werich. In 1934 he became a member of Czech Group of Surrealists. Forced to leave Czechoslovakia following the Nazi occupation, Ježek, Voskovec and Werich went into exile in New York City. He worked as a piano teacher and choirmaster there, and conti-nued to work with Voskovec and Werich. In 1942, the long-ill Ježek died of chronic kidney disease in New York. On December 29, 1941, two days before his death, Ježek married Frances Bečáková. He collaborated with many avant-garde artists of pre-war Czechoslovakia, such as Vítězslav Nezval and E. F. Burian.
His musical output is commonly divided into two parts.[1] The first part of his work consists of chamber, piano and concer-tant compositions, created first under the influence of Stravinsky, of the Parisian Les Six and of Arnold Schönberg. Later he found his own, specific and modern expression. He also became a popular jazz composer in pre-war Czechoslovakia. He composed songs and dances for the revue plays of the Prague Free Theatre (The Ass and the Shadow, Caesar, The Headsman and the Fool e.g.) and also for the films of Voskovec and Werich (The Powder and the Gasoline, The World Belongs to Us, Stand and Deliver! e.g.). His innovative melodies are well-known in the Czech Republic to this day. Ježek was also evidently fascinated by American jazz. Between 1929 and 1936, possibly earlier, he organized and conducted an orchestra featuring his original jazz compositions and arrangements.Billed variously as "Ježek's Jazz" and "Ježkův swingband" they recorded for the Czech Ultraphon label, making some of the most original music in Europe. A few of these sides deserve special mention. "Bugatti Step" (1930; Ultraphone A10166) is an up-tempo number for piano and jazz orchestra, enjoying enduring popularity as a hot jazz piano solo. "Teď ještě ne" (Not Yet) (1931; Ultraphon A10217) is rousing dance music in the Jean Goldkette or Coon-Sanders' Nighthawks style. "Rubbish Heap Blues" (1937; Ultraphon A11421) shows that Ježek not only listened to Duke Ellington's records, but was keeping up with Duke's very latest work. "Rubbish Heap" features a Johnny Hodges-like alto sax and a Cootie Williams-like growl trumpet, plus a three-trombone section to complement the three trumpets. Ježek's composition titled simply "Polonaisa" (1931; Ultraphon A10355) is a traditional Polonaise clothed in modern instrumentation, harmony and textures. It is as if Chopin and Gershwin had collaborated, the Polish dance rhythms mingling easily with hot syncopation. Ježek also turned the boys loose in records of his arrangements of well-known hot jazz standards, such as "Tiger Rag," "Dinah" and "Chinatown, My Chinatown." These recordings, very few of which could have survived the Nazi occupation and World War II, are almost completely unknown, at least in the U.S.A. Selected works: Concert for Piano and Orchestra (1927); Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra (1930); Concert for Violin and Orchestra (1930); Symphonic Poem (1936); Chamber: Serenade for Wind Quartet (1929); Wind Quintet (1931); String Quartet No. 1. (1932); Sonata for Violin and Piano (1933); Duo for 2 Violins (1934); String Quartet No. 2. (1941); Piano: Suite for Quarter-tone Piano (1927); Sonatina (1928); Petite Suite (1928); Capriccio (1932); Etuda (1933); Bagatelles (1933); Rhapsodie (1938), Toccata (1939); Grande valse brillante (1939); Sonata (1941))



"Klaverkoncert" (1927)(18min) HD
01 I (8:14)                                                                                                                                                 
02 II (6:04)                                                                                                                                                               
03 III (3:38)                                                                                                                 
- I.Ardasev,L.Svarovsky,BrnoState PO/fra supraphon dwl

"Nerves", Ballet f.Kor & Orkester (1928) lp-mp3 HD                                                                                             
- Fischer, Musici di Praga/fra panton lp

"Fantasi for Klaver & Orkester" (1930)  lp-mp3 HD                                                                                                                           
- Fischer, Jan Novotny, Musici di Praga/fra panton lp

"Koncert for Violin og Blæsere" (1930)  lp-mp3 HD                                                                                                               
- P.Messiereur, J.Belohlavek,Prague SO/fra panton lp

"Blæserkvintet" (1931)  lp-mp3 HD
(Andante. Alllegro moderato 4:22 – Lento e religioso 4:36 – Allegro 2:06)                                                                                                    
- Czech Wind Quintet/fra panton lp

"Strygekvartet" (1932)  lp-mp3 HD                                                                                                                                         
(Andante quasi adagio 7:37 – Andante triste 6:21 – Quasi scherzo. Allegro vivace 3:18 – Adagio rubato – Allegro 6:28)                           
- Suk Quartet/fra panton lp

"Sonate for Violin & Klaver" (1932)  lp-mp3 HD                                                                                                                       
(Allegro vivace 4:04 – Lento 4:59 – Largo 2:54 – Allegro 6:29)      
- A.Novak, J,Vrana/fra panton lp

"Symfonisk Digt" f.Orkester (1936)  lp-mp3 HD                                                                                                             
- Konvalinka, BrnoPO/fra panton lp
............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

"Bugatti Step" (1931)(2:37) dwl-mp3 HD                                                                                                                           
"Happy Feet" ()(2:49) dwl-mp3 HD                                                                                                                                               
"Bloody Moon Rhapsody" ()(3:32) dwl-mp3 HD                                                                                                                             
"Opium – Chinese Intermezzo" ()(4:37) dwl-mp3 HD                                                                                                                       
"Rubbish Heap Blues" ()(3:27) dwl-mp3 HD                                                                                                                                 
- J.Jezek & hans jazzorkester/ 
GAMMEL SAMLING:

LP  Jezek:"Nerves", Ballet for Ork. (1928)/Fischer,Musici di Praga/pan 11 0336
LP  Jezek:"Koncert f.Violin & Blæsere" (1930)/Messiereur,Belohlavek,PragueSO/pant 11 0681
LP  Jezek:"Fantasi for Klaver & Orkester" (1930)/Novotny,Fischer,MusiciDi praga/pant 11 0336
LP  Jezek:"Blæserkvintet" (1931)/Czech Wind Quintet/panton 81110 0254                                   
LP  Jezek:"Strygekvartet" (1932)/Suk Quartet/panton 11 0681
LP  Jezek:"Violinsonate"  (1932)/A.Novak, J.Vranka/panton 81110 0254                                   
LP  Jezek:"Symfonisk Digt" f.Ork. (1936)/Konvalinka,BrnoStatePO/panton 81110 0254   
                                 
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: mc ukrneal on March 02, 2012, 09:40:31 AM
Word is not really a great system for a database. Ideally, we would use some sort of data base software, but they usually cost a lot. I assume Works is basically a simplified (or basic) version of excel. This is what I use. Excel is not necessarily ideal, but it certainly allows you to make all sorts of analyses that I like. Word does not allow for the same manipulation of data. The drawback with excel is text, but I don't enter much of that. Mixing artwork with any of these programs is a recipe for disaster, in my opinion. The level of detail can be adjusted to the need, so this is really up to each individual.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Willoughby earl of Itacarius on March 02, 2012, 09:42:02 AM
Quote from: mc ukrneal on March 02, 2012, 09:40:31 AM
Word is not really a great system for a database. Ideally, we would use some sort of data base software, but they usually cost a lot. I assume Works is basically a simplified (or basic) version of excel. This is what I use. Excel is not necessarily ideal, but it certainly allows you to make all sorts of analyses that I like. Word does not allow for the same manipulation of data. The drawback with excel is text, but I don't enter much of that. Mixing artwork with any of these programs is a recipe for disaster, in my opinion. The level of detail can be adjusted to the need, so this is really up to each individual.

Agreed its not at all easy, and doesn't come close to what I need.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: DieNacht on March 02, 2012, 10:09:23 AM
Quote from: mc ukrneal on March 02, 2012, 09:40:31 AM
Word is not really a great system for a database. Ideally, we would use some sort of data base software, but they usually cost a lot. I assume Works is basically a simplified (or basic) version of excel. This is what I use. Excel is not necessarily ideal, but it certainly allows you to make all sorts of analyses that I like. Word does not allow for the same manipulation of data. The drawback with excel is text, but I don't enter much of that. Mixing artwork with any of these programs is a recipe for disaster, in my opinion. The level of detail can be adjusted to the need, so this is really up to each individual.

True about the limits of Word concerning search and editing functions etc.

In my case I started with LPs and only slowly supplemented with CDs and Hard-Disk downloads & it would be too much work to start registering all over again in a new system. But with time I´ll be developing the accompanying texts with further articles, comments on the recordings and perhaps pictures etc., and then Word is OK for a "collage" of detailed information.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Papy Oli on March 02, 2012, 12:33:56 PM
I use an excel spreadsheet (simplified version of Anthony Athletic's database...cheers mate  ;D) in a similar format to Sarge which allows an easy drill-down for specific search through the recordings. I only use fields like No of CD's in the set, composer(s), works, conductor, orchestra, labels, soloists. I don't worry about the CD numbering or its reference itself.

However, I have not always gone into too much details in the entry of the works in the above (e.g. for boxsets - I just use the main title of the set and that's it). To counter that flaw, I have recently made a separate works-only spreadsheet with composer name, first name, birth/death year, musical period, genre (orchestral, chamber,  piano solo, etc....), Opus numbers if any, and finally full work name/details.

Benefits found :

- better tracking of composers available, which otherwise could be forgotten about (e.g in the Celi boxsets where I have some Stravinsky, Bartok, Roussel but nowhere else....)

- better view of where a composer sits on the general timeline

- where opus numbers are available, a view where this particular works sits among the others by this composer. Probably handy in the future, the more I learn about classical music and if I go more in depth in a particular composer's output

- easy filtering of the collection by periods or work types.

- As I am mostly expanding the collection with maiden composers this year, this will help me keep a nice tab of its evolution as well.

- Adds familiarity with opus numbering formats, Key of works etc....

Nice learning tool overall, putting a visual structure to the music collection.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Geo Dude on March 02, 2012, 01:06:33 PM
Delicious Library 2 (http://www.delicious-monster.com/), while not perfect, is an interesting app.  Scan the bar code off of your discs (books, etc.) and it reads it and places it into a visual 'library.'  You can try it for free, too.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: nico1616 on March 03, 2012, 08:28:50 AM
Thanks for the replies!

I also tried Music Collector (trial version) but again, not tailor made for classical music. The complexity of it really made me nervous.

So I will keep it simple to start with: Excell  ;)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Mirror Image on March 04, 2012, 06:50:22 PM
The problem with these CD cataloging software programs is they're not user friendly. They need to be image based where all you do is enter in the composer's name and you can search images via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. and select the recordings you own and then once you've found all of the recordings you own for this composer you choose how you want these recordings to be organized.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Mirror Image on March 04, 2012, 08:24:38 PM
Quote from: James on March 04, 2012, 08:04:04 PM
My database is my brain .. i know my music collection like the back of my hand.

How large is your collection?
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: nico1616 on March 05, 2012, 03:14:12 AM
Quote from: James on March 04, 2012, 08:04:04 PM
My database is my brain .. i know my music collection like the back of my hand.

I thought I did too, until I bought a cd I already had.
Moreover, I doubt if you could name all the recordings you have in which the Chicago Symphony Orchestra play, or in which von Karajan or Solti direct.
Unless your have none or very little of those  :)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Ataraxia on March 05, 2012, 08:26:15 AM
It all ends up in iTunes, so...iTunes.  ;D
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: KeithW on March 05, 2012, 11:59:16 AM
OK, as a librarian, I can't resist engaging with this topic.  Despite my professional prejudices, I use iTunes, since I haven't found anything that does the job more satisfactorily at this stage, and which accords with the way in which I listen to my music (more at the end on this).  Proper use of iTunes with classical music demands a fair amount of retagging, best achieved by using programs that sit outside iTunes.  I use a Mac and find MediaRage indispensable for a whole range of tasks.

My broad approach in cataloguing in iTunes is:

For multi-movement/part works the work is identified in the album field, with sufficient information to distinguish one recording from another (35 Beethoven VCs and counting)
Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 [Faust, 2007]

Mozart: Don Giovanni, K527 [Giulini, 1960]

Where an album is a compilation, I tend to leave it well alone

Wagner: Orchestral Music [Karajan]
Rosso: Italian Baroque Arias

The artist is presented as soloist 1 / soloist 2 / chorus / orchestra / conductor

Isabelle Faust / Prague Philharmonia / Jiří Bělohlávek

The 'song' represents each movement of the work:

I.  Allegro
II.  Adagio
III. Rondo. Allegro

or each part of an opera, cantata etc

If a CD contains two separate works (eg two Mozart symphonies) I use an applescript (from Doug's Applescripts) to albumise each - this resets the track listing to begin at number 1 for each new work.

I note the details of the source CD (including ASIN) in the grouping field.

The composer's name goes, well, in the composer field:
Surname, first name (dates)

Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827)

I also use the genre tag as a way of improving browsing - I use this at a fairly granular level - either for series (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto) or themes (Early French Polyphony)

This whole system has served me well, but it does have limitations - a large database (mine has 100,000 'songs' and is rapidly approaching 2TB in size) isn't portable - so if I ever manage to find a record store, I can't guarantee having access to my database to check whether I already own a particular disc.  I do think there is a market for an app which allows the index from iTunes to be exported to an iPhone/iPod without the music files.  I know I can export a flat listing of files, but I'd like to keep the artwork as that represents my principal form of recall.

I also debate from time to time what to do with my growing collection of FLACs: should I convert them to the least space intensive MP3 format and import them into iTunes, simply to have them catalogued alongside everything else?  Or should I convert them to Apple lossless and treat them in the same way as the files I rip from CDs?  The jury is still out.

There have been a number of interesting posts in recent years about tagging classical music - some of the most useful ones I have found are:
http://oakroadsystems.com/genl/itunes.htm (http://oakroadsystems.com/genl/itunes.htm)
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/the-complete-guide-to-album-tagging-art-and-playlists-in-itunes/ (http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/the-complete-guide-to-album-tagging-art-and-playlists-in-itunes/)
http://charuzu.wordpress.com/2011/02/05/managing-classical-music-itunes/ (http://charuzu.wordpress.com/2011/02/05/managing-classical-music-itunes/)
http://www.scene24.net/1203.html (http://www.scene24.net/1203.html)

Of course, my system is shaped by the way in which I access music - which can be a different location from one day to the next.  Rather than carrying (and risking loss or damage) CDs around the world with me, I take an external drive with a copy of my library - this allows me to listen to my music at CD quality wherever I am.  If I sought a system which essentially catalogued a physical CD collection, and for which I had no need to rip CDs, I would look for something very different.  There are a number of very cheap library catalogue systems which would do a much better job than Excel or Access.  If anyone is interested, I'll dig out some details.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Gurn Blanston on March 05, 2012, 12:08:46 PM
Keith,
I won't quote your whole post, since I don't use iTunes and thus much of it isn't germane to my requisite. But vis-a-vis this:

QuoteThere are a number of very cheap library catalogue systems which would do a much better job than Excel or Access.  If anyone is interested, I'll dig out some details.

certainly I am interested. I am planning on using Excel. For many years I used Lotus Approach, which is a lovely piece of software, but it hasn't been updated in 10+ years and isn't happy on Win7 (nor was it on XP, for that matter). This leaves me Access, which I really find difficult to work with, or Excel. I found some instructions for writing a GUI for data entry, but we all know that this will be a lot of work and bother (for 5000+ CD's). So if there are alternatives out there as you believe, then I will hold off and have a look. Best to find this stuff out before doing the work.  :)

8)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: KeithW on March 05, 2012, 12:48:33 PM
Quote from: Gurnatron5500 on March 05, 2012, 12:08:46 PM
Keith,
I won't quote your whole post, since I don't use iTunes and thus much of it isn't germane to my requisite. But vis-a-vis this:

certainly I am interested. I am planning on using Excel. For many years I used Lotus Approach, which is a lovely piece of software, but it hasn't been updated in 10+ years and isn't happy on Win7 (nor was it on XP, for that matter). This leaves me Access, which I really find difficult to work with, or Excel. I found some instructions for writing a GUI for data entry, but we all know that this will be a lot of work and bother (for 5000+ CD's). So if there are alternatives out there as you believe, then I will hold off and have a look. Best to find this stuff out before doing the work.  :)

8)

One that I used some years ago was a Unesco free package called CDS/ISIS.  It runs on Windows and is user configurable.
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=5330&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html (http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=5330&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html)

There must be other things out there - give me a day or two to find them.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Gurn Blanston on March 05, 2012, 01:10:15 PM
Quote from: KeithW on March 05, 2012, 12:48:33 PM
One that I used some years ago was a Unesco free package called CDS/ISIS.  It runs on Windows and is user configurable.
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=5330&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html (http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=5330&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html)

There must be other things out there - give me a day or two to find them.

Thanks, I appreciate it. :)

8)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Mirror Image on March 05, 2012, 06:19:24 PM
Quote from: James on March 05, 2012, 08:57:42 AM
It's like anything really .. I really remember the good stuff & cherish it immensely.. I don't waste too much time worrying about the stuff that didn't .. and I don't really spend time counting things.  I do have a substantial library of music everything from Gregorian Chant to post-Stockhausen electroacoustics.

If you know what you have then you could at least give a guess as to how many CDs you own. My guess is there's probably a good bit that you forgot you owned. Allow me to use myself as an example, several days ago I was looking through some of my collection and I continued to run across recordings that I forgot I bought and that I was quite frankly surprised I had because I have these intense collecting phases I go through where I'll buy 20 Villa-Lobos recordings and then move onto another composer. Anyway, it's always a surprise to go through my collection for this very reason.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: 71 dB on March 06, 2012, 12:11:32 AM
I don't have an up-to-date listing of all my CDs but I have a complete listing of my Naxos CDs. I might make lists for other labels too.

Years ago I started to use html files for documenting things. In other words, I am creating a "personet" for myself with the content that I want. Because it all is in hypertext format, accessing various listings etc. is very easy and fast. My web starting page is a listing of links to favorite internet pages and to my own html files.

Also, I am not dependant of specific software. A web browser (with source code editor) is all I need and html files work in any system. I experienced these benefits when I changed from pc to Mac (mini). My "personet" worked instantly after transfering my html folders to my new Mac. All I needed to do was to make my starting page the default starting page of the web browsers (Safari and Opera). OSX is somewhat different OS than Windows but editing my html files is pretty identical in both operating systems when using Opera for that.

I like that fact that with html files it is easy to handle visual things; background colors, tables, pictures etc. Listings look the way I want.  :)

Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: CRCulver on March 06, 2012, 02:25:44 PM
Quote from: nico1616 on March 02, 2012, 07:28:41 AM
I would like to have a computer database to organise my collection, in which it would be easy look up all works in which a particular singer appears, or all my versions of a symphony of Haydn...

If you've ripped all your recordings to your computer and tagged them exhaustively, then the Quodlibet media player for Linux does a good job of maintaining a database. I don't use it to play music (I use another media player for that), but I still keep it around because I can instantly look up all my recordings where, to give just one recent example, Alain Damiens is the clarinetist.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: CRCulver on March 06, 2012, 02:27:22 PM
Quote from: KeithW on March 05, 2012, 11:59:16 AM
My broad approach in cataloguing in iTunes is:
The artist is presented as soloist 1 / soloist 2 / chorus / orchestra / conductor

That's not recommendable. For one, it breaks scrobbling to Last.fm and similar sites, that expect the ARTIST field to contain only the name of the composer.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: SonicMan46 on March 06, 2012, 03:10:21 PM
Just would like to get into this thread for some ideas - :)

For me, I've used MS Access for years (and still do) for my Classical & Non-Classical music collections (separate files) - for the classical file, my categories include: Individual (composer or performer), Title, Performer, Label, Label #, Year, and Number (i.e. number of discs in the offering); also have the program sum up the number of offerings (i.e. box sets count as 1) and the number of CDs.  The report printout options are quite detailed so many choices.  PROBLEM - the program is TOO damn complicated for me as a casual user - bottom line, works well but not sure that I'd recommend it, particularly for the cost if your only purpose is to tract your personal needs.

My main issue now in retirement (since June 2011) is that I no longer need MS Office on my home computer(s) - before I needed to maintain compatibility w/ my work computer; so what to do?  Plus, I'm contemplating a new computer in the fall once Apple & MS releases their newest OSs - after so many years w/ PCs, wife & I may return to our computer beginnings (i.e. an Apple II+ in 1980) - we've looked at the iMacs at the local Apple store & at Best Buy - could change?  If that is the case, I would likely convert my Access databases via Excel and then import them into Apple's iWorks (i.e. Numbers) unless other solutions are available; now if I stick w/ a PC (and Windows Eight), then I still would not want to use Access.

Nearly a year ago, I bought an iPad 2 for no good reason but it has replaced our laptops on the road and is a lot of fun - recently put on an app called 'My Movies' (CHECK HERE (http://www.mymovies.dk/products/my-movies-for-ipad.aspx), if interested?), mainly to track my Blu-ray collection (mostly DVD replacements) - a neat aspect of this program is the use of the rear camera to read the bar code on the BD; once read the image of the disc and much information about the movie is automatically entered into the program; just have about 60 BDs in the database so far.  NOW, would this be an interesting approach to a music collection?   ;D
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Wanderer on March 07, 2012, 01:30:56 AM
Quote from: SonicMan46 on March 06, 2012, 03:10:21 PM
... recently put on an app called 'My Movies' (CHECK HERE (http://www.mymovies.dk/products/my-movies-for-ipad.aspx), if interested?), mainly to track my Blu-ray collection (mostly DVD replacements) - a neat aspect of this program is the use of the rear camera to read the bar code on the BD; once read the image of the disc and much information about the movie is automatically entered into the program; just have about 60 BDs in the database so far.  NOW, would this be an interesting approach to a music collection?   ;D

Thanks for mentioning this - I was searching for a similar tool for the Blu-ray and DVD collection and this looks quite good for simple archiving. Downloaded the app and the barcode entry method is indeed very time-saving (and efficient). That's how I would also imagine an application about music collections should be made in the era of the iPad.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: SonicMan46 on March 07, 2012, 06:51:19 AM
Quote from: Wanderer on March 07, 2012, 01:30:56 AM
Thanks for mentioning this - I was searching for a similar tool for the Blu-ray and DVD collection and this looks quite good for simple archiving. Downloaded the app and the barcode entry method is indeed very time-saving (and efficient). That's how I would also imagine an application about music collections should be made in the era of the iPad.

Glad that you enjoy the program - the bar code scanning option is a joy and so easy to do!  A recommendation from my son who also tracks his BD collection w/ the app.  He is also the one who talked me into buying the iPad 2, which I do like - iPad 3 (or iPad HD etc.) to be announced today!  Dave :)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Gurn Blanston on March 07, 2012, 07:18:03 AM
Quote from: SonicMan46 on March 07, 2012, 06:51:19 AM
Glad that you enjoy the program - the bar code scanning option is a joy and so easy to do!  A recommendation from my son who also tracks his BD collection w/ the app.  He is also the one who talked me into buying the iPad 2, which I do like - iPad 3 (or iPad HD etc.) to be announced today!  Dave :)

Dave,
Does Access allow you to save a copy without data? I used to be able to do that with Approach. If you could do that, I would love a copy of your dB to use to work from. I have Access at home and at work, and I know that it helps a lot to have something to start with. :)

8)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: SonicMan46 on March 07, 2012, 07:55:18 AM
Quote from: Gurnatron5500 on March 07, 2012, 07:18:03 AM
Dave,
Does Access allow you to save a copy without data? I used to be able to do that with Approach. If you could do that, I would love a copy of your dB to use to work from. I have Access at home and at work, and I know that it helps a lot to have something to start with. :)

Hi Gurn - well I just took a look at the Access database and did not see a way to save as a template w/o my own data; so I made a copy and renamed it - opened and deleted all of my data from table (now is blank of data - has table, sort, & report options) - curiously the original file was just over 1 MB and the 'empty' one is the same size! I've opened the latter and no data is present.

Now this is in an older version of Access but if you want, send me a PM w/ one of your email addresses (too large to attach to this post) and I'll send you the 'empty' *.mdb file - not sure if it will work but you can give it a try?  Dave :)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Bulldog on March 10, 2012, 10:24:50 AM
Quote from: nico1616 on March 05, 2012, 03:14:12 AM
Moreover, I doubt if you could name all the recordings you have in which the Chicago Symphony Orchestra play, or in which von Karajan or Solti direct.

So?  What's the importance of naming all those CSO recordings?  I just don't see any significance to it.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Mirror Image on March 10, 2012, 12:38:27 PM
Quote from: James on March 10, 2012, 02:55:19 AM
Not really .. I know exactly what I have.

So you can tell everything that's in your collection but you just can't guess how many recordings you have? Hmmm....
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Mirror Image on March 10, 2012, 12:57:32 PM
Quote from: James on March 10, 2012, 12:54:02 PM
Knowing that number is totally insignificant ..

In your opinion it may very well be, but I asked you a question and you chose not to answer it. It's okay. I know it was an incredibly difficult question. ::)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Mirror Image on March 10, 2012, 01:06:40 PM
Quote from: James on March 10, 2012, 01:00:00 PM
It is a insignificant question and not worth worrying about my friend. Bottomline is, I know precisely what music I have in my collection.

Okay, I'll just take it as insignificant to you. Sorry to bother you with such a minute, bothersome question.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Bulldog on March 11, 2012, 04:11:28 PM
Quote from: Mirror Image on March 10, 2012, 01:06:40 PM
Okay, I'll just take it as insignificant to you. Sorry to bother you with such a minute, bothersome question.

It's insignificant to me also, but I suppose it means something to you.  By the way, what does it mean to you to know how many recordings you own?
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: nico1616 on March 12, 2012, 04:58:25 AM
Quote from: Bulldog on March 11, 2012, 04:11:28 PM
It's insignificant to me also, but I suppose it means something to you.  By the way, what does it mean to you to know how many recordings you own?

The discussion is about a musical database. When someone says he does not need a database, because his collection is in his head, then some of us wonder: what size can a collection have that is manageable in one's head?
Up to how many cd's can you remember all the details of? This is not a silly question...
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: DieNacht on March 12, 2012, 05:07:28 AM
Quote from: nico1616 on March 12, 2012, 04:58:25 AM
The discussion is about a musical database. When someone says he does not need a database, because his collection is in his head, then some of us wonder: what size can a collection have that is manageable in one's head?
Up to how many cd's can you remember all the details of? This is not a silly question...

I think it´s fair to say that if you don´t feel that you need at database, then you don´t need it. There´s even an element of self-sustaining fetichism involved in keeping such long and detailed archives, and if one´s spirit is free without such a register, then it´s just fine.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Bulldog on March 12, 2012, 10:24:18 AM
Quote from: nico1616 on March 12, 2012, 04:58:25 AM
The discussion is about a musical database. When someone says he does not need a database, because his collection is in his head, then some of us wonder: what size can a collection have that is manageable in one's head?
Up to how many cd's can you remember all the details of?

I don't see this as a "can" or "can't" matter but a matter of how many cd's you want to remember all the details of.  For me, the answer is zero.

I've simply been asking what is gained by having all that information in a database.  If it's nothing more than a little obsession, that's great - I have my own little obsessions.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: John Copeland on March 12, 2012, 03:01:21 PM
I have posted on this subject elsewhere in the past as I am even now still looking for a dedicated Classical Music database programme which will list my stuffs, etc.  It may be some of us (me included) are much more nerdy about our collections, and require statistics, facts and figures on its ever changing status and the ability to reference a work in our collections for replaying, reviewing, etc.  I very much admire the way of not wanting or bothering to have a database of the collection, there is something of a free spirit in that attitude, to be applauded.  But folk like me can't hack it, we must have some form of reference for the works we have collected if only to reassure ourselves that all is in order, lol.
Anyway, I cannot stand i-tunes and will have nothing to do with it....and there's no point in asking what third party programmes people use to catalogue their collection as I keep hitting brick walls with the question.  I have used and tried many different programs, but absoloutely none of them have brought any long term satisfaction and end up ditched - most probably because nothing is ever DEDICATED to the classical mjusic collection, and are festooned with features which are useless to me - maybe ok for other collections, but not classical.   >:(
Ach, any suggestions anyway?

Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Mirror Image on March 12, 2012, 03:09:27 PM
Quote from: Scots John on March 12, 2012, 03:01:21 PM
I have posted on this subject elsewhere in the past as I am even now still looking for a dedicated Classical Music database programme which will list my stuffs, etc.  It may be some of us (me included) are much more nerdy about our collections, and require statistics, facts and figures on its ever changing status and the ability to reference a work in our collections for replaying, reviewing, etc.  I very much admire the way of not wanting or bothering to have a database of the collection, there is something of a free spirit in that attitude, to be applauded.  But folk like me can't hack it, we must have some form of reference for the works we have collected if only to reassure ourselves that all is in order, lol.
Anyway, I cannot stand i-tunes and will have nothing to do with it....and there's no point in asking what third party programmes people use to catalogue their collection as I keep hitting brick walls with the question.  I have used and tried many different programs, but absoloutely none of them have brought any long term satisfaction and end up ditched - most probably because nothing is ever DEDICATED to the classical mjusic collection, and are festooned with features which are useless to me - maybe ok for other collections, but not classical.   >:(
Ach, any suggestions anyway?

As I have mentioned in an earlier post, there needs to be a CD catalog program that is image-based and that is linked with Amazon and other sites that allows use of their artwork/information. All you have to do is type in the name of the composer and then all of the recordings that are available and out-of-print will appear and all you have to do is select that recording and it will be added to your database. It beats having to type in all of this information! After you've located every recording by the specific composer you were finding recordings for you can then choose how you want this to be organized (date of performances, year of release, genre, etc.). Nobody seems to understand that this is the best way to organize a collection. Forget Excel, Word, etc., these are not proper programs for a CD catalog. Like I said, everything really needs to be image based, so after you've found all the recordings you own under x composer, you can locate the work you're looking for in no time.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: John Copeland on March 12, 2012, 03:17:49 PM
Quote from: Mirror Image on March 12, 2012, 03:09:27 PM
As I have mentioned in an earlier post, there needs to be a CD catalog program that is image-based and that is linked with Amazon and other sites that allows use of their artwork. All you have to do is type in the name of the composer and then all of the recordings that are available and out-of-print will appear and all you have to do is select that recording and it will be added to your database. It beats having to type in all of this information! After you've located every recording by the specific composer you were finding recordings for you can then choose how you want this to be organized (date of performances, year of release, genre, etc.). Nobody seems to understand that this is the best way to organize a collection. Forget Excel, Word, etc., these are not proper programs for a CD catalog. Like I said, everything really needs to be image based, so after you've found all the recordings you own under x composer, you can locate the work you're looking for in no time.

We are most definitely on the same wavelength.  Exactly what I have in mind too.    :D
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Mirror Image on March 12, 2012, 03:22:57 PM
Quote from: Scots John on March 12, 2012, 03:17:49 PM
We are most definitely on the same wavelength.  Exactly what I have in mind too.    :D

You know what they say, great minds think alike. ;) :) Anyway, I don't see why a company couldn't develop this idea and instead of bringing out a new version every year or so, they should just offer upgrades through their website. I think programs that aren't image-based are a waste of time. Many people are visual and remember a recording just by it's front cover. I don't think CD catalogging should be a complex or difficult thing to do. It should be something that's fun to do and not something that's a chore or hassle to fool with.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: raduneo on March 12, 2012, 04:37:58 PM
I use Excel as well. Although I also added a section for Period, Country, Period in the composer's career, title, type of work, interpreter's 1, 2, 3 and 4 (in case I like more than 1). This way, I can arrange the compositions using filters!

I also reccomend the Add Comment feature of Excel where (when you scroll over a cell, a text appears where you could have for example the program of the work, or comments on a particular interpretation!!).
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: bumtz on March 19, 2012, 10:08:14 AM
I have been using Music Collector (MuC) by Collectorz (http://www.collectorz.com/music/) for many years now. I found the software to be very easy to use, and the input is fast (they use a few online, as well as propitiatory databases for entry, and nearly all classical CDs I have bought are there, so it loads all the tracklist data and credits). In case you are interested, the information I catalog is: CD title, label, catalog number, bar code, composer, performer, conductor, orchestra, release year, recording date, cover scan, track list with timing, amazon links, purchase year, in-print status, store I bought it from and a couple of other parameters. With MuC it takes me less than one minute (including my editing) to input a new CD (although these multi-artist / multi-composer box sets can be a pain in the ass), even less for non-classical music (where you don't need to separate composers from performers, etc.). It is not entirely perfect for classical music, although it has got better with upgrades (they introduced fields for Orchestra, Choir, Conductor, etc.).

Let's say I am 90% satisfied with it, and it is good enough for me.   
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: bumtz on March 19, 2012, 10:17:13 AM
Quote from: Mirror Image on March 12, 2012, 03:09:27 PM
As I have mentioned in an earlier post, there needs to be a CD catalog program that is image-based and that is linked with Amazon and other sites that allows use of their artwork/information. All you have to do is type in the name of the composer and then all of the recordings that are available and out-of-print will appear and all you have to do is select that recording and it will be added to your database. It beats having to type in all of this information! After you've located every recording by the specific composer you were finding recordings for you can then choose how you want this to be organized (date of performances, year of release, genre, etc.). Nobody seems to understand that this is the best way to organize a collection. Forget Excel, Word, etc., these are not proper programs for a CD catalog. Like I said, everything really needs to be image based, so after you've found all the recordings you own under x composer, you can locate the work you're looking for in no time.

This is a good idea, and this is more or less how most of the commercial CD database software solutions work for the last 10 years :) , except that amazon does not seem to allow using the artwork from their websites (they used to but not anymore), but there are other online CD/Vynil databases available. 
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: fridden on March 19, 2012, 12:04:24 PM
I guess there are different needs depending on whether or not your collection is in digital form, or consists of actual CD, Vinyl and cassettes etc. etc.

I have digitalized my entire collection and have since last fall been using J. River Media Center which I am very pleased with. It is flexible enough to allow me to enter the details I want about each and every piece. They have their own database of music to fetch tags from (as well as freedb I think), but I usually want to tag them my way, so I usually end up rewriting any tags found.

I have more than 1.5 TB of music and J.River is one of the few programs I have used that is capable of handling the amount of data without choking.

On another forum I saw a reference to a program called Musichi (http://www.musichi.eu/ (http://www.musichi.eu/)) which is designed for classical collections. It uses Freedb and Amazon to look up information about music.
It looks kind of nice, but since I am feeling quite comfortable with J.River I will not make a switch.

There is also Sonata (http://www.sonataserver.com/ (http://www.sonataserver.com/)), which is a spin-off from J.River
/fridden
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: coffee on March 21, 2012, 01:51:02 AM
Quote from: 71 dB on March 06, 2012, 12:11:32 AM
I don't have an up-to-date listing of all my CDs but I have a complete listing of my Naxos CDs. I might make lists for other labels too.

Years ago I started to use html files for documenting things. In other words, I am creating a "personet" for myself with the content that I want. Because it all is in hypertext format, accessing various listings etc. is very easy and fast. My web starting page is a listing of links to favorite internet pages and to my own html files.

Also, I am not dependant of specific software. A web browser (with source code editor) is all I need and html files work in any system. I experienced these benefits when I changed from pc to Mac (mini). My "personet" worked instantly after transfering my html folders to my new Mac. All I needed to do was to make my starting page the default starting page of the web browsers (Safari and Opera). OSX is somewhat different OS than Windows but editing my html files is pretty identical in both operating systems when using Opera for that.

I like that fact that with html files it is easy to handle visual things; background colors, tables, pictures etc. Listings look the way I want.  :)

I like this idea a lot. I'll put some thought into doing something like this.

Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Gurn Blanston on March 21, 2012, 04:18:41 AM
Quote from: bumtz on March 19, 2012, 10:08:14 AM
I have been using Music Collector (MuC) by Collectorz (http://www.collectorz.com/music/) for many years now. I found the software to be very easy to use, and the input is fast (they use a few online, as well as propitiatory databases for entry, and nearly all classical CDs I have bought are there, so it loads all the tracklist data and credits). In case you are interested, the information I catalog is: CD title, label, catalog number, bar code, composer, performer, conductor, orchestra, release year, recording date, cover scan, track list with timing, amazon links, purchase year, in-print status, store I bought it from and a couple of other parameters. With MuC it takes me less than one minute (including my editing) to input a new CD (although these multi-artist / multi-composer box sets can be a pain in the ass), even less for non-classical music (where you don't need to separate composers from performers, etc.). It is not entirely perfect for classical music, although it has got better with upgrades (they introduced fields for Orchestra, Choir, Conductor, etc.).

Let's say I am 90% satisfied with it, and it is good enough for me.   

From your link, I downloaded the trial version of this software to see if it worked for me. After an hour or two of playing around with it, I think so far that it seems to work pretty well. With only 100 database entries in the trial I couldn't check out how it worked with big chunks of data, but I cataloged 3 or 4 disks and a couple of folders of MP3's and FLAC's. It was fast and easy, and the CD's were in their database already, which was nice. The album art search feature worked well too. I'll probably go ahead and buy the $30 version and have at it. Thanks for that,

8)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: 71 dB on March 21, 2012, 06:33:37 AM
Quote from: coffee on March 21, 2012, 01:51:02 AM
I like this idea a lot. I'll put some thought into doing something like this.

I hope the concept works for you.  ;)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: bumtz on March 21, 2012, 10:36:01 AM
Quote from: Gurnatron5500 on March 21, 2012, 04:18:41 AM
From your link, I downloaded the trial version of this software to see if it worked for me. After an hour or two of playing around with it, I think so far that it seems to work pretty well. With only 100 database entries in the trial I couldn't check out how it worked with big chunks of data, but I cataloged 3 or 4 disks and a couple of folders of MP3's and FLAC's. It was fast and easy, and the CD's were in their database already, which was nice. The album art search feature worked well too. I'll probably go ahead and buy the $30 version and have at it. Thanks for that,

8)

Glad to be of help :). PM me if you have any questions about it - I have been using it for 7 or 8 years already. 
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: mc ukrneal on March 21, 2012, 10:45:36 AM
Quote from: bumtz on March 21, 2012, 10:36:01 AM
Glad to be of help :). PM me if you have any questions about it - I have been using it for 7 or 8 years already. 
I have a question - can you create lists like 1) Total discs per composer, 2) Total spent per composer, per label, etc., 3) Total spent by retail outlet, 4) Total discs per label. Etc. I like to perform statistical analyses around my collection. I haven't done a trial run, but this looks like one of the more interesting databases I have seen.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Gurn Blanston on March 21, 2012, 10:48:05 AM
Quote from: bumtz on March 21, 2012, 10:36:01 AM
Glad to be of help :). PM me if you have any questions about it - I have been using it for 7 or 8 years already.

I'm sure I will end up having to take you up on that offer. :D  Especially as I get odd ideas sometimes about how to make a display report look. Anyway, I think that those who are clamoring for something workable would do well to at least try the free trial version. It might be just what they are looking for.

8)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: bumtz on March 22, 2012, 02:32:59 AM
See my responses in your post

Quote from: mc ukrneal on March 21, 2012, 10:45:36 AM
I have a question - can you create lists like 1) Total discs per composer - yes, 2) Total spent per composer, per label, etc., - not sure. There is a field where you input the price of a CD, I never investigated its properties. I will take a look.  3) Total spent by retail outlet - same as above 4) Total discs per label - yes Etc. I like to perform statistical analyses around my collection. I haven't done a trial run, but this looks like one of the more interesting databases I have seen.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: classicalgeek on March 26, 2012, 03:50:01 PM
I've been working with my system for about five years, but it's hardly ideal.  There's a lot of work that I'd like to automate or cut out all together.

If it's a CD, I'll rip it first (dbPowerAmp CD ripper is the software of choice.)  If it's a download, i'll skip this step.

Then I log each work (or collection of works) on the album in an Excel spreadsheet, including composer, work, performer(s), label, catalog number, format (CD or MP3), and location (L drive or M drive, my two external drives full of music).
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7223/6873053292_edf782f844_b.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/36348592@N05/6873053292/)
Excel_Spreadsheet (http://www.flickr.com/photos/36348592@N05/6873053292/)

Then I manually edit the tags and embed cover art using Tag&Rename (http://www.softpointer.com/tr.htm (http://www.softpointer.com/tr.htm)).  I'm very particular about tagging, so i don't bother with getting the info from FreeDB or other resources - it's inconsistent and often incorrect.  Here's what one track looks like - I use my own genre tags and I put performer info in the 'composer' field, among other quirks...
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/7019239375_33d7db6b83_b.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/36348592@N05/7019239375/)
TagRenameSample (http://www.flickr.com/photos/36348592@N05/7019239375/)

I'm looking at the free trials from MusiCollector and MusiChi - both are impressive so far, especially the latter, which has the potential to combine the cataloging and tagging steps.  But at this point, I wonder if I should just stick with what I've been doing.  I'm the kind of collector who would have to go back and update everything in my existing collection just to make it consistent - no small feat with 78,000 music files (or 'songs', as iTunes likes to call them >:D)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Madiel on March 27, 2012, 06:16:43 PM
Interesting topic! Looks there might be a couple of programs to check out.

I currently use an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of things, although there's not that many fields.  Composer, title, 'opus' number, length, date last listened and performers.  I only keep track by the work, not by the CD it's on, as the latter is a highly artificial construct when it comes to classical music.

iTunes on the computer isn't too bad, thanks to the grouping function, but I really only add things to iTunes when I intend to listen to them on my iPhone, and the functionality on there is really poor for classical music - the grouping idea just disappears, and it expects you to play things by album (in other words, a CD) or by playlist.  I end up making a temporary playlist for any multi-movement work while I've got it on the iPhone.  Because of those issues, I don't put classical music on there all that often and stick to CDs.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: raduneo on April 22, 2012, 01:03:05 PM
Quote from: classicalgeek on March 26, 2012, 03:50:01 PM
I've been working with my system for about five years, but it's hardly ideal.  There's a lot of work that I'd like to automate or cut out all together.

If it's a CD, I'll rip it first (dbPowerAmp CD ripper is the software of choice.)  If it's a download, i'll skip this step.

Then I log each work (or collection of works) on the album in an Excel spreadsheet, including composer, work, performer(s), label, catalog number, format (CD or MP3), and location (L drive or M drive, my two external drives full of music).
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7223/6873053292_edf782f844_b.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/36348592@N05/6873053292/)
Excel_Spreadsheet (http://www.flickr.com/photos/36348592@N05/6873053292/)

Then I manually edit the tags and embed cover art using Tag&Rename (http://www.softpointer.com/tr.htm (http://www.softpointer.com/tr.htm)).  I'm very particular about tagging, so i don't bother with getting the info from FreeDB or other resources - it's inconsistent and often incorrect.  Here's what one track looks like - I use my own genre tags and I put performer info in the 'composer' field, among other quirks...
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/7019239375_33d7db6b83_b.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/36348592@N05/7019239375/)
TagRenameSample (http://www.flickr.com/photos/36348592@N05/7019239375/)

I'm looking at the free trials from MusiCollector and MusiChi - both are impressive so far, especially the latter, which has the potential to combine the cataloging and tagging steps.  But at this point, I wonder if I should just stick with what I've been doing.  I'm the kind of collector who would have to go back and update everything in my existing collection just to make it consistent - no small feat with 78,000 music files (or 'songs', as iTunes likes to call them >:D)

I know exactly how you feel classical geek! While I am a little less picky about tagging, I do often find myself editing tags (particularly when the interpreter name / actual name of the piece isn't mentionned. (example it says 1. Andante moderato, but it does not mention it's Brahm's Symphony 5). I also include comments for every excel entry (such as good amazon reviews or description of the piece).

The conversion is sometimes annoying, and I also have to make sure I rename every folder based on the same naming scheme (eg. Composer - Piece - Interpreter - Label). Not to mention the creation of the playlist for my mp3 player (which includes deciding if I should keep only 1 or 2 best interpretation, and which ones, editiong the playlists as my tastes change. Also quite often I add new composers to my main excel file...

Good thing for these portable hard drives! They make life quite a bit easier (although I would probably kill the first person I see if one of them broke down :P).
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: RJR on May 09, 2012, 05:17:59 AM
You could also save all your album covers in a separate folder on your hard drive and later burn them to a Cd or DVd. An album cover slide show.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: ralfy on November 25, 2012, 04:40:41 AM
I am currently using Music Collector from Collectorz with a barcode scanner.

I start by scanning the bar code, then selecting the right album presented in results. If the entries are lacking (e.g., no second disk), then I go to another tab and search by artist or composer name and title, after which I select the right entry and add the album to the first one. It's only when there are no correct results do I enter the disk and let the program search by disk ID. It's only when no results show up for any search option (so far, around five disks out of 500) do I scan the disk and enter data manually.

In any case, I have to clean up and update data (missing conductor names, etc.).

The data includes info about the album, tracks, and any CD covers. There are other options, like exporting to delimited files, which I can load in Excel, etc.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: stingo on December 02, 2012, 08:36:05 AM
Since iTunes is essentially my music database, I hope I can ask this question in this thread...

When adding large box sets (like Brilliant's) do you tag them as one collection (e.g. Bach Complete Edition) or do you tag each individual CD (e.g., Goldberg Variations, Brandenburg Concertos etc.)?
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: KeithW on December 02, 2012, 12:55:29 PM
Quote from: stingo on December 02, 2012, 08:36:05 AM
Since iTunes is essentially my music database, I hope I can ask this question in this thread...

When adding large box sets (like Brilliant's) do you tag them as one collection (e.g. Bach Complete Edition) or do you tag each individual CD (e.g., Goldberg Variations, Brandenburg Concertos etc.)?

I would always tag at least at the album level.  In many cases, I tag at the level of a work.  So, for example, a box of Beethoven symphonies might arrive as 5 CDs - CD 1 has symphonies 1 & 2, CD 2 has symphonies 3 & 4 through to CD 5 containing the 9th symphony.  I would tag these 5 CDs as 9 symphonies - the album reading something like "Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 [Chailly]" - the conductror's name in brackets for purposes of distinguishing between different recordings.  If a conductor has multiple recordings of the same work, as with Karajan, I would use the recording date as well.

I use one of Doug's Applescripts to albumise each work so that the track numbers start with 1 in each case, irrespective of their place in my box set CDs.  http://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=albumizeselection (http://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=albumizeselection)

I usually make a note in the notes field to show where my recording can be found in my collection (so I would say there that it has come from a Brilliant box set).  I often add the Amazon ASIN in case I need to check something later.  In terms of artwork, I will try to get the original cover art for the recording.  I can point you to good sources of these if you are interested.  I never use the box set cover art unless that is the first issue of a recording.

Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: bigshot on December 02, 2012, 02:16:41 PM
I join tracks into complete works, so I can shuffle by songs and have it play whole symphonies. That way I don't really care about the album tag. Everything I need is in the song title and artist fields.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Coopmv on December 02, 2012, 04:58:10 PM
I just use an Excel workbook to keep track of (only) my CD's ...
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: aap1960 on December 22, 2012, 06:26:38 PM
Hello all,

I've been lurking around GMG for some time, enjoying everyone's opinions and interactions.  I finally dove in and registered just to reply to this thread. (I'm no musician.  And have absolutely no musical skills whatsoever, but I do enjoy listening to classical music.)

I've been a long time user of CATraxx, and can tell you that with some minor tweaks it can be a pretty persuasive database.  It is very customizable.  I've have occasionally gone on the CATraxx forum and have received tips and even a blank database template that I have used as my Classical Music database.

To answer some previous posts: 
•   The program "reads" the CD and will fill out some of the data fields from information uploaded to Gracenote.  I've only had a couple of CD's not be recognized by the program and I have over a 1000 discs (certainly nowhere near the majority of GMG'ers, but a goodly amount to see if the program works for me). The most basic information is usually downloaded into the program, i.e. CD Title, Artist(s), Composer, and track titles and timings. (Now this does depend on people like you and me submitting the information, which does lead to a lot of editing for those of us who are some OC.
•   You can put as few or as many different fields in the database.  There are quite a few in the program with well over 50% of the fields already named and defined.
•   The program will automatically search the internet for the CD cover, usually from amazon USA, but you can have it search amazon Canada, UK, Germany, France or Discogs.
•   You can be as detailed as you want or have a little info as you need.
I've also purchased Musichi Music Suite.  I use it instead of iTunes for my classical music ripping and computer storage.  It, too, has many of the same traits as CATraxx for depth of information, etc. 
At this moment CATraxx costs $40 and I believe is the best $40 I've ever spent.


Tony
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Mirror Image on December 23, 2012, 08:58:47 PM
As I have written before, there needs to be a CD cataloging program where it's all based on album covers. Once you have found the recording you own, you should be able to use something like Gracenote, in doing this, you will able to pull all the information up of the recording you're looking for and simply add it to your database. Every program I've seen has been way too complicated. Simplicity is key in organizing your CDs.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: mc ukrneal on December 24, 2012, 11:35:19 AM
Quote from: aap1960 on December 22, 2012, 06:26:38 PM
Hello all,

I've been lurking around GMG for some time, enjoying everyone's opinions and interactions.  I finally dove in and registered just to reply to this thread. (I'm no musician.  And have absolutely no musical skills whatsoever, but I do enjoy listening to classical music.)

I've been a long time user of CATraxx, and can tell you that with some minor tweaks it can be a pretty persuasive database.  It is very customizable.  I've have occasionally gone on the CATraxx forum and have received tips and even a blank database template that I have used as my Classical Music database.

To answer some previous posts: 
•   The program "reads" the CD and will fill out some of the data fields from information uploaded to Gracenote.  I've only had a couple of CD's not be recognized by the program and I have over a 1000 discs (certainly nowhere near the majority of GMG'ers, but a goodly amount to see if the program works for me). The most basic information is usually downloaded into the program, i.e. CD Title, Artist(s), Composer, and track titles and timings. (Now this does depend on people like you and me submitting the information, which does lead to a lot of editing for those of us who are some OC.
•   You can put as few or as many different fields in the database.  There are quite a few in the program with well over 50% of the fields already named and defined.
•   The program will automatically search the internet for the CD cover, usually from amazon USA, but you can have it search amazon Canada, UK, Germany, France or Discogs.
•   You can be as detailed as you want or have a little info as you need.
I’ve also purchased Musichi Music Suite.  I use it instead of iTunes for my classical music ripping and computer storage.  It, too, has many of the same traits as CATraxx for depth of information, etc. 
At this moment CATraxx costs $40 and I believe is the best $40 I’ve ever spent.


Tony

Welcome and thanks for the information.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: aap1960 on December 24, 2012, 11:19:57 PM
And thank you.  I hope to use the forums' members knowledge to increase my own knowledge and help me discover all that I have been missing in regards to music.

Tony
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: rigormortis on December 25, 2012, 05:56:33 PM
I started 3 years ago by photographing my, then new and small, LP record collection and putting the photos of front- & backside on http://www.flickr.com/photos/hansthijs/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hansthijs/)
Now that there are some 15,000 or more record photos on it, I cannot go back to a regular DB program and just continue to do so. As long as Flickr is in the air for a reasonable price I have my own photo and tag based DB on the web. If they quit I have a problem to salvage all text that's there. The photo's are on my comp. too, but the accompanying text is only on the web. I guess to make some 15000 print screens again by then  :o :o :o :o
Maybe I should start already... :-X
Nice discussion btw
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Papy Oli on April 20, 2013, 09:11:24 AM
Not sure if that will be on interest but i'll put it out there in case it is.

Beside a spreadsheet to list my actual CD collections (model courtesy of Anthony Athletic, a few years back  0:) ) , I have gradually worked on a separate spreadsheet listing the actual works in my collection with composers' name, dates, periods (loosely i guess), genres, Opus numbers. That has helped me keeping a track on works that may appear in "compilation" boxsets only and not on standalone CDs, but also offering me a better understanding of comtemporary composers through the timeline...or just search for a work through it if I read about it here and am unsure if I already have it.

Maybe this is something you have considered doing in the past and this file might hopefully give you a headstart.

My next step might be to add a column with details of actual recording versions where multiples are held and one column for personal markings (1 to 5 stars maybe) & comments.

Any feedback and suggestions most welcome. Corrections on blatant errors too  :)

http://www.mediafire.com/file/vqtgzql8tfit8cf/CLASSICAL_WORKS_DATABASE.ods (http://www.mediafire.com/file/vqtgzql8tfit8cf/CLASSICAL_WORKS_DATABASE.ods)

Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: KeithW on April 20, 2013, 04:34:05 PM
Quote from: Papy Oli on April 20, 2013, 09:11:24 AM
Not sure if that will be on interest but i'll put it out there in case it is.

Beside a spreadsheet to list my actual CD collections (model courtesy of Anthony Athletic, a few years back  0:) ) , I have gradually worked on a separate spreadsheet listing the actual works in my collection with composers' name, dates, periods (loosely i guess), genres, Opus numbers. That has helped me keeping a track on works that may appear in "compilation" boxsets only and not on standalone CDs, but also offering me a better understanding of comtemporary composers through the timeline...or just search for a work through it if I read about it here and am unsure if I already have it.

Maybe this is something you have considered doing in the past and this file might hopefully give you a headstart.

My next step might be to add a column with details of actual recording versions where multiples are held and one column for personal markings (1 to 5 stars maybe) & comments.

Any feedback and suggestions most welcome. Corrections on blatant errors too  :)

http://www.mediafire.com/file/vqtgzql8tfit8cf/CLASSICAL_WORKS_DATABASE.ods (http://www.mediafire.com/file/vqtgzql8tfit8cf/CLASSICAL_WORKS_DATABASE.ods)

Olivier

This is really helpful - thank you for sharing.  I've been working on a similar project to create an authority file of composers' names/dates and their works.  I have pulled in data form a variety of sources - IMSLP, the Library of Congress and some of the great lists from Presto and Hyperion.  My idea here is to use these - and a similar list of works and parts - to create consistency in my digital files - approaching 200,000 'tracks'.  Your list has given me some good pointers on how to organise things.

Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: flyingdutchman on April 20, 2013, 07:04:24 PM
I just use my memory.  Works all the time.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: SonicMan46 on April 21, 2013, 07:04:26 AM
Quote from: sanantonio on April 21, 2013, 04:14:03 AM
This sound like a good project to do in Access.  But it is too much like real work.  :)

Hi SanAntone - in early retirement, wife & I are transitioning over to Apple - now using a MacBook Pro (month old) & have an iMac on order - for years, I used Access for my databases (had Office @ work & on our home desktop PC) - but not planning to run Windows on the Mac nor do I want to pay for the MS suite w/ Access - was easy to convert my 'smaller' databases to other formats (Numbers, Google Drive, & iPad programs) but the musical databases (Classical & Non-Classical which printout to about 50 & 25 pages, respectively) are large!  I've updated each on the old Dell PC and have exported to Excel, and brought them into Numbers on my MBP - SO, I'll likely just use a spreadsheet format - I'd consider FileMaker Pro but @ $300, a ripoff for my needs (BOY, that's a couple dozen CDs!) - Dave :)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: KeithW on April 21, 2013, 07:44:49 AM
Quote from: SonicMan46 on April 21, 2013, 07:04:26 AM
Hi SanAntone - in early retirement, wife & I are transitioning over to Apple - now using a MacBook Pro (month old) & have an iMac on order - for years, I used Access for my databases (had Office @ work & on our home desktop PC) - but not planning to run Windows on the Mac nor do I want to pay for the MS suite w/ Access - was easy to convert my 'smaller' databases to other formats (Numbers, Google Drive, & iPad programs) but the musical databases (Classical & Non-Classical which printout to about 50 & 25 pages, respectively) are large!  I've updated each on the old Dell PC and have exported to Excel, and brought them into Numbers on my MBP - SO, I'll likely just use a spreadsheet format - I'd consider FileMaker Pro but @ $300, a ripoff for my needs (BOY, that's a couple dozen CDs!) - Dave :)

Have a look at Open Office - it offers great functionality at the best price (free).  It comes in Mac format and provides database coverage as well as documents, spreadsheets etc.

http://www.openoffice.org/ (http://www.openoffice.org/)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Opus106 on April 21, 2013, 08:47:09 AM
Quote from: KeithW on April 21, 2013, 07:44:49 AM
Have a look at Open Office - it offers great functionality at the best price (free).  It comes in Mac format and provides database coverage as well as documents, spreadsheets etc.

http://www.openoffice.org/ (http://www.openoffice.org/)

Or LibreOffice. ;) It's a fork of OO with a lot of bug fixes and in continuous development.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Parsifal on April 21, 2013, 09:58:30 AM
Quote from: Opus106 on April 21, 2013, 08:47:09 AM
Or LibreOffice. ;) It's a fork of OO with a lot of bug fixes and in continuous development.

Apache Open Office also is in continuous development.  Why is LibreOffice better? 

Currently I have OpenOffice installed so I can switch back and forth between Mac and PC on some small projects I putter around with.  Am I better off switching to LibreOffice?  Will LibreOffice be able to read OpenOffice files?
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Opus106 on April 21, 2013, 10:13:13 AM
Quote from: Parsifal on April 21, 2013, 09:58:30 AM
Apache Open Office also is in continuous development.  Why is LibreOffice better? 

Currently I have OpenOffice installed so I can switch back and forth between Mac and PC on some small projects I putter around with.  Am I better off switching to LibreOffice?  Will LibreOffice be able to read OpenOffice files?

I was just suggesting an alternative for no good reason. ;D Truth be told, the only reason I have any 'office' program installed in my (home) computer, is because it was already there. At least for basic tasks, I don't think there is much difference between either. I'm sorry if you were expecting something more. :)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Parsifal on April 21, 2013, 10:19:01 AM
Quote from: Opus106 on April 21, 2013, 10:13:13 AM
I was just suggesting an alternative for no good reason. ;D Truth be told, the only reason I have any 'office' program installed in my (home) computer, is because it was already there. At least for basic tasks, I don't think there is much difference between either. I'm sorry if you were expecting something more. :)

I was not hoping for something better.  The Appache version is just fine.  It is just disappointing that OpenOffice has fractured into competing camps which are presumably at war with each other and will ruin OpenOffice as a useful platform.  Maybe I should give up and get Microsoft Office.  At least there is only one Microsoft.   >:(
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: SonicMan46 on April 21, 2013, 03:23:13 PM
Quote from: KeithW on April 21, 2013, 07:44:49 AM
Have a look at Open Office - it offers great functionality at the best price (free).  It comes in Mac format and provides database coverage as well as documents, spreadsheets etc.

http://www.openoffice.org/ (http://www.openoffice.org/)

Hi Keith - thanks for the suggestion - I've actually used Open Office in the past (on an office PC & also on an old IBM laptop running Ubuntu) - however, I never did much w/ Base and not sure that I need to put an entire office package on the laptop which already has Pages & Numbers; the latter will probably do me OK, just have enjoyed the report output of Access.  Dave :)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: SonicMan46 on April 21, 2013, 03:34:17 PM
Quote from: sanantonio on April 21, 2013, 10:32:55 AM
The functionality of the MS Access and OpenOffice Base (at least the one I tried) was fairly large, in favor of Access.  I currently use Office 2010 but learned Access on 2003 and that was what I compared to OO.

Hi SanAntone - we have Access 2003 on the old Dell desktop (although a newer version @ work before I retired) - so what I'm using to update these musical databases - I'll just play w/ Numbers on the MacBook Pro for the moment - Dave :)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Madiel on April 22, 2013, 05:31:03 AM
I have a copy of Access, however I've barely used it.

However, my music spreadsheet had grown uncomfortably large as a single 'page', and I've ended up moving the more voluminous composers onto their own separate pages.  It may be time to bring out the big guns.  And NOW I find out my brother-in-law is an Access whiz...
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Baroque Obama on February 08, 2014, 05:57:33 AM
Is there anyone experienced in CATraxx here? Especially editing xsl files and database tables?
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Old Listener on February 08, 2014, 11:40:34 AM
Someone asked if there was anything better for cataloging a collection of classical music files.  I looked at a number of software programs and found JRiver Media Center to be the best fit by far.  It has secure tagging, powerful tag editing capabilities and a very configurable music player.  It allows me to use whatever tags I choose and to build custom views for browsing my collection.  Here is a view I use for classical music:


(http://naturelover.smugmug.com/Other/misc/i-JwX3Mdb/0/L/major_composers_view-L.jpg)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Baroque Obama on February 08, 2014, 01:05:51 PM
Quote from: Old Listener on February 08, 2014, 11:40:34 AM
Someone asked if there was anything better for cataloging a collection of classical music files.  I looked at a number of software programs and found JRiver Media Center to be the best fit by far.  It has secure tagging, powerful tag editing capabilities and a very configurable music player.  It allows me to use whatever tags I choose and to build custom views for browsing my collection.  Here is a view I use for classical music:


(http://naturelover.smugmug.com/Other/misc/i-JwX3Mdb/0/L/major_composers_view-L.jpg)

I have been probing this for a while now. The expectations and needs for classical music collection management are, of course, subjective but as far as I'm concerned:
The best media players with collection management and customizable user interfaces are Mediamonkey and JRiver Media Center.
The best collection management and editing software is Collectorz Music Collector. CATraxx is much much better from any tool but it's quite technical and it's defunct. Both let you to select a media player of your choosing to play.
The best(easy and user-friendly) collection databases are MS Access and MS Excel. If you have time you can add links to excel to launch your tracks with your favorite media player
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: SonicMan46 on February 08, 2014, 04:53:17 PM
Quote from: Baroque Obama on February 08, 2014, 01:05:51 PM
I have been probing this for a while now. The expectations and needs for classical music collection management are, of course, subjective but as far as I'm concerned:
The best media players with collection management and customizable user interfaces are Mediamonkey and JRiver Media Center.
The best collection management and editing software is Collectorz Music Collector. CATraxx is much much better from any tool but it's quite technical and it's defunct. Both let you to select a media player of your choosing to play.
The best(easy and user-friendly) collection databases are MS Access and MS Excel. If you have time you can add links to excel to launch your tracks with your favorite media player

Well, has been nearly a year since my last response to this thread - wife & I have completely transitioned over to Apple computers since last spring, but I've still found no good solution to get my LARGE musical DBs off Access - still have my old PC in a back bedroom and can update Access there (but really silly to save an unwanted computer for that purpose) - I've been on many websites/forums and left a number of posts - there is just NOT an easy solution to this Access transition except to run Windows/Office on an Apple Mac (which requires using Boot Camp or a partition program such as Parallels) - I need to decide and will probably just export to Excel and bring into Numbers on my Macs - won't give me the beautiful printing forms that I've loved on Access, but still have not found a good solution!  Dave :)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: RJR on February 14, 2014, 04:35:13 PM
If any of you are interested in docs, texts, cues, archives, pictures (gifs & jpegs), cd covers, music sheets, pdfs or collections to supplement or add to your classical music (or jazz, blues, etc) files then I suggest that you download Emule. Type in the name of the composer, solo artist, chamber group, orchestra or conductor and you will find some gems. It is a free download.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: mc ukrneal on February 24, 2016, 05:21:51 AM
So I have been tooling around with Musichi based on a mention by Jens. And it is quite powerful, in that for a large collection, it provides numerous and clear ways to organize your collection. There a numerous good reasons to go with it. And it cuts down the entering of track by track info. In the past, if the disc were not recognized, I might enter 'Tosca disc 1' for all tracks (as place holder until I have time to go back, but never do), because who wants to enter 15 tracks of a foreign language? With Musichi, there is almost always a way to avoid the hand entering of text. And that alone is a tremendous time saver (and makes the information that is digitized much more useful). The large database of classical composers and works (not complete, but pretty good) is a huge help too. They include far more info than I would ever include by hand (some of which I am happy to add - like year of work). And the ease of normalizing everything so they are identical is nice too.

But there are some downsides for me (which I am posting here in case there are some fixes for them in case I have not yet seen them in my trial period):
1. The biggest - no gapless playing. For a collection with lots of opera (and choral pieces), this is an issue. In order to do gapless (according to the email response from the publisher), I would have to use an external player (like foobar or media monkey).
2. The player has a clunky feel. It's just not as polished a look as some (though admittedly, there are others that are worse).
3. it does take some time to get a hang of the system.

Here was my thinking - now that external disc sizes have increased, I have been thinking of converting to FLAC. I already have a mix. But with Musichi (if I decide to use it), I could rip to FLAC, convert another set of files to mp3 and then I would have both all ready to go depending on my needs. With #1 being an issue, I would probably continue to use Windows Media Player for mp3 listening, but would need to find a different player for FLAC (or some combo of programs). I like the look of the cover view in the Windows Player. Incidentally, the converted mp3 files require minimal changes to make them exactly like my existing organizational system (or none at all if I don't care). And as time goes on, they'll all be identical anyway. And as time goes on, maybe I'll drop mp3 entirely.

Just writing this out has been helpful, but perhaps other members can comment more on various programs (and this thread has been helpful too).
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: mc ukrneal on February 24, 2016, 05:39:01 AM
Quote from: Gurn Blanston on March 21, 2012, 04:18:41 AM
From your link, I downloaded the trial version of this software to see if it worked for me. After an hour or two of playing around with it, I think so far that it seems to work pretty well. With only 100 database entries in the trial I couldn't check out how it worked with big chunks of data, but I cataloged 3 or 4 disks and a couple of folders of MP3's and FLAC's. It was fast and easy, and the CD's were in their database already, which was nice. The album art search feature worked well too. I'll probably go ahead and buy the $30 version and have at it. Thanks for that,

8)
Gurn - how did this work out for you? I like the graphical side of this one. It might be fun...

EDIT: and do you use the CLZ CLoud backup? That has potential, but uploading so many GB/TB may be an issue?
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Gurn Blanston on February 24, 2016, 06:45:46 AM
Quote from: mc ukrneal on February 24, 2016, 05:39:01 AM
Gurn - how did this work out for you? I like the graphical side of this one. It might be fun...

EDIT: and do you use the CLZ CLoud backup? That has potential, but uploading so many GB/TB may be an issue?

Neal,

Pro's: Basically what I wrote above, it works well and seems pretty intuitive to use.

Con's: Sitting there for hours with my CD's and running each one through the system so the barcode could scan was right out. I did a few and they worked well, but starting from scratch when you already have thousands of CD's is too time consuming. They have a USB scanner that will read the disks right in the box, but I didn't make that investment. For folders of MP3's and FLAC's it worked well, but there again, I have half a terabyte of digital files and it is a time consuming process.

I don't have cloud backup, for just the issue you raise. I have satellite broadband since I live so far from civilization, and the data limits make it clearly impossible to use the cloud. For people with something like fiber optic with no data limits, it would be the way to go, I think, as long as you are confident your cloud provider isn't going to go belly-up next week and make you lose everything.

8)
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Mirror Image on February 24, 2016, 04:05:31 PM
I have not seen any CD cataloging program that has been easy to use and that actually does a good job. There should be a program designed to allow you to sort your music collection through a search engine which allows you to pull the covers and information about the album from a website. If there's a program like this already in existence, then please LET ME KNOW NOW!!! I've been waiting years for something like this to happen.
Title: Re: database for your classical music collection
Post by: Artem on February 24, 2016, 07:52:22 PM
I use https://rateyourmusic.com (https://rateyourmusic.com) off and on, but one must be really dedicated to adding classical works, composers and performers into the database of that site which also must be approved by moderators and sometimes that can take up to several months. A new version of this site is coming soon, so maybe it will be easier to navigate through classical music on it.