MusicTagging

Keybinding Markup

---
title: MusicTagging
---

Music tagging process

# Beets

## Install

Current Debian versions tend to be old.

python3.7 -m venv venv37
    source venv37/bin/activate
    pip install -U beets

## Import

1.  Check the config for albumartist vs album 
2.  `beet import /path/to/downloaded/album`

## Move

1.  Tweak settings in `~/.config/beets/config.yaml` 
2.      beet move -a [-p] album-name

* * *

# MusicBrainz

1.  picard 
    1.  Import 
    2.  Collect 
    3.  Scan 
2.  easytag 
    1.  write playlists 
    2.  check CRLF (should have DOS line-endings)

# Picard Settings

## Metadata

Translate artist names to locale
:   ON, `English` (fixes Kitaro)

Use standardised artist names
:   ON

Convert Unicode punctuation characters to ASCII
:   ON

Use release relationships
:   ON

Use track relationships
:   ON

Use folksonomy tags as genre
:   ON

Preferred Release Countries
:   UK, US, ZA

Preferred Release Formats
:   CD

Before Tagging
:   clear existing, remove ID3 from FLAC, remove APE from MP3

Tag Compatibility
:   ID3v2.4, UTF-8

## Albums

Cover Art
:   Save cover images as separate files, `folder`

## Collections

Cover Art
:   Embed cover images into tags, Embed only front images

## File naming

Replace non-ASCII characters
:   OFF

Replace Windows-incompatible characters
:   OFF

Delete empty directories
:   ON

Move additional files
:   `*.jpg *.png`

# Picard Genres

Plugins
:   Last.fm.Plus

General Options / Join Tags With
:   *blank*

Forces multiple genres into separate tags.

# Picard Rename

## Default

$if2(%albumartist%,%artist%)/%album%/%artist% - %title%

## With Custom Replacements

*   Also replace ' / ' (which is forced to '_' by picard) to '; ' 
*   Album: drop everything from the second ':' onwards 
*   DiscSubtitle: add to the path if it exists

$replace($noop(?)
    $replace($noop(:)
    $replace($noop(")
    $replace($noop(|)
    $replace($noop(<)
    $replace($noop(>)
    $rreplace(
    
    $if2(%albumartist%,%artist%)/$if2($rsearch(%album%,$.*:.*$:),%album%)/%discsubtitle%/%artist% - %title%
    
    ,\\s_\\b,;)
    ,>,\))
    ,<,\()
    ,|,)
    ,",')
    ,:, -)
    ,?,)

## Classical

Trying for something like `composer/work/performance/(01x01 - )composer - title`.

1.  If albumartist has ';' use just the first part (the composer) 
2.  In album 
    1.  If < 30 chars, use it, otherwise 
    2.  Drop anything from the second ':', or 
    3.  Drop anything from a '(' onwards 
3.  Extract performers from the second part of albumartist 
4.  Extract "orchestra, conductor" as best we can 
5.  Use discsubtitle (large collections) else: 
    1.  performer part of the albumartist if it's shorter than 60 chars, else 
    2.  "orchestra - conductor" 
6.  01x01 if total discs is large (>2)

$set(_maincomposer,$if2($rsearch(%albumartist%,$.*$; ),%albumartist%,%artist%))
    $set(_work,$if2($if($lt($len(%album%),30),%album%),$rsearch(%album%,$.*:.*$:),$rsearch(%album%,$.*$[$]),%album%))
    $set(_performers,$rsearch(%albumartist%,; \(.*$))
    $set(_conductor,$if2($rsearch(%conductor%,$.*$;),%conductor%,$rsearch($performer(conductor),$.*$;),$performer(conductor)))
    $set(_orchestra_conductor,$if(%_conductor%,$performer(orchestra)\, %_conductor%,$performer(orchestra)))
    $set(_performance,$if2(%discsubtitle%,$if($lt($len(%_performers%),60),%_performers%),%_orchestra_conductor%))
    $set(_tracknums,$if($gt(%totaldiscs%,2),$num(%discnumber%,2)x$num(%tracknumber%,2) - ))
    
    %_maincomposer%/%_work%/%_performance%/%_tracknums%%artist% - %title%

Produces:

*   `Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/Don Giovanni/Freiburger Barockorchester, René Jacobs/01x01 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni, K. 527 - Ouverture. Andante - allegro molto.mp3` 
*   @@Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/Requiem/Berliner Philharmoniker/Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Requiem in D minor, K. 626 (Süßmayr completion) - IIIa. Sequenz - 'Dies irae'.mp3

*   `John Rutter/Requiem and other Sacred Music/Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, Timothy Brown/John Rutter - Requiem - I. Requiem Aeternam.ogg`

## Large Collections

Add `01x01` only if `totaldiscs > 1`.

`album-artist/album/01x01 - artist - title`:

$if2(%albumartist%,%artist%)/%album%/$if($gt(%totaldiscs%,1),$num(%discnumber%,2)x$num(%tracknumber%,2) - )%artist% - %title%

## Putting it all Together

$set(_maincomposer,$if2($rsearch(%albumartist%,$.*$; ),%albumartist%,%artist%))
    $set(_work,$if2($if($lt($len(%album%),30),%album%),$rsearch(%album%,$.*:.*$:),$rsearch(%album%,$.*$[$]),%album%))
    $set(_performers,$rsearch(%albumartist%,; \(.*$))
    $set(_conductor,$if2($rsearch(%conductor%,$.*$;),%conductor%,$rsearch($performer(conductor),$.*$;),$performer(conductor)))
    $set(_orchestra_conductor,$if(%_conductor%,$performer(orchestra)\, %_conductor%,$performer(orchestra)))
    $set(_performance,$if2(%discsubtitle%,$if($lt($len(%_performers%),60),%_performers%),%_orchestra_conductor%))
    $set(_tracknums,$if($gt(%totaldiscs%,2),$num(%discnumber%,2)x$num(%tracknumber%,2) - ))
    $replace($noop(.)
    $replace($noop(?)
    $replace($noop(:)
    $replace($noop(")
    $replace($noop(|)
    $replace($noop(<)
    $replace($noop(>)
    $rreplace(
    $rreplace(
    %_maincomposer%/%_work%/%_performance%/%_tracknums%%artist% - %title%
    ,\\s_\\b,;)
    ,_, )
    ,>,\))
    ,<,\()
    ,|,)
    ,",')
    ,:, -)
    ,?,)
    ,...,)

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