How to Use iTunes to Listen to an MP3

The iTunes music player available on your computer is a great option to use to listen to songs. It’s easy to navigate, keeps your songs well-organized and provides easy access to purchasing songs and importing CDs to your hard drive. This guide shows you how to use iTunes to listen to MP3.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Go to Apple’s Web site (see below) and download iTunes. There is a link for a free download of iTunes on the “iPod and iTunes” page of the Web site. Select the appropriate Operating System (Windows or Mac).

2. Select the folder you wish to keep your music in or create a new one. This will make locating your music easier.

3. Download songs from the Internet (iTunes songs can be purchased through the Apple iStore) or rip them from CDs you currently own and save them in the folder you chose in step 2.

4. Drag those songs into the iTunes utility you downloaded in step 1. iTunes is like a jukebox on your computer. When you have downloaded the songs into iTunes, you will see them listed in alphabetical order by song title. You can change the sorting method by clicking on the criteria (name, time, artist, etc.).

5. Click on the MP3 file (the song), and drag it into the “Library” folder in iTunes. This folder will serve as the general place to store all the MP3s on your computer. From there, you can create new playlists to select specific songs, click on the “Shuffle” option to have iTunes randomly select songs to be played through your computer, or play every song in order from the library.

6. Select the “Play” button on iTunes to listen. You can adjust the volume on iTunes or on your computer.

Tips & Warnings

• You can find upgrades of iTunes through Apple’s Web site and sign up for email updates of the product.
• Label each playlist you create with a subject and/or date so you can easily identify and access it at a later point.
• Not all downloadable formats of music, video or podcasts are compatible with the iTunes player.