Play Music on iPad – The iPad comes preloaded with an iPod app. This gives your iPad all the functions of iPod music player, including an ability to create playlists right on the device. The iPad can serve as your virtual boom box, piano, worldwide karaoke joint, or online radio station. Organize your iTunes content in the iPod app, listen to streaming music using apps from the App Store, or, better yet, create music of your own.
When you open the iPod app, it’s obvious that it has taken a few visual cues from iTunes. The app sports a Source list (labeled Library), displaying entries for Music, Podcasts, Audiobooks, iTunes U, and Genius Mixes, as well as smart and standard playlists you’ve synced or, in the case of standard playlists, created with your iPad.
Music Tastes You can view your music by songs, artists, albums, genres, or composers.
Play Music on iPad: Section Controls
At the top of the screen are play controls, a scrubber bar, volume control, and a Search field. Below that is a two-pane view showing your library. Tap Music, and you’ll see Songs, Artists, Albums, Genres, and Composers buttons along the bottom center of the screen for displaying your tracks in these various views.
Podcasts are arranged in a list with thumbnail art. Below the show title is the number of episodes on your iPad. Tap a show to see a list of episodes; tap an episode, and it plays. Episodes you haven’t played have a dot next to them. If you’ve listened to part of a podcast, the dot is half-filled. Audiobooks are presented in a list. Tap an audiobook, and a screen appears with chapters listed. Genius mixes display the same four-album-cover collage they do in iTunes. Unlike iTunes, the iPod app doesn’t give you the option to rename Genius mixes or rearrange their position on the iPad’s screen.
Play Music on iPad: Playlists
In the lower left of the display is an Add button, labeled with a plus sign (+), for creating a new standard playlist on the iPad. You can’t create a smart playlist on your device, though it will play those you’ve created in iTunes. Next to the Add button is a Genius button for creating a Genius playlist based on the currently playing track. If you want to switch on Sound Check (the feature that attempts to balance volume among playing tracks), muck with EQ, configure a volume limit, or turn on lyrics and podcast info, head over to Settings: iPod.
To create a new playlist, tap the Add button (see “Playing Around”). This brings up a box‚ similar to the one you get when prompted to enter a Wi-Fi password‚ asking you to name the playlist. Enter a name, then tap Save. The playlist displays briefly in the sidebar, then a list of all your songs pops up. Each song has a blue plus-sign icon to the right; to add a song to the playlist, just tap the icon next to its name. To choose from a different source of content, tap the Sources button at the upper left to pick a library (Music, Podcasts, and so on) or another playlist from which to fill your new playlist. You can always add songs to, or delete songs from, your playlist later.
Play Music on iPad
While the browsing experience may be similar to iTunes, playing media on the iPad is akin to doing so on an iPhone or an iPod touch. When you play a track, your device’s screen fills with that song’s album artwork. Artwork you’ve acquired from the iTunes Store scales beautifully, but album art you’ve downloaded yourself can look mighty pixelated if it’s a low-resolution image.
Tap the screen to bring up basic playback controls. Additionally, you’ll see a scrubber bar, along with Repeat and Shuffle buttons. At the lower left of the screen is a back-arrow icon that, when tapped, returns you to the main iPod interface, with the album artwork taking up residence in the lower-left corner. Centered beneath the artwork is a Genius button. Tap it, and the iPad will create a 25-track Genius playlist based on the currently playing song. To the right is a Track List button, a circle with several horizontal lines. Tap it, and all the tracks in the currently playing album or playlist will appear.
When playing an audiobook or podcast, tap the screen, and you can e-mail a link to a podcast, scrub through the audio by dragging the playhead in the scrubber bar, and change the speed of the audio (to normal, double, or half speed). At the bottom of these audiobook and podcast screens is a 30-second repeat control. Tap it, and the audio rewinds 30 seconds and plays.
To silence the iPad in a hurry, you can either flick its mute switch if you’ve chosen to use it that way, or press and hold on the bottom of the volume rocker switch.
Play Music on iPad – The iPod app supports background audio, which means you can listen to your songs while performing other tasks or working in another app on your iPad. To change the song or to pause your music, you don’t have to reenter the app—simply double-click the Home button to bring up the multitasking shelf, then swipe right to access the iPod controls.
I want to home share on my iPad but I can’t find the iPod app? It’s a new iPad 2, shouldn’t it come with the app?