• Tech

8 Spotify Tricks That Will Change the Way You Listen to Music

5 minute read

Music fans are plenty familiar with Spotify, the online streaming service that lets users listen to millions of songs on-demand for free or with a no-advertisement subscription.

However, with Spotify’s myriad settings and apps that extend its functionality, you might not be using it to its full potential. Here, TIME rounds up 8 tips that will help users see Spotify in a whole new light:

Hide Your Guilty Pleasures From Friends

The ability to follow friends’ musical habits is one of Spotify’s best features. But maybe you don’t want everyone to know exactly how many times you listened to “All About That Bass” this summer.

On the desktop version, you can select “Private Session” from the main Spotify menu to stop broadcasting your musical selections for a certain period (the same setting is found on the “social” menu within settings on the mobile version). To permanently stop sharing your listening choices, go to the “Spotify” menu, then “Preferences,” and uncheck the boxes for “Share my activity and what I listen to with my followers on Spotify” and “Share my activity and what I listen to on Facebook.”

Improve Your Search Queries

Navigating Spotify’s massive catalogue can be a chore. Next time, try using qualifiers to narrow your search. They work much in the same way as Google search queries. You can specify searches based on artist, title, genre or year. So if you’re looking for just Jay-Z’s output in 1997, “Jay-Z year:1997” to pull up the desired results. Here’s a full list of the search qualifiers you can use on Spotify.

READ MORE Spotify Now Makes Playlists Based On What Your Friends Listen To

Use Folders to Organize Your Music

One criticism of Spotify is that people’s music collections often devolve into a jumble of playlists and favorites songs. Consider using folders to provide more order for your playlists. On the desktop app, go to “File” and then “New Playlist Folder” to create a new folder. Then you can place any playlists you like within the new folder.

Toggle High-Quality Streaming On or Off

Spotify Premium users have the option to enable “high-quality streaming” from the Preferences menu on the desktop, which plays songs at a bitrate of 320 kbps rather than the standard rate of 160 kbps — making everything sound better.

On mobile, songs automatically play at a lower bitrate of 96 kbps to conserve data. All users can bump that figure up to 160 kbps, and premium users can also use the 320 kbps setting. Just be careful, since a higher bitrate will eat into your mobile data plan faster.

PHOTOS: See Taylor Swift Over the Years

2006 CMT Music Awards - Arrivals
Taylor Swift arrives at the 2006 CMT Music Awards at the Curb Event Center at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.John Shearer—WireImage/Getty Images
2007 CMT Music Awards - Red Carpet
Taylor Swift arrives at the 2007 CMT Music Awards.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images
42nd Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards - Show
Taylor Swift performs during the 42nd Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2007.Ethan Miller—Getty Images
2008 ACM New Artists Party For A Cause
Taylor Swift performs during the Academy of Country Music New Artists' Party for a Cause show at the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2008.Ethan Miller—Getty Images
Taylor Swift and Michelle Williams Visit MTV's "TRL" - June 16, 2008
Taylor Swift performs live on MTV's "TRL" at the MTV Studios in Times Square in New York City in 2008.Gary Gershoff—WireImage/Getty Images
The 42nd Annual CMA Awards - Arrivals
Taylor Swift attends the 42nd Annual CMA Awards at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee in 2008.Ed Rode—WireImage/Getty Images
CNN Heroes "An All-Star Tribute" 2008
Singer Taylor Swift arrives at CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California in 2008.Jon Kopaloff—FilmMagic/Getty Images
Saturday Night Live
Taylor Swift performs on Saturday Night Live in 2009.NBC/Getty Images
The Brit Awards 2009 - Arrivals
Taylor Swift arrives at the Brit Awards 2009 at Earls Court in London, England.Gareth Cattermole—Getty Images
44th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards All-Star Jam
Taylor Swift performs during the 44th annual Academy of Country Music Awards All-Star Jam at the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2009.Ethan Miller—Getty Images
Taylor Swift in Concert
Taylor Swift performs at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 2009.Theo Wargo—WireImage/Getty Images
2009 MTV Video Music Awards - Arrivals
Taylor Swift arrives to the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Stephen Lovekin—FilmMagic/Getty Images
The 43rd Annual CMA Awards - Show
Taylor Swift performs at the 43rd Annual CMA Awards from the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee in 2009.Katherine Bomboy—Getty Images
The 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards - Show
Taylor Swift performs onstage at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards held at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California in 2010.Michael Caulfield—WireImage/Getty Images
Taylor Swift drops one of her awards dur
Taylor Swift drops one of her awards during the 52nd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California in 2010.Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images
Taylor Swift 13 hours on the 13th. & some songs
Taylor Swift performs at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville, Tennessee in 2010.Rick Diamond—Getty Images
Grand Ole Opry 85th Birthday Bash
Taylor Swift performs during the Grand Ole Opry 85th birthday bash at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee in 2010.Tony R. Phipps—Getty Images
44th Annual CMA Awards - Show
Taylor Swift performs "Back to December" at the 44th Annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee in 2010.Rick Diamond—Getty Images
taylor Swift attends the 'Alexander McQu
Taylor Swift attends the 'Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty' Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2011.TIMOTHY A. CLARY—AFP/Getty Images
2012 MTV Video Music Awards - Show
Taylor Swift performs at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.Jason LaVeris—FilmMagic/Getty Images
BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards - Show
Taylor Swift performs at the Radio One Teen Awards at Wembley Arena in London, England in 2012.Mike Marsland—WireImage/Getty Images
BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards - Show
Taylor Swift performs at the Radio One Teen Awards at Wembley Arena in London, England in 2012.Mike Marsland—WireImage/Getty Images
Taylor Swift Switches On Westfield London Christmas Lights
Taylor Swift switches on the Christmas lights and performs for fans and shoppers at Westfield London in London, England in 2012.Mike Marsland—WireImage/Getty Images
26th Annual ARIA Awards 2012 - Arrivals
Taylor Swift arrives at the 26th Annual ARIA Awards 2012 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia. Don Arnold—WireImage/Getty Images
26th Annual ARIA Awards 2012 - Show
Taylor Swift performs on stage during the 26th Annual ARIA Awards 2012 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia.Brendon Thorne—Getty Images
KIIS FM's Jingle Ball 2012 - Night 1 - Show
Taylor Swift performs during night 1 of the 2012 KIIS FM Jingle Ball at Nokia Theatre LA Live in Los Angeles, California.C Flanigan—FilmMagic/Getty Images
Taylor Swift At Gillette Stadium
Taylor Swift in concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts in 2013.Barry Chin—Boston Globe/Getty Images
2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show - Show
Taylor Swift performs while Candice Swanepoel walks the runway at the 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at the Lexington Avenue Armory in New York City.Jamie McCarthy—Getty Images
Taylor Swift Lives In Shanghai
Taylor Swift performs at the Mercedes-Benz Arena on May 30, 2014 in Shanghai, China.ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images
2014 American Music Awards - Show
Taylor Swift performs onstage during the 2014 American Music Awards held at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Nov. 23, 2014 in Los Angeles, Ca.Michael Tran—FilmMagic/Getty Images
2014 American Music Awards - Roaming Show
Taylor Swift performs at the 2014 American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Nov. 23, 2014 in Los Angeles, Ca.Christopher Polk—Getty Images
The Voice - Season 7
Taylor Swift performs on The Voice in 2014.NBC/Getty Images
2014 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show - Show
Taylor Swift performs during the 2014 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at Earl's Court exhibition centre on Dec. 2, 2014 in London, England.Dimitrios Kambouris—Getty Images for Victoria's Secr
KIIS FM's Jingle Ball 2014  Powered by LINE  - Show
Taylor Swift performs onstage during KIIS FM's Jingle Ball 2014 at Staples Center on December 5, 2014 in Los Angeles, Ca.Christopher Polk—Getty Images

Add Songs That Aren’t on Spotify And Listen to Them Offline

Spotify’s catalogue is hardly comprehensive, but users can easily add songs from outside sources to their libraries and listen to them within the Spotify interface. Simply go to Preferences and enable showing tracks from local sources. Those sources can include iTunes, the Downloads folder on your computer, or specific folders that you select.

Even better, if you have a playlist filled with non-Spotify songs and toggle on the “Available Offline” option at the top of the playlist, you can download the songs to your phone for offline listening.

See the Lyrics to Every Song

Trying to prep for your next karaoke session? Turn on the musiXmatch app (you can find it in the “App Finder” tab on the left-hand sidebar) and you can see the lyrics of most songs as they’re playing within Spotify. There are lots of other handy apps in the “App Finer” menu, including recommendation apps that offer features like curated music lists from Pitchfork and Rolling Stone.

READ MORE 6 Biggest Tech Debuts to Watch in 2015

Add a Visualizer

If you miss the cheesy visualizers from your days using Windows Media Player or Winamp, Spotify has you covered. In the search bar, just type in “spotify:app:visualizer” to bring up a range of different visual options that will play in time with your tunes.

Link to a Specific Part of a Song

Want to send a friend “Free Bird,” but skip the pretenses and get right to the guitar solo? Spotify makes that pretty simple. If you’re sharing the URL of a song (a special kind of Spotify-specific link that only works within the Spotify app), add a “#” sound to the end of the character string and then the timestamp you want to zoom to. To get to the “Free Bird” solo at 4 minutes and 25 seconds into the song, for example, you’d write this: spotify:track:1xt1TX045OgURfw0MAcVNF#4:25.

More Must-Reads From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com