Tagging classical music

[Mike48]

(26-03-2014 09:14)Dieter Stockert Wrote:  ... we would need sub genres like sonata, oratorio, concerto, symphony, chamber music and much more, plus additional sub-sub genres like horn concerto, sonata for violin and piano, flute trio, string quartet ...

I agree, it would be nice to have the tags be more relational. However, usually they are good enough.

You can add a "subgenre" tag to your music files. I do this with dbpoweramp when I rip the files. Also, mp3tag and JRiver MC support it. I use some of the subgenres you have shown, and others, and I can browse through Minim using those subgenres. So try experimenting, and perhaps you will find the tagging more useful.

I have also added an "instrument" tag that is browsable. When this is not blank (as for a string quartet), it can help narrow things down. So, for example, Genre = Classical, Subgenre = Concerto, and Instrument = Cello finds all cello concerti. Another combination might be Genre = Classical, Subgenre = Solo keyboard, and Instrument = Harpsichord. I find those two tags are quite helpful when I know the type of music I would like to hear, but not exactly what.

In general, like DavidHB, I put the most priority on metadata that will be useful in browsing or searching. I often do list soloists, so I can see them when I am playing via USB, where all tags are visible, but when there are too many, I give up. It can be quicker to Google the album if the question comes up when listening via UPnP.