Tagging classical music

[simoncn]

(22-03-2014 19:38)Alpina_Lux Wrote:  Hello,

I just signed up and am taking my first steps in the computer audio world. I have a collection of about 3000 CDs of classical music (mostly piano), many of which are radio recordings - which makes tagging them even more of a challenge.

I've just acquired a Synology NAS and it already works well, although I certainly have not yet grasped most of its functionalities. My goal is to make all my music available on the network and be able to access it using an iPad application (or similar) as a control point, sending it to a streamer (most likely a Pioneer N30). As MinimServer has been conceived with classical music in mind and works directly on the Synology NAS, I've already identified the music server I would like to use. The CDs will be converted to FLAC.

Now, the difficulty for me right now is finding the best software to rip and tag my CD collection, and making sure that those tags are also accessible by all applications in the chain (i.e. MinimServer and the control point). Due to the size and specifics of my music collection (multiple recordings of the same work, sometimes even with the same artist but different performances), I believe that it would be very useful to implement some tags that are not customarily used. I've found a software called MusiCHI (http://www.musichi.eu/) that has been made specifically for classical music and has a number of useful routines that should simplify tagging.

What I would like to know in particular is whether the tags that MusiChI offers (e.g. composition, instruments) will also be accessible if I use MinimServer. I know that MusiCHI has its own player (= server), but that does not run on a NAS and would require me running an additional computer when I want to access the music, which I do not want to do.

You can use any tags with MinimServer. Unlike some other servers, there isn't a distinction between regular tags and custom tags.

For the control point, your choice will depend on which streamer you are using and which device you want to use to run the control point. A good starting point would be BubbleUPnP running on an Android device. If you want to run the control point on an iPad, it is harder for me to make a recommendation.

Quote:Another question which I had - and it might be a noob question - is whether it is generally possible to create custom tags with MinimServer.

You can't "create" any tags with MinimServer. For this, you need to use some other tagging program to write the tags into your files. If the tags have been written correctly according to the tagging specifications and the file format is on the list of formats that MinimServer supports, MinimServer will read those tags if you have added them to the indexTags or itemTags list.

Quote:I'm still at the very beginning and have not yet started digitizing my collection; but in order to do it properly (and to avoid having to re-do it later on), I would like to use the right tools that allow me to enjoy it without hassle and browse it easily later on. Time is of course also an important factor - right now I'm focusing on the commercially available CDs for which tags will already be available in a certain number of databases (that MusiCHI uses for example).

Any input would be much appreciated.

I suggest you start with a small number of albums and make sure you have an approach that works with MinimServer and works for how you want to browse and search your library. When you are happy with this, you can extend the same approach to your entire collection of CDs and recordings.