The Song Library is where Praxis starts to feel organized. This is where you import songs, build playlists, create structure, and shape the queue that the Playback and Player will use next.
What The Library Is For
The Library does three jobs:
- stores songs and metadata
- organizes songs into folders, playlists, and tags
- defines what the Player will queue
The last part is the important one. The Library is not just a catalog; it is the source of playback context.
Library Layout
- Left panel: All Songs, folders, playlists, and tag collections.
- Right panel: the active song grid for whichever source you selected on the left.
The Queue Rule
Praxis always bases playback on the current Library view.
- All Songs: full library, or the filtered subset.
- Playlist: that playlist.
- Folder: songs from the playlists inside that folder tree.
- Tag: songs with that tag.
What you are looking at is what you will play.
Selecting And Editing
- Click: select one row.
- Shift-click: select a range.
- Command-click: add or remove individual rows from the selection.
- Double-click a row: open the Playback and Player on that song.
Keep the metadata accurate early. Good title, artist, key, BPM, and notes fields make sorting and filtering much more valuable later.
Folders, Playlists, And Tags
- Folders: long-lived structure for bands, seasons, projects, venues, or services.
- Playlists: the practical song lists you actually rehearse or perform.
- Tags: lightweight labels like “Needs Tabs,” “Capo,” or “Review.”
A song can live in many playlists and carry many tags without duplicating the media file.
Drag And Drop
- Drag playlists into folders to organize them.
- Drag playlists around to reorder them.
- Drag songs onto a playlist to add those songs to that playlist.
The important distinction is:
- moving playlists and folders changes structure
- moving songs changes playlist membership
- neither action duplicates the underlying audio file
Sorting And Filtering
Use column headers in the right panel to sort the current view. Click once for ascending order, then click again to reverse it.
The filter box narrows the current view in real time. That filter also changes the queue source, so it is a quick way to trim a practice session without rebuilding playlists.
Importing Songs
Import songs with File > Import Media Files.... Praxis copies the media into its managed store so your playlist setup stays stable even if the original files move later.
Praxis does not yet support importing audio by dragging Finder files or folders directly into the Library.
Good Habits
- Use folders for structure, playlists for working sets, and tags for flexible overlays.
- Keep core metadata consistent early.
- Use notes and tags for rehearsal context.
- Think in views: build the right view in the Library, then open the Playback and Player from that view.