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How to use Siri with Apple Music

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How to use Siri with Apple Music

With Siri, you’re only ever a press and a sentence away from controlling Apple Music.

Update March 2017: Added sections for playing Favorites Mix and New Music Mix and a table of contents, Apple Music box, and images for iOS 10. Added information about Siri search suggestions for covers and shuffling music.

With Apple Music, you can let Siri be your own personal DJ. You can not only call up anything from the Apple Music library, you can queue up What’s Next, add to your library, like songs, find songs, and much, much more.

Chart toppers
More like this
After this
Instead of this
What’s this?
What’s that?!
Like it (like that)
Just skip it
Covers and scores
Beats 1 + Radio
Add to library
Shuffle
Play your favorites
Play something new

Chart toppers

You can ask Siri to play the most successful music of the year—of any year. For example, say “Play the top song from 1989”, and Siri will add the 25 highest ranking tunes of that year to your Up Next queue.

You can also ask for …

With Siri, you’re only ever a press and a sentence away from controlling Apple Music.

Update March 2017: Added sections for playing Favorites Mix and New Music Mix and a table of contents, Apple Music box, and images for iOS 10. Added information about Siri search suggestions for covers and shuffling music.

With Apple Music, you can let Siri be your own personal DJ. You can not only call up anything from the Apple Music library, you can queue up What’s Next, add to your library, like songs, find songs, and much, much more.

Chart toppers

You can ask Siri to play the most successful music of the year—of any year. For example, say “Play the top song from 1989”, and Siri will add the 25 highest ranking tunes of that year to your Up Next queue.

You can also ask for a different number of songs, like top 10 or top 50, and for an entire decade, like 1980s or 1990s.

More like this

If the currently playing song fits your mood, and you want to hear more like it, say: “Siri, play more like this!”. Siri will add up to 50 similar songs to your Up Next queue so you can keep your groove on.

After this

The Apple Music library includes most of the songs from the iTunes Catalog, which means if you can think of it, there’s an excellent chance Siri can not only find it, but immediately add it to your Up Next queue. Just say, “After this song, play Back in Black” or “Play Shake it Off next”, or whatever you’re in the mood for.

Instead of this

You can, of course, still ask Siri to play a song immediately, and now that includes any song from the Apple Music library. (As long as you have internet access.) Playing immediately will clear your Up Next queue, but sometimes that might be exactly what you want anyway. Tell Siri, “Play Walk this Way”, or whichever song you want to hear now, now, now.

In addition to songs, you can also ask Siri to play any artist, album, or playlist.

What’s this?

Not sure, or simply blanking on, what song is playing, who sang it, or what album it’s from? You can ask Siri. “What song is this?” “Who sang this?” “What album is this from?” are only ever a question away.

What’s that?!

If the music playing isn’t yours, but something on TV or at the coffee shop or even on a friend’s device, “What song is this?” can still work. Thanks to built-in Shazam, Siri can listen and try to identify it for you.

**Siri’s Shazam feature makes it is easy to buy the song from iTunes with just a few taps, but once you know the song’s name, you can also tell Siri to play it for you from the Apple Music catalog.*

Like it (like that)

The For You section of the Music app contains playlists, albums, and songs Apple Music thinks you’ll enjoy. When you “like” a song that’s playing, that—along with other factors—influences For You. “Siri, like this song,” lets it be known.

You can also ask Siri to rate songs for you. “Rate this song five stars,” for example, will give it the best ranking possible.

Just skip it

Not every song in every playlist or Now Playing queue is going to be exactly what you want to hear at any given time. So, if something comes up that you just don’t feel like, tell Siri to “Skip” it.

Whether you skipped or not, if you want to go back, just tell Siri to “Play previous”.

Covers and scores

If you ask Siri to play a song, it will play the original or best-known version. If you want a specific version, however, you can ask for that as well. “Play Smooth Criminal” will get you Michael Jackson, but “Play Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm” or “Play Smooth Criminal by Glee” will get you the covers. Siri now also offers alternate search suggestions based on your initial request.

If you don’t remember the name of a song, but you remember the name of the movie it was from, you can ask Siri to play the song from that movie and often times you’ll get the right one!

Beats 1 + Radio

In the mood for Beats 1? You can get Siri to turn the internet dial all the way to Apple’s new radio station simply by saying, “Play Beats 1 radio”. Sadly, Siri doesn’t reply with “ALWAYS ON! BREAKING! WORLD WIDE!”.

You can also ask Siri to play any other radio station, just ask for it by name, like Charting Now or Sound System.

Add to library

There are many ways to discover songs you like with Apple Music, and when you do, Siri makes it simple to add those songs to the My Music tab, so you can easily recall it at any time. Just say, “Add this song to my library,” or “Add the new Phish album to my library”.

Shuffle

Siri is now the easiest way—and sometimes maybe the only way—to shuffle anything and everything you want shuffled. If you have an Up Next queue or playlist playing, say “Shuffle” to mix it up. If you want to listen to an artist or album, say “Shuffle Public Enemy” or “Shuffle 1989”. As with cover songs, Siri will offer alternative search suggestions in addition to performing your requested action.

Play your favorites

With the introduction of iOS 10, Apple added a new feature to Apple Music: the Favorites Mix. This is a collection of some of your favorite songs in your library, updated weekly. To play it, simply say “Play My Favorite’s Mix”, and Siri will start playing that week’s collection.

Play something new

In addition to the Favorites Mix, Apple also introduced My New Music Mix to Apple Music in iOS 10. Based on your previous listening, each week Apple puts together a list of new tracks that it thinks you might love. Just say “Play My New Music Mix” and you’ll get to hear what Apple thinks your musical taste is.

More shortcuts

If we missed any of your favorite Siri commands for Apple Music, or for anything else, add them to the comments below. Also, don’t miss our previous Siri and Apple Music shortcut lists. They’ll make your iPhone or iPad faster and more convenient than ever.

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