How do I connect Alexa to Spotify, Apple Music or Deezer? Does Alexa read e-books out loud? What is Song ID and how do I pair Echo devices for stereo sound? The most important tips and tricks for music with Alexa can be found in this guide.
Alexa came onto the market for the first time in 2015 with the smart speaker Echo. It makes sense that playing music quickly became the core task of Amazon’s language assistant. Since then, voice AI has learned a lot and is now integrated into various devices, but music playback is still one of the most popular features. No wonder, because the current Echo 4 (test) also delivers a very good sound experience at a comparatively low price.
In this article, we’ll show Alexa’s best music features, give tips on media control and explain how to feed the various Echo speakers with your favorite music services.
If you have no experience with Alexa or are looking for additional functions, you should take a look at our Alexa Guide. There we explain how you can set up Alexa on smartphones and Echo devices, use multiroom and routines, send messages, make calls and control other smart home devices using voice commands.
Connect Alexa to Spotify, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Deezer or TuneIn
Open the Alexa app, tap on “More” and select the settings. Scroll down a bit and open “Music and Podcasts”. The standard service is set up here, i.e. the music provider that Alexa accesses first.
You can easily have Spotify playlists played by Alexa by voice command. | Image: Spotify
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Tap on the plus sign next to “Connect new service” and select one of the available services. In Germany are currently Amazon Music (Prime Music oder Amazon Music Unlimited), Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music and TuneIn available.
On the next screen you activate the chosen skill and you will then be redirected to the website of the provider. Log in and connect the user account with the Alexa app.
If your favorite service is activated, tap on “Standard Services”. Two services can be selected here: One for standard music playback (“Alexa, play music”) and one for artist and genre stations (“Alexa, play a rock station” / “Alexa, play music by Bruno Mars”).
who YouTube Music can only stream the service from the smartphone to Echo devices and control playback in the app. There are also various online radios and podcast stations for every taste in the Alexa Skill Store.
Alexa voice commands for music playback
- “Alexa, play music.”
Random playback via the standard service - “Alexa, play music from XY.”
Random playback of an artist station via the standard service - “Alexa, play rock music.”
Random playback of a genre station via the standard service - “Alexa, pause” / “Alexa, pause the music.”
Stop music playback - “Alexa, play” / “Alexa, continue.”
Resume paused music playback - “Alexa, rewind / fast forward ten seconds.”
Fast forward and rewind during a song - “Alexa, activate / deactivate random playback.”
Control random playback - “Alexa, quieter / louder.”
“Alexa, volume XY (number between 1 and 10).”
Adjust volume - “Alexa, stop playback after XY minutes / hours.”
Set sleep timer
Alexa Music Tips: Using Amazon Music Correctly – All Functions
Although Amazon allows streaming services from various providers on its Echo devices, its own service Amazon Music (Amazon-Link), however, receives special treatment. Alexa has more music functions there than on Spotify or Deezer.
The new Echo 4 has two tweeters and a neodymium woofer for optimal surround sound. | Image: Amazon
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Playlists are the be-all and end-all of any good streaming service. There is a suitable soundtrack for almost all moods and activities. Alexa helps on Amazon Music to find the right playlist or to create new playlists.
If a song you like is currently playing, simply ask Alexa what its name is or add it to a playlist using a voice command. The smart assistant also automatically compiles music according to your taste. For example, it remembers which music was played and when. The songs from last Saturday can be called up again or Alexa plays tracks that you have not heard for a long time.
Last updated on February 13th, 2021 / Affiliate Links / Images from the Amazon Product Advertising API / Price includes VAT, plus shipping costs
Another exclusive feature from Amazon Music is Song ID. If the function is active, Alexa gives the title and artist before each song before playing the song. This comes in handy when you’re looking for new music and checking out playlists of songs you don’t know. Echo Show owners can look forward to an integrated karaoke mode. With many songs, the lyrics are shown dynamically on the display and match the song history.
Alexa voice commands for Amazon Music
Create, select or edit playlists:
- “Alexa, create a playlist.”
- “Alexa, put this song on my playlist XY.”
- “Alexa, play my playlist XY.”
- “Alexa, find a playlist with 80s hits.”
- “Alexa, play something happy from Michael Jackson.”
- “Alexa, play songs I heard last Saturday.”
- “Alexa, play music that I haven’t heard in a while.”
- “Alexa, play music for rainy days.”
- “Alexa, play music similar to Madison Beer.”
Special functions:
- “Alexa, what’s the name of this song?”
- “Alexa, activate song ID.”
- “Alexa, play this song again.”
- “Alexa, I don’t like this song.”
Alexa will skip the song in the future - “Alexa, I like this song.”
Helps Alexa recognize music tastes
Stereo sound with Alexa: How to connect multiple Echo devices
The smart speakers from Amazon already have a very good sound. If you want to get even more out of your echoes, you can connect them and activate the stereo sound mode.
If you have several echoes, you can combine them and get even more sound out of the balls. | Image: Amazon
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To do this, go to “Devices” in the Alexa app and select one of the Echo speakers that you want to connect. For optimal sound, the devices should be about two to three meters apart. Scroll down and tap under the heading “Connected Devices” on “Stereo pair / subwoofer”. Now the app shows all available echoes. Tap on the devices you want to pair one by one.
If you have several Echo devices in the apartment, you can use Multiroom function Listen to music through all speakers at the same time. We explain how to do this in the Alexa guide.
How to connect Alexa to external Bluetooth speakers
The coupling with external Bluetooth speakers and subwoofers works in a similar way. Opens the device settings and selects the Echo device to be connected. Tap on “Bluetooth Devices”. Puts the external loudspeaker into pairing mode and taps on “Connect new device” in the app.
After the pairing process, Alexa uses the external speaker as a playback device. If you want to listen to music on the Echo device again, go to the device settings for the connected devices on speakers and tap on “Change”. Tick the Bluetooth on integrated loudspeaker and tap on “Save”.
Alexa voice commands for speaker pairing
- “Alexa, connect / disconnect my speaker.”
Alexa: Use music as an alarm clock
According to reports, a new Echo device for sleep diagnosis is being planned. With the Echo Dot 4 with clock, Amazon already has an Alexa speaker for the bedroom on offer. The subtle LED display shows the time, alarm clock and timer. Beeps can either be turned off or slumbered with a light touch.
Last update on 01/23/2021 / Affiliate Links / Images from the Amazon Product Advertising API / Price includes VAT, plus shipping costs
If you don’t want to be woken up by an annoying ring, use Alexa as a radio alarm clock. Select the desired song, playlist or genre by voice command, then enter the time and the day begins with your favorite music.
Alexa voice commands for the music alarm clock:
- “Alexa, wake me up Monday through Friday with the XY playlist at six in the morning.”
- “Alexa, wake me up on Monday at seven in the morning with Metallica’s Enter Sandman song.”
- “Alexa, delete / change my alarm clock.”
Have Alexa read audiobooks – this is how it works
In addition to music playback, Alexa has other audio features. Prime subscribers, for example, have the Prime Reading eBook service. In addition, Amazon offers the paid subscription service Kindle Unlimited and operates the Kindle eBook shop.
Last updated on February 13th, 2021 / Affiliate Links / Images from the Amazon Product Advertising API / Price includes VAT, plus shipping costs
Alexa reads books that you borrow or buy from the various eBook services via the Echo speakers or the smartphone app. The prerequisite is that the book in question supports the text-to-speech function. You can usually find this information in the respective product information.
If you take out an Audible subscription on Amazon, you can play your audiobooks through an Alexa-enabled speaker. Open the Alexa app and go to the playback menu. In addition to the music and radio libraries, the Audible and Kindle eBook collections are also located there. Tap on the desired eBook or audio book and then select a playback device. You can also use your voice to control playback with the following voice commands.
Alexa voice commands for eBooks and audiobooks
- “Alexa, read my eBook / audio book XY.”
- “Alexa, pause / continue.”
- “Alexa, quieter / louder”
- “Alexa, volume (number between 1 and 10)
- “Alexa, read slower / faster.”
- “Alexa, continue” (next eBook / audio book from the library)
- “Alexa, next / previous chapter”
- “Alexa, read chapter XY.”
- “Alexa, set a sleep timer for XY minutes / hours.”
Alexa: Funny voice commands and Easter eggs for music lovers
At the end there are a few musical Easter Eggs to try out. This will test Alexa’s musical talent and expertise. Have fun!
- “Alexa, give me a beat.”
- “Alexa, sing something to me.”
- „Alexa, sing Oh Tannenbaum.“
- “Alexa, yodel mal.”
- “Alexa, play dog music.”
- “Alexa, play cat music.”
- “Alexa, 99 Balloons.”
- “Alexa, how does Seattle smell?”
- “Alexa, who’s bad? (Alexa, who is bad?) “
- “Alexa, who is the walrus?”
Cover picture & source: Amazon
Read more about Alexa:
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Alexa music commands: Connect Spotify, stereo sound & more was last modified: February 13th, 2021 by
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