As you probably know, you can find just about anything you want to watch online these days. And when it comes to music, you can head to YouTube to watch anything from old music videos to high definition full concert videos. But to do so, most people have to open their web browser and navigate to the YouTube website and search for their favorite music.
But if you are frequently listening to music on YouTube, you may want to check out the free YouTube Music desktop app that will let you stream your music without using the YouTube website. This way you use the app like your own personal music player and have greater control over things such as your playlists, library and suggested music. It will also let you watch videos in addition to listening to audio.
To begin, you can go to the GitHub website and download the free YouTube Music desktop app. One thing you will notice is that there are several versions of the app that are available to download. But if you are using Windows, you can either download the installable version that will install the app and also add it to your programs. Then there is a standalone version where you just download a single executable file and double click it whenever you want to run the YouTube Music desktop app. You can also create a shortcut to the executable if you want to pin it to your taskbar or start menu etc.
The first time you run the YouTube app, you might be asked if you want to your network to allow it to access to the app which you can say yes to.
Once you have the YouTube Music app open, you will have a Home, Explore, Library and Sign in option on the left. Once you sign in, the Sign in option will change to an Upgrade option in case you want to upgrade to YouTube Premium.
From the Home section, you can do things such as find suggested artists, albums and songs. There will also be some genres you can select from as well as a search box.
The Explore section is similar to the Home section but has some different types of suggestions as well as new videos and trending music.
The Library section can only be used once you sign into your YouTube\Google account. Once you are signed in, you can see any playlists, songs, albums, artists or podcasts you have added to your library. If you are looking for a free app that is specifically designed for podcasts, then you may want to check out FluentCast.
To find a song, album or artist, you can use the search box to type in what you are looking for. You should then be shown results and the formats that are available for your results
To add an album or song etc. to your library, simply click on the three vertical dots next to that item and choose Save to library. You can also add it to your queue, save it to one of your playlists, add it to your liked songs and even share it with others.
Another nice feature is the Lyrics section that can be viewed when playing a song. This feature might not be available for all songs but should be for most of them. The Related section is another nice feature that will show you music from artists that YouTube has determined are similar to what you are currently listening to.
When playing music, you will also have several controls to go to the next song, back a song, shuffle, repeat and volume. You can even like or dislike a video from here.
As you can see, the free YouTube Music desktop app packs a lot of features and makes it easy to find and listen to your favorite music.
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