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Track with gaps - how to sort them out for iTunes

Just about every album I purchase these days has a track with an extra bit of music tacked on the end, usually the last track with a massive silent gap in between. Why do they do it? Is this meant to be some idea of a special hidden track? Or is it just meant to annoy people?

I use iTunes to organise my music and get it onto my iPod and I have a way of dealing with the tracks with gaps situation.

Find the .mp3/.m4a file and make a copy - if your doing this in your iTunes directory then it should show up in your library of tunes instantly - if not then use file>add to library.

Now you have two tracks - change the name of one of them - I add "- extra track" on the title.

Next write down the time that the first part of the song stops and the time the second part starts:
I am using Kasabians U boat as an example.
Total track length: 10:50
1st part stops at: 4:06
2nd part starts at: 7:06
iTunes track highlighted


Highlight the track you renamed and use file>get info.
iTunes info panel

In the options tab change the start time to the time of the 2nd part start - in our example 7:06 - click OK. That's that one done.
change the stop time in iTunes
Highlight the normal track and use file>get info. In the options tab change the stop time to the time of the 1st part stops - in our example 4:06.
change the start time in iTunes

When you transfer the tracks to your iPod it will keep these settings for each track! Meaning that you have no excuse to get off the rowing machine any more...

That's 3 minutes of my life saved every time I listen to U Boat.

Posted by Simon at March 2, 2005 1:18 PM

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Comments

1 June 2, 2005 11:01 PM Seba

I dont understand how do you make the two songs become one. I would really appreciate if you could explain that to me.

Thanks you very much. Sebastian.

2 June 2, 2005 11:30 PM Simon Cox

No Sebastian - It's making one track become two digital tracks and you do that by duplicating the file and then chopping off the last part of the first one and the first part of the second file.

To join tracks together is another tutorial that I have yet to write!