Cleaning up my music library - help!

[Meticulous2006]

I am relatively new to the iPod and iTunes. I am using iPod Touch 32GB, 4th Generation (Model MC544HN/A). I have about 4150 songs in my iTunes library, of which about 1000 songs are in diffrent playlists. The software on my Mac and iPod has been updated to the latest version.

My issue is as follows: Simply stated, I would like to only listen to songs that are NOT in any playlist and then decide if I want to keep that song or to delete it totally, including from my library. I would ideally like to do all this from my iPod only since I dont have the time to sit with my Mac for hours listening to the music just for cleaning it up!
I have time and inclination to listen to music while I am on the move, at the airport, in a car, train station, waiting at doctors office etc and thats when I can listen and decide to keep or delete a song.

I have created a smart playlist, titled, "To Keep or Delete" which has all the numbers (about 3000) which are indeed NOT in any playlist. However, the problem is that I cannot delete the song from this smart playlist. I understand that even if I delete the songs from a normal playlist from an iPod, it only deletes it from the playlist and NOT from the library. However, if I can delete it from the Smart Playlist, then at least those songs will again be songs that are again not in any playlist and I can sync the iPod with my Mac and then simply delete from the library those songs.

A friend suggested to simply listen to the music in the Songs tab, and then to delete the songs from there; this is possible but then in this method I will end up listening to music which I have already categorized in some playlist and then I will also have to remember what song I last heard (yesterday or a week ago depending on my time availaibility) and then continue from there! Rather cumbersome system from a company that makes such user freindly products!

 

[elon9669]

While listening to your portable music, use the ratings, and mark the ones to delete 1 star for example (use a rating you don't regularly use to find the tracks after you have rated a lot of items.

after syncing your ipod to the computer, the new ratings will show up on the computer.
shift click on the tracks that you want to delete, and press (on a mac) option, command, and delete keys at the same time. There's a similar key command for windows, I just don't know it.

the computer will confirm you want to actually do what you typed, and you will need to confirm with the new button that appears on the screen.

If you use a rating that's not currently used in your library, it will be easier to find the rating associated for the deleting process after you reconnect your ipod.
Hope this makes sense. Post here if it worked.

 

[prayersoldier]

Hello friend
On my iPad in the music playlist library if I tap any song on the RH end I want to delete from the playlist then slide it to the right, I then get a delete box. When I tap this the relevant song is deleted from the playlist. Hope that helps. I had tried to find out how to do this but couldn't. So I prayed and discovered the answer 'by accident!'

 

[Kaitokomauri]

I'd also use the ratings system suggested by elon9662 as you cannot set your iPod to only play tracks which are outside of playlists.