I've been looking for different ways to listen to music other than random radio or the latest thing I've downloaded. If you're like me then your mood determines what you want to listen to and luckily there are ways to get your mood involved in your music selection, no matter how you plug into audio.
2. Mood Agent (iOS, Android, Windows, Spotify, Mac, PC)
One of the most widely available mood music programs out there, Mood Agent has five basic moods that can be paired with a track to generate a playlist. While it's not as fine grain a control system as some of the other mood music generators, it's the easiest to pick up and use. And if you don't like the playlist it's a simple matter of picking another track or another mood.
3. Moody (iTunes)
There's a little program called iTunes that some people use to buy and listen to music, and it's got its own mood app (by Crayon Room, not Apple) called Moody. With Moody you can tag music to your own preferences rather than relying on someone else's feelings when they listen to a song, though Moody will do it automatically from their database if you don't want to. We like that it works while shuffling.
4. StereoMood (Web)
Web-based and working off of a single word feeling description or artist instead of a track you supply, StereoMood is a good go-anywhere solution to mood music. We like to use it when we're looking for new stuff or aren't carrying our collection with us. We do sometimes find the playlists provided don't exactly match our moody, but like other programs it's a simple matter to skip a track or switch playlists. As a member you can also tag things with your feeling or activity to get better suggestions. Despite our web-focused use there are some apps based on the StereoMood API if you're looking to take it elsewhere.
5. Musicovery (Web, iOS)
Like StereoMood but with the mood palate of Moody and the options of Habu, Musicovery is a web and iOS application that gives you a colorful grid to play with and direct your moody musical discovery. An artist can also be used to spit out an artist station. Just like picking the songs themselves choosing a mood-based music program is a matter of feeling and taste and Musicovery gives you one of the wider ranges out there to try. The app, which is currently in beta, also opens up your choices to decade and genre.
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I'm a psychotherapist and, where suitable, I will have clients create a playlist of their favorite music in order to lift their mood.
The way it works is to pick a piece of music that matches your mood (for example, depression, grief, anxiety, anger). Then, song by song, shift towards the mood you want to be experiencing (calm, happiness, peace, etc.).
The sequence tells a kind of story that's meaningful for the person and is very a very effective adjunct to talk therapy.
Neat idea, Secret Agent Girl. That sounds very effective.