We all know those people who when they like a song they listen to it ad nauseam. The problem comes when that person lives with you and you don’t have so much patience or that song is not to your liking. The good news is that if in your home you use devices with Alexa to play music, this has a solution. Today we explain how you can block any song, artist or playlist so that Alexa never plays it again .
Block songs with Alexa using your voice
One of the main functions that Amazon smart devices are commonly used for is to play music. And, for a long time, we have the possibility of teaching Alexa our tastes so that it plays songs that resemble them. How can we do this? Easy, using the “I like” or “I don’t like” commands . When playing a song we have the possibility to invoke the Amazon assistant to say “Alexa, I like this song” or “Alexa, I do not like this song”. Over time the assistant will play similar songs if they are to your liking and, on the contrary, if you dislike a song, it will try not to play it again.
The main drawback of this option is that it is not a completely effective solution . It is true that if you find yourself on a playlist, the wizard will probably skip that title next time. But, if he’s on different lists, he may replay it and have to re-signal your dislike to him several times until he finally “takes it off the map” for you. But don’t worry, this has a solution and is exactly what we are explaining to you now.
Block songs using Alexa routines
Something important that you should know before proceeding further is that this process will only work if you use the Amazon Music system to play songs. If in your case you use others such as Spotify, you will have to go to the configuration of these applications to try to find some music restriction option.
If you have a smart device from Amazon and you did not know the routines section , you have just found one of the best functions of these devices. These are conditional actions that trigger other actions, that is, if we perform a specific command with Alexa, it will trigger another or other chain actions. You may know this type of application actions such as the famous IFTTT or If This Then That. By configuring the necessary settings in the routines section, now we will see how, you can block songs, artists or complete playlists .
The first thing you should do, although if you have devices with Alexa you should have already done this first step, is to install the Alexa application on your phone. From this app you can control all the settings related to the assistant, remotely control your devices with Alexa or even invoke it to request any action. Then you will have to go to the routines section that you will find in the menu of the three lines in the lower right part of your screen. This is where all the routines that we create with the wizard will be stored and where we can reproduce or edit them.
To create a new routine you just have to click on the plus icon in the upper right corner. Here, as you may be seeing, we have the conditional function of “when this happens, do that”. First we introduce the name of the routine that will simply be used to identify it within our list, nothing more. We recommend that you make something clear, if you intend to create many actions, such as “Block” followed by the name of the song.
After this, you need to create the trigger action . Click on the “When” option, select “Voice” to make it an actionable setting after a voice command and write word by word what you usually or usually say to request the assistant to reproduce it. An example could be “Alexa, play La Jeepeta”. It is important that you write exactly the command you use because if you vary any word, the routine will not execute correctly.
Now we have to create the action that Alexa will perform after our voice command . For this, click on “Add action”, select “Alexa says” and enter the custom setting. What we write in this section will be the answer that the assistant will give us when we ask to play that song. You can be more classic by opting for a simple “No” or “I can’t reproduce it”, or give free rein to your imagination as you can see in the example that we have made.
Finally, we have to choose the team with Alexa in which this routine will be effective . Click on “Select device” and choose the option you prefer from the list. Our recommendation is that you select the option “The device you are talking to” so that whatever equipment is used, the routine is active.
As we mentioned a few lines ago, you can do the same with songs, singers, playlists or even music styles. You only need to register the correct command and its possible variations so that there is no hole in which that song that you are tired of listening to sound again through your speakers.