How to Crossfade Songs in iTunes

Remove those silent gaps between songs.

By
Mark Harris
Writer
Mark Harris is a former writer for Lifewire who wrote about the digital music scene and streaming music services in an easy to understand, no-nonsense manner.
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Mark Harris
Updated January 07, 2020

The music need not end thanks to a little known iTunes feature called crossfading—the perfect solution for anyone who's ever been annoyed by gaps between songs.

What Is Crossfading?

Crossfading refers to the overlapping of the end of one track with the beginning of the next one. As the first track fades out and and the next one fades in, listeners enjoy a smooth, gapless transition between songs. If you like listening to continuous, nonstop music—maybe during exercise or intense concentration—then crossfading is a good way to keep you in the zone. It only takes a few second to configure.

How to Set Up Crossfading

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  1. Open iTunes and select iTunes from the menu bar.

  2. Select Preferences.

    If you're on a Windows device this option will be found under the Edit menu.

    Screenshot of iTunes Preferences menu item in the iTunes menu

  3. Select the Playback icon from the top menu bar.

  4. Select the Crossfade Songs checkbox. Now move the slider bar to adjust the duration of the crossfade between songs. The default length is six seconds.

    Screenshot of Playback preferences window in iTunes for Mac, highlighting Crossfade Songs checkbox and OK button

  5. When finished, select OK to exit the preferences menu.