How to Crossfade Songs in iTunes

Remove silent gaps between songs

Young man wearing huge headphones and wool hat
Greg Samborski / Getty Images
by Mark Harris
Brings music expertise, including a background as a music producer and composer, to digital music articles.
Updated September 27, 2018

While listening to your music library in iTunes, do you get annoyed by gaps of silence between songs? There's an easy fix: crossfading. 

What Is Crossfading?

Crossfading involves slowly decreasing the volume of one song and increasing the volume of the next at the same time. This overlap creates a smooth transition between the two songs and enhances your listening experience. If you like listening to continuous, nonstop music, then mix like a DJ and use crossfading. It takes just a couple minutes to configure.

Setting Up Crossfading

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To crossfade songs in iTunes on the Mac:

  1. Click the iTunes menu

  2. Choose Preferences.

    Screenshot of iTunes Preferences menu item in the iTunes menu

  3. Click on the Playback icon to see the option for crossfading.

  4. Put a check in the box next to the Crossfade Songs option. Move the slider bar to adjust the number of seconds that crossfading should occur between songs; the default is six seconds.

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

  5. When done, click the OK button to exit the preferences menu.

In iTunes on Windows:

  • The steps are the same, but Preferences for iTunes on Windows is under the Edit menu.