Paul W. Abrahams wrote:

This is a little OT but not really, since I'd be using Linux tools for the job.

I want to convert some of my many classical CDs to MP3 format. The problem is how to translate the usual classical music descriptors to the Artist/Song/Album descriptors usually used for MP3 files. Are there any usual conventions for this?

Not that I know of. What I do know, is that converting classical CDs require quite some editing of the file names. Further, I use a fixed directory structure: <composer>/<kind>/<tracks>.mp3. So for example: WA_Mozart/ Piano_Concertos/ Concerto_01_In_F_Maj-I-Allegro.mp3 Concerto_01_In_F_Maj-II-Andante.mp3 Concerto_01_In_F_Maj-III-Rondo.mp3 ... Concerto_27_In_B_Flat_Maj-I-Allegro.mp3 Concerto_27_In_B_Flat_Maj-II-Larghetto.mp3 Concerto_27_In_B_Flat_Maj-III-Allegro.mp3 Symphonies/ ... Violin_Concertos/ ... No.41_In_C_KV551_Jupiter-1-Allegro_Vivace.mp3 No.41_In_C_KV551_Jupiter-2-Andante_Cantabile.mp3 No.41_In_C_KV551_Jupiter-3-Menuetto.mp3 No.41_In_C_KV551_Jupiter-4-Molto_Allegro.mp3 One rule that I apply when making filenames: the list order (as in `ls') must be the correct order. This makes selection for playing in e.g. xmms easier. As for the mp3 tag info, I usally accept what I receive from cddb: % mp3info No.41_In_C_KV551_Jupiter-4-Molto_Allegro.mp3 File: No.41_In_C_KV551_Jupiter-4-Molto_Allegro.mp3 Title: No. 41 in C, K. 551 'Jupiter' Track: Artist: Sir Neville Marriner, Academy Album: Mozart: The Last 5 Symphonies Year: 2000 Comment: gen by WSPse-MP3c 0.26 [12/00] Genre: Classical [32]

Thanks for any help (and suggestions for the best tool).

I've used `mp3c', which I usally start on a virtual console (so X can crash without interrupting the ripping/encoding of CDs). Have a look a: http://mp3c.wspse.de/ The user interface takes a bit getting used to, but after that it's quite adequate. Paul.