I can get it to stream via internet services but dont see a way to tell Alexa to play from my music library.
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No. Alexa does not support local Sonos libraries at this time, but the CEO has stated it is something they are looking into. You can initiate play from the Sonos app and then use Alexa for controls like skip, previous, pause, resume, control volume, and even ask "what's playing on (room name)".
It's alpha software. Enough functionality to satisfy marketing, but missing obvious features like play from the Sonos library. Seriously, what was the point of Sonos even releasing it without library functionality?
Can you name another smart speaker that can natively play your local library?
No, but nor I was able to name the Apple iPhone in 2005. I have complete confidence in the developers and QA testers at Sonos and Amazon to write / test the necessary software to integrate Alexa with the Sonos library; it's only a matter of when.
This is a well discussed topic, so let me add my two cents. This is long - if you're interested in how I was able to play my local songs and playlists via Alexa, read on. If you don't like long posts...keep reading.
Yes, you read that right, but it was not without risks and in the end, more complex to enunciate properly to have Alexa play the songs I wanted. In short, it was far easier and much more convenient to use the app than tell Alexa what to do.
To make this work, I downloaded an open source API from github (thanks to rgraciano and jishi), provisioned a macbook air as a node.js server to host the API, and followed the directions posted on github. I also had to create the Alexa skill, open my home network to AWS where my skill was running. It did work and had a temporary cool factor.
The finer points:
1. Getting this to work would require Sonos accessing your local network, files, playlists, etc. from the cloud. Creating a security risk that if compromised, hackers could potentially have access to all your files, computers, smart TV's, smart home controls, etc. I cannot imagine Sonos would want that liability and who really wants to take the risk.
2. A workaround to above might be to upload and store all of your music in the cloud, somewhere. Maybe a sonos-cloud where they can control the security risks and the entire platform. After all, we do want a quality solution after the expense of the Sonos gear. What then to do with itunes syncing music on the phone, etc.? I don't want to upload a gazillion songs with even the fastest internet service, only to keep songs somewhere else for other means. Perhaps Apple or Amazon and Sonos can strike a deal here.
3. Every time I created a playlist, I had to update the Alexa skill to interpret what I was saying. If I changed my room names, I had to update the Alexa skill with new room names. I'm sure these items and others like them could be overcome with enough resources and R&D dollars.
Once I had everything working, and only then, could I have a deep appreciation for the work that goes into making Alexa and "voice-user interfaces" (google it) actually work. I spent several hours over multiple days to get this tuned to be remotely usable. Far more complex than I initially thought it should be.
I totally get the cool factor, but to me using voice to control my local music was more effort, hassle and far less secure than using the app. Imagine how silly I sounded saying, "Alexa, ask sonos to play playlist (PLAYLIST NAME) in the room (KITCHEN)" a dozen times when I wasn't sure what I wanted.
Easier and more discrete to just drag and drop songs into the queue and play.
Yes, you read that right, but it was not without risks and in the end, more complex to enunciate properly to have Alexa play the songs I wanted. In short, it was far easier and much more convenient to use the app than tell Alexa what to do.
To make this work, I downloaded an open source API from github (thanks to rgraciano and jishi), provisioned a macbook air as a node.js server to host the API, and followed the directions posted on github. I also had to create the Alexa skill, open my home network to AWS where my skill was running. It did work and had a temporary cool factor.
The finer points:
1. Getting this to work would require Sonos accessing your local network, files, playlists, etc. from the cloud. Creating a security risk that if compromised, hackers could potentially have access to all your files, computers, smart TV's, smart home controls, etc. I cannot imagine Sonos would want that liability and who really wants to take the risk.
2. A workaround to above might be to upload and store all of your music in the cloud, somewhere. Maybe a sonos-cloud where they can control the security risks and the entire platform. After all, we do want a quality solution after the expense of the Sonos gear. What then to do with itunes syncing music on the phone, etc.? I don't want to upload a gazillion songs with even the fastest internet service, only to keep songs somewhere else for other means. Perhaps Apple or Amazon and Sonos can strike a deal here.
3. Every time I created a playlist, I had to update the Alexa skill to interpret what I was saying. If I changed my room names, I had to update the Alexa skill with new room names. I'm sure these items and others like them could be overcome with enough resources and R&D dollars.
Once I had everything working, and only then, could I have a deep appreciation for the work that goes into making Alexa and "voice-user interfaces" (google it) actually work. I spent several hours over multiple days to get this tuned to be remotely usable. Far more complex than I initially thought it should be.
I totally get the cool factor, but to me using voice to control my local music was more effort, hassle and far less secure than using the app. Imagine how silly I sounded saying, "Alexa, ask sonos to play playlist (PLAYLIST NAME) in the room (KITCHEN)" a dozen times when I wasn't sure what I wanted.
Easier and more discrete to just drag and drop songs into the queue and play.
That's all well and good for you able-bodied folks but Alex is wonderful for us cripples (who can't use the app!)!
what are the commands to play the existing music which is in the Sono's queue , I can get it to pause whats playing and increase the volume , skip track etc but if I pause it when I try to unpause it Alexa loads up a radio station lol
"Alexa, resume music in the family room" should work.
Try "Alexa, resume".
Bingo !! , many thanks for your help , really annoying it cannot load up a Sono's playlist
Here's a list of available commands.
https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3514?language=en_US
https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3514?language=en_US
Actually that for some reason ‘reaume’ Continued playing the radio on the echo and not the music that was paused from Sonos
Right. If you had something playing on the echo previously, you'll need to provide a 'target' so Alexa knows what stream you want to resume. Personally, I got myself into the habit of always using a target just to make sure. Unless I'm talking to a Beam or Sonos One.
Ok , might sound silly but how do I know what the target speaker is called ? In Sonos it’s called office (but the echo is also called office) so how do I determine which office to resume ??
You should rename one of them. My personal recommendation is to rename the echo to "office echo". Not the best name, but you probably won't be using the office echo as a target for music anyway.
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