How do I create a pivot table to show me the number of each item on a list of song titles?

Question

MKay 20

I have a list of songs I have played in Excel. I want to create a simple pivot table to show me how many times I've played each song. Thank you!

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Answer accepted by question author

EmilyS726 234.5K Independent Advisor

Without knowing what your data is like in each column, and type of data, etc, it is really not possible to give you the specific steps/instructions.

Can you share a small sample of the columns (make sure column headers/letters are visible) and a few rows, with any personal information removed?

MKay 20 Reputation points

2026-05-28T15:54:33.2733333+00:00

My song list looks like this:

Thank you!
EmilyS726 234.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-05-28T16:04:32.64+00:00

Thanks. So this should be quite straightforward.

In the ribbon, choose Insert > Pivot table. Select the range of the data source, then select the cell where you want to insert your pivot table, if you don't select this one, by default it will be created in a new sheet.

Then drag the Song item to Rows, and drag it again to Values, it should by default use "count". And there you have it.
MKay 20 Reputation points

2026-05-28T16:45:40.2033333+00:00

It worked. Thank you so much!

1 additional answer

MKay 20 Reputation points

2026-05-28T15:54:33.2733333+00:00

My song list looks like this:

Thank you!
EmilyS726 234.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-05-28T16:04:32.64+00:00

Thanks. So this should be quite straightforward.

In the ribbon, choose Insert > Pivot table. Select the range of the data source, then select the cell where you want to insert your pivot table, if you don't select this one, by default it will be created in a new sheet.

Then drag the Song item to Rows, and drag it again to Values, it should by default use "count". And there you have it.
MKay 20 Reputation points

2026-05-28T16:45:40.2033333+00:00

It worked. Thank you so much!

Answer 1

Use a PivotTable that counts how many times each song title appears.

Make sure the song list is in a single column with a header, for example:
- A1: Song Title
- A2:A1000: each played song title (one per row).
Click any cell inside this list.
On the ribbon, select Insert > PivotTable.
In the Create PivotTable dialog:
- Confirm the correct table/range is selected.
- Choose New Worksheet (or Existing Worksheet and pick a cell).
- Select OK.
In the PivotTable Fields pane:
- Drag Song Title to the Rows area.
- Drag Song Title again to the Values area.
Excel will usually show Count of Song Title in Values, which is the number of times each song appears (i.e., how many times it was played). If it shows Sum or something else, click the drop-down on that field in Values, choose Value Field Settings, and set it to Count.

The PivotTable will now list each unique song title with the count of plays.

References: