Rating the songs in your iTunes library can be very useful for helping to create playlists and other sorting functions. However, if you have a lot of music, rating songs can be a chore. The iPhone can help get the job done.

You may already know it’s possible to rate songs on your iPhone. If not, here’s a quick reminder how. While playing a song, tap on the list view in the top right corner and you’ll see a row of 5 dots across the top. Simply choose your rating by counting from left to right. Tap once, and the stars will appear.

Now, to really get serious about it, you’ll want to create a smart playlist featuring only unrated music. In iTunes, create a new smart playlist under the “File” menu option, then match the categories shown in the picture below. It’s a very simple playlist.

I’ve chosen to keep the list small with only 30 songs, but you can choose as many as you want. Once the playlist is created, you’ll need to sync it to your iPhone. Under your iPhone tab in iTunes, make sure you go to “Music” and check the box next to the playlist for syncing. Now you can rate your songs whenever your bored waiting at a dentist’s office or riding the train. The next time you sync your iPhone with your iTunes library, the ratings will be transferred from the iPhone to your library. iPhone, we bow to you.

For a complete list of iPhone tips and tricks, click here.