How to Find a Song You Know Nothing About
Use Shazam or MusicID., Record the song with your phone., Hum it., Play the song on a virtual keyboard.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Use Shazam or MusicID.
These are popular apps that analyze sounds and identify songs from their database of recordings.
If you've got Shazam on your phone and hear a song you can't identify and don't know anything about, activate the app and hold it toward the audio source and wait for a result.
Shazam can be used on iPhone, Blackberry, Android and most other mobile devices.
It can also be used on iPads and iPod touches.
MusicID costs a few dollars to put on your iPhone and can also be used on other devices.
These apps typically don't work as well with live performances.
If you're watching a band doing a cover, but you can't quite place it, you'll probably need to use another method to identify the song. -
Step 2: Record the song with your phone.
Even if you can only record a brief clip of the song you like and want to identify, you can upload it to AudioTag to identify the song from its own database when you're back at your computer.
At the very least, you've got a recording of the song that you can use to play for friends or music aficionados and see if they recognize the tune. , On your phone, you can hum the melody into SoundHound, which is available for free.
The app will analyze the melody you sing and give you a list of possible options.
On your computer, Midomi serves the same function.
Both of these apps are typically a lot more effective and contemporary songs.
Trying to remember the name of the song your grandfather used to sing while he worked tends to be more difficult on these apps, and may require other methods.
NameMyTune and WatZatSong are also crowd-sourced options that work basically the same way.
On these websites, you can upload your clip (or yourself trying to sing and describe the song) and other people will get back to you with options. , If you've got an ear for the melody and an elementary knowledge of the keyboard, you can enter the melody into Musipedia or MelodyCatcher to search for the melody.These sites tend to work better for classical wordless music and other types of non-pop music, because they have a slightly different sort of database of material to analyze. -
Step 3: Hum it.
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Step 4: Play the song on a virtual keyboard.
Detailed Guide
These are popular apps that analyze sounds and identify songs from their database of recordings.
If you've got Shazam on your phone and hear a song you can't identify and don't know anything about, activate the app and hold it toward the audio source and wait for a result.
Shazam can be used on iPhone, Blackberry, Android and most other mobile devices.
It can also be used on iPads and iPod touches.
MusicID costs a few dollars to put on your iPhone and can also be used on other devices.
These apps typically don't work as well with live performances.
If you're watching a band doing a cover, but you can't quite place it, you'll probably need to use another method to identify the song.
Even if you can only record a brief clip of the song you like and want to identify, you can upload it to AudioTag to identify the song from its own database when you're back at your computer.
At the very least, you've got a recording of the song that you can use to play for friends or music aficionados and see if they recognize the tune. , On your phone, you can hum the melody into SoundHound, which is available for free.
The app will analyze the melody you sing and give you a list of possible options.
On your computer, Midomi serves the same function.
Both of these apps are typically a lot more effective and contemporary songs.
Trying to remember the name of the song your grandfather used to sing while he worked tends to be more difficult on these apps, and may require other methods.
NameMyTune and WatZatSong are also crowd-sourced options that work basically the same way.
On these websites, you can upload your clip (or yourself trying to sing and describe the song) and other people will get back to you with options. , If you've got an ear for the melody and an elementary knowledge of the keyboard, you can enter the melody into Musipedia or MelodyCatcher to search for the melody.These sites tend to work better for classical wordless music and other types of non-pop music, because they have a slightly different sort of database of material to analyze.
About the Author
Michael Ramirez
Specializes in breaking down complex DIY projects topics into simple steps.
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