How can I find out what music is playing?
Knowing the name and artist of a song you hear on the radio, TV, or in a public place can be incredibly useful. Whether you hear a catchy song you want to add to your playlist or a nostalgic tune you haven’t heard in years, identifying what music is playing lets you instantly connect with it. With music recognition technology like Shazam or SoundHound, it’s now easier than ever to discover music and satisfy your curiosity. Simply use your smartphone to “Shazam” the song, and you’ll have the artist and track info within seconds.
Identifying an unfamiliar song lets you explore new music and expand your musical tastes. You may chance upon a great new artist to follow or be reminded of a favorite old song you’d forgotten about. Some music fans even make a game of trying to name tunes. So if you hear something catchy when you’re out and about or intrigued by a song in a commercial or movie, you no longer have to be left wondering – just use song identification to unlock the name and satisfy your curiosity.
Listening to the Radio
One of the most straightforward ways to identify a song you heard on the radio is to call the radio station and ask them. Most radio stations keep track of their playlists and song histories either through automated systems or by having DJs log the tracks they play. When you call, explain the approximate time you heard the song, the station you were listening to, and any details you remember about the song or artist. This allows the radio staff to look up the song in their logs and provide you with the title and artist. Radiostations want to engage with listeners and are usually happy to help identify mystery tracks from their broadcast. Just make sure to call during business hours rather than late at night or early morning when fewer staff may be available.
If calling doesn’t work, you can also check the radio station’s website, as many stations post their recent playlists online. However, this may require some scrubbing to try and match the timeframe when you heard the song. Calling the station directly gives you the benefit of the staff looking up the exact time period for you.
Using SoundHound or Shazam
SoundHound and Shazam are popular apps for identifying songs that are playing around you. The apps work by using a smartphone or tablet’s microphone to listen to a song and compare the acoustic fingerprint against a database of millions of songs. Here’s how to use the apps:
Download the SoundHound or Shazam app on your iOS or Android device. Open the app and allow it to access your microphone when prompted. Hold your phone near the music source to capture a clear audio sample. The app will begin listening and analyzing the song. Typically within seconds, SoundHound or Shazam will identify the song title and artist. The apps can identify songs played on the radio, TV, film soundtracks, video games, and more.
The technology behind song identification apps is sophisticated. As noted in an article on How Shazam Works, the apps break down songs into short segments, extract identifying characteristics about each segment, and compare to a vast database to find a match. Factors like tempo, pitch, rhythm, and more enable the apps to pinpoint songs with a high degree of accuracy.
Overall, SoundHound and Shazam provide a quick and convenient way to satisfy curiosity about unknown songs. Simply open the app and let it listen to identify a song within seconds.
Using Google Assistant or Siri
One of the easiest ways to identify a song is by using the built-in voice assistants Google Assistant or Siri. Both allow you to use a simple voice command to ask the assistant to listen to the song playing and tell you what it is.
To use Google Assistant, simply say “Hey Google, what’s this song?” and then let it listen for 10-15 seconds while the song plays. Google will analyze the tune and lyrics and provide song matches from its database. You can then select the correct song from the list provided. According to Google’s blog, you can hum, whistle or sing the tune to help Assistant identify the song https://blog.google/products/search/hum-to-search/.
Similarly, with Siri on your iPhone or iPad, say “Hey Siri, what song is this?” and let it listen to the music playing. Siri will suggest potential song title matches and allow you to confirm the correct one. This feature is powered by Shazam’s music recognition technology according to Apple’s support page https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204990.
The assistants provide a hands-free and convenient way to quickly identify music. However, they work best with clear audio of songs playing out loud, rather than background music or muted songs. They also require an internet connection to match the tune against their song databases.
Checking Closed Captions on TV
Many TV shows and streaming services like Netflix include details about the background music playing in the closed captions. To enable closed captions, go into the settings on your TV or device and turn on the captioning feature. Many streaming services also have a dedicated “Captions” section in their settings.
With captions enabled, song details and lyrics will display in the captions whenever music is playing. The captions often describe the song title and artist name. This allows you to easily identify music while watching your favorite shows without any special apps or devices. According to one Reddit user, “If you ask Siri/Google Now ‘what song is this’ it should say, or you can just use Soundhound or Shazam if the subtitles method doesn’t work.”
Captioning music follows certain formatting standards, like using music note icons (♪) and specifying the mood. As described by DCMP, “Caption lyrics with music icons (♪). Use one music icon at the beginning and end of each caption within a song, but use two music icons at the end of the last caption for a song.” This formatted cue helps viewers identify when music is playing within the captions.
Asking Friends
Another effective way to find out what song is playing is by asking your friends. Your friends have a diverse range of musical tastes and may recognize a song based on just a few seconds of hearing the melody or lyrics. According to this source, music taste is highly influenced by your social circles, so your friends are likely to know the songs you’re hearing. If you can hum, sing, or describe a few lyrics to friends, they may quickly identify the song from their own musical knowledge. With over 450 million active Shazam users as of 2018, chances are your friends use song recognition apps and can pinpoint music easily. Tapping into your friends’ broad musical exposure allows you to quickly crowdsource the name of any song, even if you only know a small snippet of it.
Looking Up Lyrics
One of the most straightforward ways to identify a song is by looking up the lyrics. If you remember a few key lines or phrases from the song, you can search for those lyrics online to find the song title and artist. Sites like AZLyrics and Genius have extensive databases of song lyrics that you can search through.
To search, just type a phrase or some of the lyrics you know into the site’s search bar. Make sure to use unique or distinctive lyrics, not common phrases, for the best results. The site will return potential matches based on your search query. Browse through the options and play audio clips if available until you find the correct song.
Searching by lyrics is one of the most accurate ways to identify an unknown song. As long as you remember a few key lines, you can easily track down the full song title and artist in seconds using lyrics sites. Their powerful search capabilities make looking up lyrics an essential technique for solving song mysteries.
Using Music ID Apps
One of the most popular ways to identify songs is by using music ID apps. Apps like TrackID, Musixmatch, and Shazam allow you to record a short sample of the song and will then tell you the artist, song title, and other info. These apps have large databases of songs to match against.
To use them, simply open the app when you hear a song playing, press the “listen” button, and let it record a few seconds of audio. The app will then display the song title if it finds a match. Apps like Musixmatch also show you the song lyrics so you can sing along.
Music ID apps are available for both iOS and Android devices. Many of them are free to use with optional in-app purchases. They provide a quick and convenient way to satisfy your curiosity when you hear an unfamiliar song. Their song databases include both popular and more obscure tracks across many genres.
Shazaming While Watching Content
A convenient way to identify music playing in TV shows and movies is to use the Shazam app simultaneously while watching the content. Shazam now has functionality to recognize songs playing in TV shows on any channel, with a database of over 10 million tracks according to a report by The Verge. Users can simply open the Shazam app and enable auto Shazam while playing a show or movie. The app will automatically detect and identify songs as they play. This saves you from having to manually trigger a song search each time.
Shazam also partners with studios to get access to pre-release music from upcoming movies and TV shows to build up their detection database. Their technology can identify a song in as little as one second. This allows seamless song recognition while watching content. So using Shazam simultaneously is an easy way to satisfy your curiosity when you hear an unfamiliar song play during a show or movie.
Conclusion
There are a variety of methods available for identifying music that’s playing, whether on the radio, TV, in public, or in other situations. As discussed, smartphone apps like Shazam, SoundHound, and dedicated music ID apps can quickly identify songs based on a short sample. Asking friends, looking up lyrics, or checking closed captions on TV can also help determine what’s playing. On the radio, station websites or call-in requests are options to find song info. Convenient voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant also now have music recognition abilities built-in.
In conclusion, music fans today have more options than ever to satiate their curiosity and find out what they’re listening to. With a bit of effort, or the assistance of technology like AI, it’s easier than ever to identify music and gain valuable info. Whether trying to discover new artists and songs, re-find an old favorite, or just determine where you’ve heard a tune before, there are a variety of effective methods available.