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We’ve all been there - you hear a song on the radio or while you’re out and about, and while you could swear you know it, you just can’t quite remember what it is or who it’s by. Well, as luck would have it, tech can help.
Whether you’re hoping to add something impromptu to your favouriteSpotifyPlaylist you just can’t go another minute without resolving the question in your head, these quick steps can help you figure out what any song is.
How to find a song by humming it
Google search is getting better all the time and the clever bods over at Google clearly understand how annoying it is to forget the name of a song. Even more so when you’ve got it stuck in your head on repeat but can’t remember where you heard it.
There’s a clever “hum to search” feature which is available via the Google App andGoogle Assistanton yourAndroid phonewhich lets you hum, whistle or sing the song in question to get the answers you need.
To use Google to find the song follow these steps:
If you don’t have Google Assistant set up that way, open up the Google App instead and click the microphone button then ask “What’s this song?” and let Google listen.
Get song info automatically with Google
With some modern Android phones runningAndroid 10and above it’s actually possible to get song information automatically without even asking Google.
You do need to turn this setting on though, but then once it’s running you can just open up your phone and you’ll be easily able to see the song info.
To turn these settings on:
This will then set your phone to listen out for songs and give you that information on the fly. You should be able to see the song information on the lock screen, but also in the notification shade. Open notifications and expand them to see more about the song with ease.
Once this setting is activated you’ll also have access to a “Now Playing History” where all the songs your phone has heard are listed. To access that follow the same steps you did to turn this setting on and look for the history under there. Click on a specific song and you can open it in Spotify, YouTube orYouTube Music, as well as share it elsewhere.
Use Amazon Alexa Song ID to find a song name
If you have anAmazon Alexadevice in your home and music is playing that you don’t recognise then there are a couple of options.
If you’re already playing music from Spotify or Amazon Music and you like the song you’re listening to but don’t recognise it then it’s as simple as saying “Alexa, what’s this song?” and the voice assistant will tell you.
you’re able to also activateAlexa’s Song ID featurethough. This is a setting you can turn on which will tell you the name of the song and the artist each time it starts to play. This only works withAmazon Musicbut can be a good way to find out what a song is without any fuss.
To activate this setting simply say “Alexa, turn on song ID” and it’ll be done.
Find a song name with your iPhone
If you use anApple iPhonethen you can use that to find the song you’re listening to as well.Apple’s Control Centregives you access to be able to do this.
This is basically putting Shazam into your Control Centre for easy access. To do this follow these steps:
Use Siri to identify a song
If you’re an Apple user then there is more than one way to identify a song, as you also have access to Siri.
On both iPhone and iPad, you’re able to use Siri to work out what a song is with a simple command:
Use Shazam to identify a song on desktop
Shazam used to be the go-to app for finding out what a song is. you may still download it on bothAndroidandiOS devices. But since it’s mostly been integrated into iPhones anyway, this might not be as worthwhile as it used to be.
However, you may use theShazam Chrome pluginto find out what a song is when you hear it playing while you’re surfing the web. If you’re watching a film on Netflix or binging some YouTube videos in a browser and hear a song you can’t identify then Shazam can come to the rescue.
Simply down the plugin and use it whenever you need to. Easy.
