How to Find the Name of a Song without Knowing the Lyrics

Saffron51

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posted on 6 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Got a tune stuck in your head but can’t remember what it’s called or who made it? At a bar when a catchy song pops on but there are no lyrics for you to Google? Luckily, there are plenty of ways to find the name of song—even if you can’t quickly punch the chorus into a search engine. In this article, we’ll cover all of the reputable resources you can use to get the info you want so you can throw a new track on your favorite Spotify playlist.

Things You Should Know

Use Shazam to identify songs that are playing in the background.
Hum the tune to Google or Midomi and they’ll search the web to find potential matches.
Try describing it on reddit or WatZatSong if an app or search engine can’t help you find the song, and someone will help you out.

Shazam

Shazam is a universal option that works on any platform or phone. If the song is actively playing right now, pull your phone out and quickly download Shazam. Tap the button in the middle of the app and hold the phone up near the speaker if it’s nearby. Shazam will automatically identify the song and artist for you. Shazam is totally free and it’s available for both iOS and Android. Soundhound used to be another alternative to Shazam, but reviews for the app from the past year indicate that it’s not a great option anymore and the company has moved on to other ventures.

Siri

Ask Siri to listen to your song and identify it if you’ve got an iPhone. Apple actually bought Shazam a few years ago, so Siri has the same capabilities as the Shazam app. When a song is playing, simply open Siri and ask her to identify the song that’s playing. It’ll scan the audio You can also add Shazam to the control center on your iPhone or Apple Watch by updating your phone and adding “music recognition” in the control center settings.

MusicID

If you’ve got an iPhone, MusicID is a great Shazam alternative. MusicID works just like Shazam. You tap a button while a song is playing and it pulls up the artist and the name of the song. However, MusicID also has a location-tracking function so that you can remember where you were when you heard the song, and it contains a lot more trivia and info about the song than Shazam has.

Soundhound

Identify songs on the go with the Soundhound mobile app. Hear a song you don’t recognize on the radio, or while you’re waiting in line for a cup of coffee? Pull up the Soundhound app on your phone and tap the orange button. In a matter of seconds, Soundhound will ID the exact song you’re currently listening to.

Google

Hum the tune to a Google browser on your phone or PC. Open Google in your phone and tap the little microphone icon to activate it. Say, “What’s this song?” and then hum the tune that’s stuck in your head for 10-15 seconds. Google will scan through the internet and pull up a list of potential matches based on what you hummed. You can do this in a browser if you have a microphone or webcam, too. If you know any lyrics from the song, you can sing them instead.

Midomi

If you’re at the computer, try singing to Midomi. So long as you’ve got a microphone built into your laptop or PC, you can use Midomi to find your song. Open the website and sing or hum what you can remember of the song. Midomi will search online and pull up a list of potential options. If the song is playing in the background, Midomi will work the exact same way Shazam does.

AudioTag

If you’ve got a link or audio file, upload it to AudioTag for info. If you happen to have a link to a website where the song is playing or a random snippet of an audio file, then go to AudioTag. Click the “upload file” button to submit a sample, or “enter link” to provide a website link. If the title and artist information exist, AudioTag will pull it up! AudioTag also has a database of obscure music videos, info about current radio rotations, and a time machine function to explore old or forgotten tunes.

WatZatSong

WatZatSong is a great option if you want human help. If algorithms and robots aren’t able to automatically identify the song, that doesn’t mean the info doesn’t exist—the file just may be corrupted or it may be too loud in the room for something like Shazam. Post a recording of the song (or of you humming the tune) and post it on WatZatSong. Someone may help you out! People on WatZatSong get a kick out of trying to figure out where obscure songs come from. If you don’t want to upload anything, try posting on reddit’s r/NameThatSong board. Describe as much as you can about the tune and wait for the suggestions to roll in.

Musipedia

If you know any of the notes, Musipedia is like magic. This is a really neat tool—you open a digital piano and then you press the keys with your mouse. Based on the order of the notes, Musipedia will search through sheet music records and audio logs to identify songs that use those notes. This website is pretty old and buggy, so try to be patient. If you get too many results to go through and you know how the song starts, enter the notes at the start of the song and select the option to only scan beginnings. The more notes you enter, the more accurate the results will be. Don’t worry if a few of the notes are incorrect—Musipedia will generally figure it out.

IMDb

IMDb is the best option if the song appeared in a movie or TV show. If you heard a tune in a movie or on a show, pull up the IMDB page for the flick or show. Then, scroll to the “Soundtracks” section and expand it. You should see a list of all songs that appeared in the media. If you don’t remember the specific movie but you can remember an actor or actress who was in it, pull up their IMDb page and scroll through the filmography until you find it.