There are a few different ways you can get the name of a song you hear on the radio, in a video, film, or elsewhere. The method you use will depend on the situation and how much information you have to start with. In the opening paragraphs, we’ll go over some quick answers to common questions about identifying songs.
How can I find the name of a song I heard on the radio?
If you heard a song on FM radio, the easiest way to identify it is to listen for the DJ to announce the artist and title, which they’ll usually do at the start and/or end of the song. If you miss the announcement, call the radio station’s request line and ask. Make sure to note the exact time you heard the song, as well as any lyrics, the genre, or other details to help the DJ identify it.
How can I find the name of a song in a YouTube video or ad?
Many services can identify a song by listening to a short sample. On YouTube, click More beneath the video title, then click “Open transcript.” This will take you to a page with an automated transcript of the video where songs are often tagged with their metadata. There are also browser extensions like AHA Music and SongFinder which can ID songs playing on YouTube, Spotify, and more.
How do I identify a song in a movie or TV show?
Apps like Shazam or SoundHound can identify songs playing around you, even from audio in shows and movies. The credits at the end of a film or show will also list all songs featured. Check sites like IMDb and TuneFind, which catalogue music used in different productions.
Listening Strategies to Identify Songs
When you hear an unfamiliar song you want to identify, there are certain key details to listen for that will make it easier to pin down the title and artist. Here are some tips:
- Listen closely to the chorus – this is usually the most repeated and memorable part of the song, with the hook that will stand out in your mind later. The title is often sung in the chorus.
- Note key lyrics – try to write down or remember one or two distinctive lyric lines that seem unique to this song and will help in searching.
- Listen for the artist’s voice – pay attention to the vocalist’s tone and style as this can be a distinctive clue for identifying the performer later.
- Note the genre/instrumentation – make a mental note of details like a bluesy guitar solo, an electronic dance beat, brass horns, or female rapping to narrow your search later.
Keeping these tips in mind when you hear an unfamiliar song will help you gather the most useful information to aid in searching for the title and artist later.
Searching Lyrics to Find a Song Name
If you were able to catch some lyrics that seem distinctive enough to indicate a specific song, one of the most straightforward ways to identify the complete title and artist is by searching those lyrics. Here are the steps:
- Write down as much of the lyrics as you can remember from the part of the song that stuck out.
- Enclose the most unique or memorable phrase in quotation marks.
- Paste your quoted lyric snippet into a search engine like Google, Yahoo, or Bing.
- Scan through the search results for pages, videos, or lyrics sites referencing the quoted phrase.
- When you find a match, look for the song title and artist name near your quoted lyrics.
Typing just a few words may bring up too many results to sift through, while an entire verse is more likely to pull up the exact song you’re seeking. Try different search queries until you find the optimal unique phrase to identify the song via search.
Using Music Identifying Apps
One of the easiest ways to quickly figure out a song you hear around you is to use a music recognition app on your smartphone. Some popular options include:
Shazam
One of the most well-known and widely-used song ID services. Simply open the Shazam app, let it listen to the audio for a few seconds, and it will display the artist and title.
SoundHound
Similar to Shazam, you open this app and it listens to a short sample before showing you song information. Also includes features like searching lyrics and identifying songs by singing or humming.
TrackID
Built into Sony smartphones or available as a standalone app. Functions similarly to identify music playing around you.
Musixmatch
Primarily provides song lyrics but also has music ID capabilities via your device’s mic. Good option for identifying songs in videos or TV shows.
Siri/Google Assistant
You can ask the built-in AI assistants “What song is this?” and they will listen and attempt to identify it.
Using Online Forums and Communities
For songs you can’t quite pin down through lyrics or audio matching, there are many online communities of avid music fans that can help you identify a tune:
r/TipOfMyTongue
A Reddit forum where you can describe details about an elusive song and others will try to help you solve it.
Tunefind
Lets you search for songs by lyrics or description and also catalogs music from TV, movies, and games.
Whosampled
Specialized community focused on identifying music samples, covers, and remixes.
Quora Music Topic
You can post questions about unknown songs on Quora to tap into the community’s collective knowledge.
Describing every musical detail you noted will give these communities the best chance of tracking down the song title and artist you seek.
Searching Music Services by Lyrics or Sound
If you remember the melody of an unknown song, many music streaming platforms allow you to search by humming, singing, or describing the tune:
| Service | Search by Audio | Search by Lyrics |
|---|---|---|
| Spotify | Yes | Yes |
| Apple Music | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube Music | Yes | Yes |
| SoundCloud | Yes | Yes |
| Shazam | Yes | Limited |
| Musixmatch | No | Yes |
So humming into Spotify, for instance, may help identify a melody that’s been stuck in your head even if you don’t know the lyrics. Taking advantage of these music recognition tools built into popular streaming platforms can be a handy way to figure out an unknown tune.
Using Music Recognition Technology
Beyond phone apps and music services, there are advanced AI-powered music recognition technologies that can be used to identify songs:
Audio Tagging
Algorithms analyze acoustic patterns in an audio clip and compare it to large song databases to find a match. Used by Shazam and SoundHound.
Machine Learning Models
Models are trained on thousands of songs to learn musical features and patterns to identify artists and genres from new clips.
Acoustic Fingerprinting
Creates unique acoustic fingerprints from sound clips which can be quickly matched against fingerprints in a database to find the song title.
Spectrographic Analysis
Visual representations of sound are analyzed to find matching patterns and retrieve song data like MelodyDB and Tunatic.
Query by Humming
Specialized systems process humming audio clips and convert them to musical notation to search for song matches. Used by Musixmatch and SoundHound.
These technologies enable high accuracy in detecting songs from even brief low-quality audio snippets, helping power many popular song ID services.
Using Radio Station Playlists
If you heard a song recently playing on a radio station but don’t have an audio clip, you can use the station’s online playlist to browse their recently played tracks:
- Identify the radio station – note the call numbers and station branding.
- Visit the station’s website and look for playlists or recently played histories.
- Browse their recent songs around the time you heard the mystery track.
- See if any titles or artists jog your memory based on your recollection.
With traditional broadcast radio, this method relies on you knowing the exact station. But some streaming music apps like iHeartRadio also offer listening histories you can check.
Using Music Distribution Platforms
For more obscure songs not widely available on music services, another approach is searching distribution platforms where musicians upload their work:
Bandcamp
Artists directly upload songs here, so search Bandcamp by lyrics or artist names from indie, punk, electronic, and other genres.
SoundCloud
Also has lesser known independent artists. SoundCloud’s search can find matches to sung, hummed, or described melodies.
YouTube
Search YouTube using lyrics, song descriptions, or details on the video containing the song to find matches.
DatPiff
Specializes in hip hop mixtapes. Search by lyrics or mixtape details to identify tracks.
Scouring these platforms can help track down more unique tracks not yet featured on mainstream services.
Using Media Identification Databases
For songs heard in commercials, movies, TV shows, or video games, specialized databases catalog music used in different media:
IMDb Soundtracks
Lists songs featured in movies and TV shows. Contributed by users so may be incomplete.
WhatSong Soundtrack Database
More extensive database of tunes used in films, shows, ads, and other videos.
TuneFind
Has soundtrack listings for a wide variety of media. Also lets you search by lyrics.
IMAXSoundtracks
Focused on identifying songs from IMAX movie trailers specifically.
LyricFind
Has a synchronization licensing database to look up songs licensed for use in ads, films, etc.
Searching these databases by production details or audio cues can help pinpoint songs heard in the background of videos and other media.
Using Automated Monitoring Services
If you frequently hear unfamiliar songs you want to identify, such as listening to lots of online radio streams, you can use an automated monitoring service:
SoundHound Infinity
Constantly listens and identifies all music around you 24/7, creating a history to check later.
Shazam for Mac/PC
App runs continuously on a computer, automatically detecting and logging new songs it hears nearby.
Audials Tunebite
Identifies songs playing on your computer from services like Spotify and saves them to a library.
TuneSat
Specialized high-end service for monitoring music use across TV, radio, and internet streams.
Trackingplaylists
Checks your favorite streaming radio stations and playlists to ID songs and log their metadata.
Letting a program passively monitor your environment or music streams takes the effort out of manually checking each unknown track you hear.
Conclusion
Whether you only caught a few lyrics or melody lines, heard a song on the radio, or have zero audio to go on at all, there are now many ways to successfully identify an elusive tune that’s stuck in your head. With the help of lyrics searches, music ID apps, sound search tools, online communities, databases, and automated logging, you can finally put a title and artist to that mystery song. So next time you find yourself wondering “What song is this?” – try a few of these handy tips and tricks to solve your musical puzzle!