How do I identify a song playing on my Android phone?

The purpose of this article is to explain the different ways Android users can identify a song playing on their phone. With the rise of music streaming services and social media, it’s easier than ever to come across new songs without knowing the artist or title. Luckily, Android offers several built-in and third-party song identification apps that can listen to a song and provide metadata like the track name, artist, and album.

This article will explore the various methods available to Android users to identify music, like using Google Assistant, installing well-known apps like Shazam or SoundHound, trying music recognition widgets, querying your music app’s database, and searching based on lyrics. We’ll also compare audio fingerprinting tech and summarize the best practices for identifying songs on an Android device.

Use Built-In Google Services

Google provides several built-in services on Android devices that can identify songs playing nearby. Here are some options:

Use Google Assistant by saying “Hey Google, what’s this song?” or “Hey Google, identify this song.” Google Assistant will listen to the song and provide the title and artist if it’s able to recognize it (source).

Open the Google Search app and tap the mic icon. Say “what’s this song?” or “identify this song.” Like Google Assistant, it will listen and try to provide song info (source).

Use the Google Sound Search widget available on Android devices. Tap the floating music note icon and it will listen to identify songs playing nearby, providing the match info on-screen (source).

These Google services rely on audio fingerprinting to match the song against Google’s database of over 20 million songs. They provide a handy built-in way to quickly identify music playing around you.

Install Shazam or SoundHound

Shazam and SoundHound are two of the most popular apps for identifying songs playing around you. Both utilize audio fingerprinting technology to match your recorded clip against their massive databases of songs. Here’s an overview of how they work:

Shazam is one of the first apps that popularized song recognition. After opening the app, you simply tap the large button to start recording a short sample. Shazam analyzes the clip and provides song details like title, artist, lyrics, and links to listen on various platforms. One handy feature is Auto Shazam, which passively listens and identifies songs without any button press. Shazam can also identify TV shows, ads, and more media using audio recognition. However, the free version shows intrusive ads and limits how many songs you can ID per month (Source).

SoundHound offers a fast and efficient music recognition experience without many limits. After launching the app, you similarly tap the microphone icon to record a sample. SoundHound prides itself on identifying songs from just a few seconds of audio. It also continuously listens with the SoundHound Button and has options to sing or hum to find tunes. SoundHound builds individual voice profiles for more accurate humming recognition. One advantage is SoundHound integrates with Spotify and Pandora to add identified songs. However, the interface contains some ads without paying for the premium version.

In summary, both Shazam and SoundHound quickly identify music playing around you using advanced audio fingerprinting. SoundHound offers a more seamless always-listening mode. But Shazam’s larger user base gives it access to more song samples for better accuracy. Choose based on price, features, and ease of use.

Use Music Recognition Widgets

Android phones like Samsung Galaxy allow you to use music recognition widgets that identify songs playing in the background. These widgets run passively and match songs against an audio fingerprint database. Two popular options are Music Recognition and Music ID.

The Music Recognition widget from Samsung comes pre-installed on Galaxy phones. Once enabled, it listens to music playing around you and displays the song title and artist on your home screen or lock screen. You can also tap the widget to open more details like lyrics, album art, and options to play the song in Spotify or YouTube Music (Source 1).

Music ID is a free music recognition widget from SoundHound. After installing from the Play Store, it can identify songs playing around you with minimal battery drain. Tapping the widget opens a page with artist info, lyrics, and links for streaming. You can also view your full history of detected songs. Music ID claims broad music recognition capabilities across genres (Source 2).

An advantage of these widgets is that they run passively in the background without any need to manually activate song recognition. Just enable the widget and it will start detecting music and displaying song info. This makes it easy to quickly identify music playing around you.

Use Your Music App

Many popular music apps like Spotify and YouTube Music have built-in song identification features that can detect what song is playing (https://www.reddit.com/r/YoutubeMusic/comments/jrz9c1/how_can_i_identify_a_song_using_youtube_music/). This allows you to easily identify songs without needing to install a separate app.

For example, in the YouTube Music app, you can tap the “Search button” and select “Identify song” to have it listen and determine the song title and artist. Spotify also has a similar built-in “Sound Search” feature you can access by tapping the “Now Playing View” icon while music is playing. Both apps compare the song against their extensive catalogs to find a match.

The music identification features in mainstream apps like YouTube Music and Spotify can be very accurate, especially for popular songs. And since these apps are already installed on many Android phones, it provides a convenient way to quickly identify music without any extra effort. Utilizing the built-in music recognition in apps you already use is often the easiest approach.

Query Songs Based on Lyrics

One effective way to identify a song playing on your Android phone is to search for lyrics. There are several apps that allow you to query songs using lyrics to find the title and artist. Some popular options include:

Musixmatch – This app has lyrics for millions of songs. You can type in a phrase from the lyrics to search and it will provide song matches.

Genius – Genius also has an extensive lyrics database. Enter some lyrics you hear into the search bar and it will find potential song matches.

The key is to enter a unique phrase or lyrics snippet that will return targeted results. Focus on memorable lyrics that stand out, not common words. This method works well if you can make out some of what’s being sung but can’t fully identify the song.

Use Third-Party Apps

Beyond the most popular options like Shazam and SoundHound, there are other useful Android apps that can help identify songs playing around you. Here are some top choices:

BeatFind Music Recognition (https://filmora.wondershare.com/audio-editor/best-song-finder-apps-android.html) – This app listens to songs playing and matches them against an extensive audio fingerprint database. It’s straightforward to use and often identifies obscure songs.

Musixmatch Lyrics Finder (https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-android-music-recognition-apps-compared-which-got-the-most-songs-right-si/) – This app can ID songs by listening and also search by lyrics. It syncs lyrics as songs play, making it great for karaoke or following along.

Sound Search for Google Play – Google’s built-in song recognition tool can identify songs playing around you. Just tap the mic icon to have it listen and search.

Using one of these alternatives can help you successfully ID songs when other apps fail. They have different audio fingerprint databases, so trying a variety can maximize your chances.

Identify Songs Offline

There are limited options for identifying songs offline on Android devices. Google Pixel devices running Android 8.0 Oreo or later have offline song identification capabilities built-in using Google’s offline song database. To enable this, go to Settings > Sound & Vibration and turn on “Identify songs playing nearby.” This will allow your Pixel device to identify some songs playing nearby without an internet connection by comparing snippets of music to Google’s offline database.

However, this offline database is limited compared to online song identification services like Shazam or SoundHound. Google’s offline database likely only contains popular song fingerprints, so it may struggle to identify more obscure tracks when offline. While handy for identifying chart-toppers, offline song recognition should not be relied on exclusively to identify a comprehensive music catalog without internet connectivity.

No other Android devices have offline song identification capabilities built-in. While apps like Shazam and SoundHound work offline to a limited extent by utilizing cached fingerprints, their offline identification abilities are restricted compared to being connected to the internet. For comprehensive offline song recognition, third-party Android apps would need to implement audio fingerprinting algorithms locally on the device, which takes up storage space. Most song identification apps still rely heavily on online databases for maximum accuracy.

In summary, Android options for identifying songs while offline are limited. For the most robust song recognition, an internet connection is still required in most cases.

Compare Audio Fingerprinting

Audio fingerprinting is the core technology that allows apps like Shazam and SoundHound to identify songs based on a short audio sample. It works by analyzing the audio to create a unique fingerprint or digital signature that can be compared against a database of known songs.

The process involves breaking the audio into short segments and extracting identifying features such as spectral peaks, intervals between peaks, beat patterns, etc. This fingerprint data is condensed into a hash string that can be quickly searched and matched in the database.

Shazam pioneered audio fingerprinting for commercial use in 1999. Their algorithm analyzes audio on a spectrogram level and encodes spectral peaks into a fingerprint hash ^[1]. SoundHound uses a similar approach but claims to account for distortion and variations in playback speed in their fingerprinting algorithm.

A limitation of audio fingerprinting is that the app needs a clear sample of the song playing in order to generate an accurate fingerprint. Background noise can interfere and songs played on top of each other can make identification difficult. The app’s database also needs to contain the song fingerprint already.

Summarize Key Options and Reiterate Best Practices for Android Song ID

Identifying a song playing on your Android phone can be done in several convenient ways. Here’s a summary of the key options discussed:

Use built-in Google services like Google Assistant or Google Search to query the song based on lyrics.
Install dedicated song identification apps like Shazam or SoundHound.
Use music recognition widgets available for some Android launchers.

Identify the song through your default music app like Google Play Music.
Search for songs based on lyrics you hear using a lyrics search engine.
Try lesser known song ID apps to complement the mainstream options.

Match songs against your offline music library using audio fingerprinting.

The recommended best practices are:

Use Google Assistant if available, as it’s deeply integrated into Android.

Have Shazam or SoundHound installed as a backup option.
Enable access to microphone if song ID apps request it.
Query distinct lyrics instead of common words for better results.

Hum or whistle the melody if lyrics aren’t clear.

With all these handy options, identifying mystery songs playing on your Android device is quick and easy.