Remember that time you were walking down the street, on the bus, at this random party and you heard a song you wanted to add to your favorite playlist and wondered: what song is this?

Here are tips from Opera on apps and websites that can help you identify tunes and songs.

1. Shazam

Shazam is one of the most popular apps to use for this kind of quest. It is very accurate and identifies the song quickly. Just tap the big blue button and let it listen to the music. No internet connection? No problem. Shazam tags the song you made it listen, so you can easily find it and try later when you are connected. It is available for Android and iOS. There’s also a desktop version you can check out here. 🙂

 

2. SoundHound

Forgot the lyrics despite your best attempt to remember them? Don’t panic – as long as you can remember the tune, all is not lost.. SoundHound can identify a song by listening to the melody – you can sing it, hum it or even whistle it. To start, just tap SoundHound’s orange button, and it will do its best to match your recording. It will give you a list of possible songs, so don’t worry if your singing isn’t pitch perfect.

3. Ok Google, Siri & Cortana

This is the easiest way to identify songs if you don’t want to download any third-party apps. Just ask Ok Google, Siri or Cortana “What song is this?” or “What music is playing?”, etc., and they’ll find it for you in no time. 🙂

On your Android, turn on “Ok Google” or tap the mic button on Search. If you have an iPhone, ask Siri “What song is this?” and let her listen to it. Windows Phone? Press the Search button to go to Cortana, tap the Music search icon, and she will start listening.

4. WatZatSong

When all else fails, crowdsourcing the answer can save the day. WatZatSong is an online community where you can upload a sample of the track you are trying to identify. Write as many details you know about it and other members will help you name it as fast as possible.

These are all ways I’ve been able to identify random, “mystery” tunes that I end up loving. If you love to look things up online, try the Opera Mini mobile web browser for Android and iPhone, which also gives you speed and data savings when you surf the web. Let us know in the comments if you have any other handy ways to identify an unknown song!

 

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