Google might throw Shazam out of the water as its newly introduced feature helps find songs by humming its bridge or hook.
Any part of the song can work the magic.
The most likely scenario for attempting to recall a song is this; you remember the chorus’ tune or any part of the music but can’t match it with the correct lyrics or vice versa.
When it comes to the reverse – remembering the lyrics but not the tune – there’s a long list of lyrics-based search platforms to visit.
But, it has always been challenging to get songs when all we know is the tune.
Often, we try hard to reach deep into our hippocampus to pull out that tune.
The hippocampus is the part of the brain where all forms of memory are stored.
Reaching deep into that part could be a painful and exhausting experience.
Most times, the harder we try to remember, the farther we push back the tune.
However, Google has created a less stressful alternative to recalling songs by the tune.
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The announcement
On Thursday, Google added an extra feature to its portfolio.
This new feature is called “hum to search.”
The feature works by matching tunes to a folder of identical songs.
Google’s executives showcased the feature on the Google Search on Event.
The event focused on some updates in the Google search service, including this one.
The “hum to search” feature is available on both Android and iOS devices.
It can be accessed via the Google app, Search widget, or Google Assistant.
To use the feature through any of these tools, here’s how to go about it:
- Tap on the microphone icon to activate the listening mode.
- Say, “What’s this song?” or Tap the search a song button at the bottom right of the interface.
- Hum, sing, or whistle away.
- Wait for Google to analyse the sound, and voila! It’d serve your results.
The feature is currently available in English for iPhone users and above 20 languages for Android users.
For now, this tool only works on mobile devices.
We hope to see it come to other devices in the coming months.
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Google isn’t the first to come through with this technology
In 2009, SoundHound – a song detector app like Shazam – debuted this technology.
It could also identify songs with a few seconds of humming.
Shazam has been in the industry for a long time, even before smartphones, but has left out this vital piece from its product offering.
With Google offering this to its vast customer base, Shazam might be in for a huge competition.
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