Voice assistants recognize songs just by humming them

Singing, humming, whistling or simply bringing the phone closer when the music plays: there are many ways to use your mobile phone to search for an unknown artist or the title of a song that is being listened to or of which the melody is remembered and not the name.

On Android mobiles, the function and at the same time the voice command for the Google Assistant is called “What song is this?”. Of course, to activate the assistant you must not forget the obligatory “Hey Google” or the press of a properly assigned mobile key.

This search also works if you tap the microphone icon in the Google search bar, select “Search for a track” or “Recognize music” and then hum, whistle or sing.

Google devices starting with the Pixel 2 model can even be configured to constantly scan the environment for music and, if necessary, display the track on the lock screen. The function is called “Now Playing” and is activated in the settings in the “Sound and Vibration” section.

On iPhones, you first have to say “Hey Siri” or hold down the side or home button to activate the voice assistant and ask the question: “What is the name of the song?”

If it does not work on the first attempt, it can be checked in “Settings/Control Center” if the “Music Recognition” section is listed. If it is not found, it can be added from the “Other Controls” list.

By the way, Apple uses the technology of the well-known Shazam recognition service. However, it is not necessary to have the corresponding application installed for recognition to work.

dpa