How to Identify Music Tracks - Sound Recognition

There are various applications available through the Internet that help you identify unknown music tracks via sound-recognition methods. One option is to download free software that registers the audio frequency of your tracks through a microphone and then compares it with a massive database of stored music. Depending on the software and the quality of sound of your music tracks, these applications will be able to identify the name of the piece or song, and even the artist who performs it.

Difficulty:

 

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Microphone

1. • 1
     Go to a website like www.wildbits.com/tunatic (see the list of links under References for more options).
   • 2
     Click on the ''Tunatic'' download link that corresponds to your operating system (Windows or Mac).
   • 3
     Install the software and launch it once it is completed. A small purple window will appear, displaying the logo of a magnifying glass and the text: ''Tunatic ready - Click to identify song''. Make sure your computer's microphone is working properly.
   • 4
     If you are using an external microphone, make sure it's connected properly and to the correct port. Note: PC microphone ports are usually pink and display a microphone logo.
   • 5
     If you're using a computer's intermal microphone, make sure it's working properly. If you're using Windows and aren't sure, go to the ''Control Pannel," and under the ''Start'' menu, click ''Sound and Audio devices.''
   • 6
     Select the ''Audio'' tab from the ''Sounds and Audio Devices Properties'' window. Select your microphone from the drop-down menus on both ''Sound Playback'' and ''Sound Recording'' options. Confirm the action by pressing the ''OK'' button.
   • 7
     If you're using a Mac, go to ''System Preferences,'' click on the ''Sound'' option, click on the ''Input'' tab, and speak. You should see activity in the ''Input Level.'' If not, increase the ''Input Volume'' knob.
   • 8
     Begin playing the music track you want to identify. As the music is playing, click on Tunatic's ''Identify'' button (it displays a magnifying glass logo). You will see the music track's sound wave in Tunatic's window and the text: ''Identifying song...'' Once the song has been identified, the name of the track and the artist's name will be displayed in Tunatic's window.