Stuck on "what song is this?" Upload or record a clip and an AI model listens the way a music-obsessed friend would: it names the most likely title and artist, the album if it can tell, and the release year or era. Unlike Shazam or other fingerprint apps, it does not match your clip against a database of recordings. It recognizes songs from what it has learned about music, so it works best on well-known tracks and can be wrong on obscure ones. That is why every answer comes with a confidence level and the evidence behind it: the melody, groove, instrumentation and production style it heard. Even when it cannot name the song, you still get the genre, similar artists and a description to search with.
Example result
Input
A 20-second phone recording of a 1970s rock song playing on a car radio, with road noise in the background.
Output
Most likely: "Hotel California" by Eagles, from the album Hotel California (1976). Confidence: high for the song, moderate for which recording. What pointed here: the descending minor chord progression played on twelve-string guitar, the reggae-tinged half-time feel, and the lyric fragment "such a lovely place" in the chorus. Version note: the electric arrangement and full band suggest the original studio recording rather than the 1994 acoustic live version. Genre and style: 1970s soft rock with West Coast harmony vocals. Similar songs and artists: Fleetwood Mac, "Dreams"; Steely Dan; Jackson Browne.
Scores
How it works
How Song Identifier works
- 01
Capture a clip
Once you have an account and a plan, record the music through your browser or upload a file. Pick the AI model you want to listen.
- 02
Listen for identifying features
The model pays attention to the vocal melody, any lyrics it can hear, the chord movement, tempo and the instruments in the arrangement.
- 03
Place it in time and style
Production sound, such as gated drums, tape saturation or modern trap hi-hats, helps it narrow the era and genre even before it settles on a title.
- 04
Answer with a confidence level
You get its best match with title, artist, album and year, a confidence rating, the clues that led there, and songs or artists with a similar sound.
Use cases
Who it is for
A song from a video or a stream
Upload the audio of a clip where the background track caught your ear and get a title to search for, plus a short list of similar music if it is not a famous one.
Something your parents played
An old vinyl rip or a cassette transfer with no label can still be placed by era and style, and often named outright if it was a hit.
Playlist curators
Use the similar songs and artists section to find tracks that sit next to a reference song in sound, not just in genre tags.
Checking a guess
When two versions of a track are going around, the report explains which features match each one, so you can tell a cover or live take from the original.
Tips
Get better results
- Record the chorus if you can. The hook is the most recognizable part of nearly any song.
- Get the phone close to the speaker and away from conversation; voices over the music confuse the melody.
- Fifteen to thirty seconds is plenty. A longer clip helps only if it covers a different section.
- If the answer comes back with low confidence, treat it as a lead and check it on a streaming service.
- For an obscure track, use the genre, era and similar artists to narrow a manual search.
Limitations
What it can't tell you
This is an AI model recognizing music from what it learned, not a fingerprint lookup against a catalog of recordings. It is most reliable on popular, widely heard songs. For underground releases, new uploads, production music or regional hits, it may name the wrong song or say it is unsure. Treat low-confidence answers as suggestions. Humming or singing a tune yourself gives it far less to work with than the original recording.
Frequently Asked Questions
Song Identifier questions
How is this different from Shazam?
Shazam compares an acoustic fingerprint of your clip with a huge database of exact recordings, which is very reliable for released tracks. This tool is an AI listener instead: it reasons from melody, lyrics, arrangement and style. That means it can explain its answer and describe music it cannot name, but it is less certain on songs that are not well known.
What song is this? Can it tell me from a short clip?
Often, yes, if the clip contains a distinctive part such as the chorus or a signature riff from a well-known song. Short intros, ambient sections or drum-only passages give it little to go on, so the confidence rating will drop and the report will focus on style and era instead of a title.
Can I identify a song by humming?
You can try, but set expectations low. A hummed melody has no lyrics, instruments or production, which are the clues this song finder leans on most. It works better with a recording of the actual track, even a noisy one captured from a speaker.
Why did it give me the wrong song?
The model can mistake songs that share a chord progression, tempo and vocal style, and it knows less about recent or niche releases. Check the confidence level and the clues it lists. If the evidence is vague, the similar artists section is still a useful path to the right track.
Does it tell me the genre too?
Yes. Every result includes the genre and style, the key musical elements it heard (melody, rhythm and instrumentation) and a few songs or artists with a similar sound. For a more detailed genre breakdown, the music genre classifier gives probability scores across styles.
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Song Identifier uses credits from a paid LindaleAI plan. See pricing