10 Ways to Identify What Song Is Playing Around You

#1. Shazam: Identify Songs Instantly with a Tap

Shazam is one of the best and fastest tools to find out what song is playing around you or on your phone. It works on almost every device, including iPhone, Android, Mac, and even as a Chrome extension. What makes Shazam stand out is its speed and accuracy. Shazam captures a small piece of the music, creates an "audio fingerprint," and instantly compares it to its massive song library. I like using Shazam because it not only identifies songs fast but also links you directly to Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube so you can listen right away.
👍 You may like: How to Add Shazam to Apple Music
👍 You may like: How to Connect Shazam with Spotify

How to Use Shazam to Find Out What Song Is Playing

Step 1 Launch the Shazam app on your smartphone or tablet.

Step 2 Tap the central button with the Shazam logo.

Step 3 Point your device's microphone toward the music source and wait a few seconds.

Step 4 The app will display the song title, artist, and album.

#2. Google Assistant: Ask "Hey Google, What Song Is This?"

The Google Assistant is one of the most powerful tools for identifying music, and it's already built into almost every Android phone and Google Home speaker. What makes it different from Shazam is that it can find a song by humming. If you have a tune stuck in your head but don't know the lyrics or artist, you can hum, whistle, or sing the tune, and Google will usually find the song. It's also available on iPhone through the Google Assistant app, so it's easy to use on both Android and iOS devices.

How to Use Google Assistant to Find Out What Song Is Playing

Step 1 Say "Hey Google," or press and hold the home button (on some Android phones).

Step 2 Ask, "What song is this?" or "What's playing?"

Step 3 Let your device listen to the song or hum the tune yourself for about 10–15 seconds.

Step 4 The Assistant will show the song's title, artist, and links to stream it on YouTube Music or Spotify.

#3. Siri: Say "Hey Siri, What Song Is Playing?"

Siri is Apple's built-in voice assistant that makes it easy to identify songs playing. It comes on all Apple devices, like iPhones, iPads, Macs, and even the Apple Watch. You don't need to download any extra app, just ask Siri, and it will listen and tell you the song right away.

Siri doesn't use its own music library. Instead, it uses Shazam's huge database, which Apple acquired in 2018. This means you get Shazam's speed and accuracy with the convenience of a built-in, hands-free voice assistant.

How to Use Siri to Identify a Song

Step 1 Say "Hey Siri" or press and hold the side button on your device.

Step 2 Ask, "What song is playing right now?" or "What's this song?"

Step 3 Siri will listen and show you the song title and artist, with a link to Apple Music.

#4. SoundHound: Identify Songs by Humming

For anyone who often gets a tune stuck in their head but don't know the name, SoundHound is a very useful app. It works on both Android and iOS devices. Its most unique feature is "Singing and Humming Search" technology. This allows the app to find a song simply by analyzing the tune you hum, sing, or even whistle. While other apps like Google Assistant now have this feature, SoundHound was the first to do it and is still a very reliable choice with a huge music library. I recommend it, especially for those moments when a song is on the tip of your tongue.

How to Use SoundHound to Identify a Song by Humming

Step 1 Open the SoundHound app on your phone.

Step 2 Tap the big orange SoundHound button on the home screen.

Step 3 Hum, sing, or whistle the tune, or hold your device near the music.

Step 4 The app will show the song's title, artist, album, and real-time lyrics.

You can then listen to the full song directly within the app using its built-in YouTube player. The result page also provides quick links to integrate the discovered song with your existing Apple Music or Spotify account, allowing you to easily add it to your playlists.

#5. Midomi: Upload or Hum to Find Songs

Midomi is an early web-based tool that helps you find a song by listening to a sample. You can hum, sing, or play a clip into your microphone. Unlike apps that only recognize recorded songs, Midomi uses a community-powered database of voices, which makes it good at matching your own humming or singing to a known melody. Since Midomi is now part of the SoundHound platform, it's often easier to just use the SoundHound app to figure out what song this audio is.

How to Use Midomi to Find a Song

Step 1 Go to the Midomi website (www.midomi.com, now redirected to SoundHound.com) on your computer or phone.

Step 2 Click "Click and Sing or Hum".

Step 3 Hum or sing the audio you want to identify.

Step 4 Wait a few seconds for the app to analyze the sound.

Step 5 The song title, artist, and album will appear, along with a link to listen to the original track or related recordings.

#6. Google Pixel: Identify Songs on Lock Screen

Starting with the Pixel 2, Google Pixel phones include a built-in tool called Now Playing. It can automatically identify songs playing nearby and shows the song title and artist right on your lock screen, no need to touch your phone.

Pixel's Now Playing uses an on-device database, which means it doesn't use much battery and doesn't need an internet connection. It also doesn't send your audio to Google, so it's very privacy-friendly. This makes it perfect for spotting songs in cafes, on the radio, or in commercials without lifting a finger.

How to Activate and Use Google Pixel Now Playing

Step 1 Open your phone's Settings.

Step 2 Go to Sound & vibration.

Step 3 Tap Now Playing.

Step 4 Turn on the Identify songs playing nearby toggle.

Step 5 Your phone will download the song database onto the device. Once finished, the feature is ready!

Now, whenever a song plays nearby, the title and artist will appear at the bottom of your lock screen. Tap it to see your Now Playing History.

#7. AHA Music: Detect Songs in Browser Tabs

AHA Music is a browser extension for popular browsers like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. It helps you identify what song is playing in any browser tab. It works with streaming platforms like YouTube, Spotify Web Player, Netflix, and other websites. You don't need to use your device's microphone, so it even works if you're wearing headphones.

How to Use AHA Music to Detect Songs in Browser Tabs

Step 1 Add the "AHA Music - Song Finder for Browser" extension from your Chrome or Edge app store.

Step 2 Open the website where the music is playing (like YouTube or Spotify Web Player).

Step 3 Click the AHA Music icon in your toolbar. A small window will pop up, and it will start listening to the tab's audio.

Step 4 In a few seconds, it will show the song title, artist, and usually provide links to stream the song on platforms like Spotify or YouTube.

#8. Musixmatch: Identify Songs and See Lyrics

Musixmatch is the world's largest lyrics catalog, and it also has a song recognition feature like Shazam. Its standout feature is "Floating Lyrics," which shows synced lyrics in real-time for music playing on your device or nearby. This makes it perfect for anyone who loves singing along, studying lyrics, or trying to find a song by listening to a line they remember. It's both a music identifier and a lyrics app in one.

How to Use Musixmatch to Identify Songs and See Lyrics

Step 1 Download the Musixmatch app from the App Store or Google Play and open it.

Step 2 Allow microphone access so the app can hear the music.

Step 3 Tap the Identify Tab at the bottom of the screen.

Step 4 Tap the big Identify button in the center. The app will listen to the music around you.

Step 5 Within a few seconds, it will show the song title, artist, and display the full lyrics. The lyrics will highlight line by line or word by word as the song plays.

#9. Genius: Find Song Details and Verified Lyrics

Genius is a powerful app and website that goes beyond simple music identification. It has a huge crowdsourced database of lyrics, annotations, and music facts. For quick song detection, Genius uses a recognition feature powered by ACRCloud, which can instantly identify music playing around you.

The Genius Android app can also detect songs playing on your phone by reading notifications, showing lyrics for tracks from Spotify or other apps. Genius is great for anyone who wants to learn the meaning or backstory of a song, not just find its title.

How to Use Genius to Put a Name to a Song

Step 1 Open the Genius app on your phone or tablet.

Step 2 Tap the soundwave icon at the top-left of the main screen.

Step 3 Hold your phone toward the music while the app listens.

Step 4 Genius will display the song details and annotated lyrics.

#10. Music ID Bots: Recognize Songs in Chat Apps

Music ID Bots are smart tools you can use in messaging apps like Telegram or Discord. They can recognize songs from short audio clips or voice notes. For example, on Telegram, you can use a bot like SongID to find out what song is playing just by sending a voice message with the music in the background. I recommend these bots because they make it super easy to identify a song without leaving your chat.

How to Use a Music ID Bot (Example: Telegram)

Step 1 Open Telegram.

Step 2 Search for a bot like SongID or @whatsmusicbot.

Step 3 Add it to your chat or start a private chat with it.

Step 4 While the song is playing, record and send a short voice note.

Step 5 The bot will listen, then reply with the song's title, artist, and sometimes links to music platforms.

Bonus Tip: Save Any Song You Find as MP3 with Lyrics

Once you've used tools like Shazam, Google Assistant, or SoundHound to find out what song is playing, you might want to save it for offline listening, but most streaming apps don't allow you to keep music permanently. That's where ViWizard Streaming Music Converter comes in handy.

With this powerful tool, you can download music from Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer, Pandora, SoundCloud, Qobuz, Line Music, and convert them into MP3, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, M4A, or M4B formats. What's even better is that it preserves original quality (up to 24-bit/192kHz) and keeps full metadata and lyrics, so your songs look and sound just like they do on the app.

ViWizard Streaming Audio Converter

Download playlists, songs, albums, and your library from 9 streaming music services to MP3, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, M4A, and M4B formats with original audio quality and full metadata information.

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Step 1Set Output Format

Open ViWizard Streaming Music Converter on your Windows or Mac computer. Click the menu icon (☰) and go to Preferences. Under the Conversion tab, choose an output format like MP3, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, M4A, or M4B. You can also adjust the bitrate, sample rate, and channel for the best sound quality. To save lyrics, just tick the box next to the lyrics option. Click OK to save your settings.

Step 2Choose a Streaming Service

ViWizard supports Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, Amazon Music, and more. To download from a specific platform, click the service icon (for example, SoundCloud) to open its built-in web player within ViWizard.

Step 3Add Songs, Playlists, or Albums

Log in to your streaming account inside the web player. Find the song, album, or playlist you want to download, and click the plus (+) button. Select the tracks and click the Add to List button to add them to the download list.

Step 4Download and Convert Songs

Click the Convert button to start downloading. ViWizard converts songs while keeping original quality, metadata, and lyrics. Once done, go to the History tab and click the folder icon to open your downloaded files.

Final Thoughts

Now you've seen 10 powerful ways to figure out "what's that song?" playing around you. Each tool has its own strengths, so the best choice depends on your needs.

• If you need a fast and reliable way to recognize music around you, Shazam is still the top pick.
• If you only remember a melody or tune, try SoundHound or Google Assistant's "Hum to Search" feature.
• If you're not just looking for the song title but are also interested in its lyrics and meaning, Musixmatch and Genius are your best picks.
• If you usually listen on a Chrome or Edge browser, the AHA Music extension works perfectly.
• If you want to identify songs from audio files or voice messages, Music ID Bots for chat apps will do the job.

Finally, if you'd like to download any recognized song from Spotify or Apple Music to MP3 with lyrics and keep it forever, even after your subscription ends, go for ViWizard Streaming Music Converter.