Have you ever heard a line from a song but canβt figure out the name or the artist? Rather than grapple with the stress of digging into a long-forgotten memory, you can identify the music with the power of Shazam.
Shazam is a music recognition app built using audio signalling processing. Basically, it picks up music frequencies known as audio fingerprints, and runs them against millions of songs in its database to find one that matches. Available on IOS, Android, WatchOS, Wear OS, and MacOS, it also comes as a Chrome extension.
Can Shazam iidentify any music?
The app was designed to recognise and identify almost any music. The only exception is if the music is not already in the database. Shazam has a wide range because it links to Apple Music, YouTube Music, Spotify and other music repositories.
As long as the surrounding environment is not too noisy, the app can pick up on any song using the microphone of your mobile device or computer.
One of the reasons why Shazam is the most popular music recognition app out there is its simplicity. Once you download the app and open it, tap the logo to listen for the music you wish to identify. Itβs that simple.
Shazam Features
Although this is a music recognition app, it also provides other features for the user. Here are a few features.
- Identify any song
- Tag identified songs and save them on the app
- Listen to samples of any song
- Share the song with friends
- Listen to the song on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music or other music platforms
- Watch the music video
An interesting feature is the Auto Shazam feature that lets you keep the app constantly listening for songs.
Requirements for the App
This music recognition software is compatible with almost any operating system. However, certain requirements are necessary for the app to run without a hitch.
It is important to note that the app needs a phone that runs on Android or IOS. To use the web version, you would need the Chrome Browser to run the Chrome Extension. For mobile devices, the minimum requirement is Android 1.6 and IOS 6.
The app is FREE, and you would not need to pay anything before you download or while using the app.
Shazam Vs Other Music Recognition Apps
Indeed, Shazam is currently the preferred music recognition app. However, there are several other music recognition apps out there that have decent features. Two apps which stand out are SoundHound and Musixmatch.
These other apps have similar features as Shazam, and offer paid versions. Also, the free versions of these apps come with ads, which are absent from the Shazam app. Another aspect where Shazam stands out is its music recognition speed, though Musixmatch does its best to keep pace.
This app has been around for a long time (since 1999), Shazam has consistently delivered seamless service to its users. In 2023, the app was updated to detect music from other apps.
Conclusion
Is Shazam worth downloading? In our opinion, we think that this is a music recognition tool that is worth having. Not only is it a handy tool to have, but it also takes up very little space on your phone. Itβs easy to use and quickly identifies songs, although it can be slow sometimes.
That said, the app is easy to use and comes with several features. We particularly like the fact that it is free and ad-free. If you are searching for a music recognition tool that is simple to use, then we recommend Shazam.