Image credit: Google

A new feature in the Google app help you find the song stuck in your head. Search with a hum, whistle, singing or “da na doo ohh”.

While Shazam can help when a song is playing, Google’s new Hum to Search helps you find a song without the song, lyrics, artist name or perfect pitch.

All you need to do is ensure the app is up-to-date, open the Google app or Google Search widget, tap the microphone, ask “What’s this song” or tap Search a song, do your thing for 10-15 seconds, then tap the relevant match to search in Google. Google will pull up information on the song and artist, or you can watch the music video, play it in your streaming app of choice, find lyrics and more.

The feature is also available in the Google Assistant app or on compatible smart speakers. Hum to Search is available in English on iOS and more than 20 languages on Android, expanding to more in the future.

Google uses machine learning algorithms to identify the most likely potential song matches, explaining song melodies are like its fingerprint, each is unique. Machine learning transforms the audio into a number-based sequence representing the song’s melody, matching your singing to the right “fingerprint” from thousands of songs around the world, based on sources such as humans singing, whistling or humming, as well as the original studio recording. Algorithms take away all other details like accompanying instruments and the voice’s timbre and tone.

Image credit: Google

Google started work on AI music recognition in 2017 with the launch of Pixel 2, using deep neural networks, Now Playing constantly listened for music playing around you using low-power music recognition. Now Google are advancing this as the original song needn’t play.