After trialling this feature in other places, Google has rolled out the hum-to-search feature for the YouTube Music Android app. We find everything by search nowadays, but it can be difficult to find music if you only know its tune. Now Android users have a chance at finding that elusive song… if you can hum it.
A New Way to Search
Hum to search isn’t new – it started three years ago with Google search, as an experimental feature. Then, in 2023, they implemented a similar feature for YouTube. Now it’s coming to Google’s YouTube Music app for Android. You hum it, YouTube plays it.
This is a nice-to-have feature that enhances music discoverability online. Modern businesses rely a lot on Google’s search engine, but most focus on keywords and SEO, and getting attention through consumer offers. That can be seen with Spotify Premium free trials, or promotions for digital entertainment services like iGaming websites. In each case, curious netizens can access a wide range of music streaming trials or top casino bonuses and offers, like free spins for certain games. They’re very common in retail and e-commerce too, best seen with Amazon Prime’s trials. They get the audience’s attention and create buzz online, making the services easier to find with an online search. While it’s a great strategy for music streamers, musicians don’t have the same luxury, if users can’t remember their lyrics.
Everybody has heard a song that has escaped them. You don’t know the artist or the lyrics you remember are too vague to stand out on the internet. That’s where humming could save you if you remember the melody the song used. It’s a small feature that has been a long time coming and can end those frustrating moments where you can’t find a song you love. Of course, this all hinges on your ability to carry a tune.
YouTube Music’s Hum to Search
For the full description of Google’s hum-to-search feature, you can find the original blog post describing it here. It works exactly the same for YouTube since they are owned by the tech giant. Back then, it was introduced as part of Google Assistant’s English app on iOS and about 20 languages for the Android app. The page also dives deeper into how music recognition technology works. Unsurprisingly, it’s the result of a lot of machine learning. By converting audio into a musical fingerprint, the search can match it to an existing song. This means your humming is more likely to work for popular songs than obscure ones, naturally.
Since 2023, the ability of machine learning models has skyrocketed thanks to generative AI. Meanwhile, the cost of operating them has decreased as the technology becomes more widespread. Generative AI, which can create text, video, and audio, has also levelled up Google’s search ecosystem. All forms of search have become upgraded, and this experimental feature has become more viable.
That’s why Google added this feature to YouTube in 2023. It may sound counterintuitive to debut on the standard YouTube app, but this was once again an experimental move intended to test the feature. Now, in 2024, they have added the feature to the YouTube Music app which can tap into a much larger, and more focused, library of audio files.
To use it, go into YouTube Music and find the search icon at the top right. If you’re using version 7.02 or later, you should see a waveform symbol too. Tap that symbol and give it your best shot. If you have access to the song, it’ll also detect the song just like Shazam. The service is currently only available for YouTube Music on Android, but it should inevitably come to iOS apps in the future.
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