Name that tune by singing into your PC, with Midomi.com
A US company has recently launched Midomi.com, a music site that could be perfect for anyone who hears a tune, instantly forgets what it’s called, but wants to hear it again or buy the track.
Midomi.com allows you to sing, hum or whistle part of a tune into your computer’s microphone. It then analyses what you’ve sung, comparing it with its audio database of both original and user-recorded songs.
As well as being a useful tool for anyone who needs to know what that irritating song buzzing around their head is actually called, there’s an element of social networking going on too. Users can sign up for an account, create a profile, then record themselves singing their favourite songs and share them with other users.
The site also links to an online music store where original tracks can be legally purchased.
Having given the service a very quick test drive, I can confirm that it works pretty well. At least, it managed to correctly identify my wobbly attempt at Robbie’s “Angels”, and put “Romeo and Juliet” by Dire Straits in place two when I tried singing it.
It didn’t fare so well on Marillion’s “Kayleigh” – the Fishmeister’s track was nowhere to be seen. I’m putting that down to one of two things. Either the track isn’t available in the database (I’m not sure if the system matches tracks that it doesn’t have legal originals for), or the sound of my cat wailing at my singing attempts confused the software. Nothing to do with my poor vocals, of course.
I don’t think I’ll be signing up for an account to share my creations with the world. It’s a great concept, though.
