Here I am, waiting for the weekend and it's only Tuesday, listening to some music on my tablet, trying to truck through the Tuesday article for app reviews. This week, I chose to review a few music apps that are available on Android and iOS. We shall venture first into the area of music recognition. After, we continue moving onto music players with your newly found music and than settling on the different music streaming apps where one can discover multitudes of new artists and new listening genres.
Do you know this song? Who sings this song?
How many times have we asked these questions, when at a club, party, or simply driving in the car? I remember having a small notebook filled with different lyrics I heard that I did not want to forget to look up later. While driving, this method was dangerously scary. Lets not lie though, without this method to writing down & remembering lyrics, my driving can be pretty scary. . . . .
Anyways, when I got home, I would immediately Google the lyrics to find out what I heard that evening. Sometimes I would get the right song to download, but at other times I would have the lyrics wrong and get a completely different song. Let's look at some apps that will do the work for you.
Verizon SongId
(available for Android)
The classic - A few years ago with my silver EnV, Verizon introduced VCAST SongID. This enables the population to find out songs with a simple sound bit recorded on your phone. Verizon SongID does get the job done. Not much has changed for SongID, a few new features, definitely, but nothing ground breaking. When you ID a song, you receive the song and artist, but also have the options of seeing YouTube videos for the song and artists bios. A great feature that has been added is the quick purchase of ringtones, ringback tones, and also MP3s of the song you just IDed. If you are a social media fiend, you can share the song via Facebook and Twitter.
Shazam
(available on Android & iOS)
"Do you believe in magic?" I do. Another good song ID app is Shazam. Recognize the magic that Shazam is, when it identifies a song that you have no clue about. Shazam has a few more options than Verizon's SongID. Shazam has more sharing ability, it assists users in discovering new music from their friends. When identifiying, lyrics are shown on the screen. You can now learn the lyrics that you thought you knew. Shazam allows the user to find out tour dates and also buy concert tickets for upcoming shows after the sonmg is identified.
Shazam and Amazon have teamed up to offer the songs you identify for sale for instant download which elimnates a few steps in finding new music to listen to. Another enchanting feature from Shazam is the ability to play the found song through your Spotify account and app on your Smartphone.
SoundHound
(available on Android & iOS)
SoundHound walks the same line as Shazam, but has its own quirks that set it apart. SoundHound has the fastest recognition out of any music identifiers. In as little as 4 seconds, you will have the song that you want to identify. SoundHound also allows you to share your findings, see the videos of the songs you found, and also see the lyrics live while the music is being recognized. SoundHound is also the only viable humming and singing music recognition app. I think that is a pretty awesome feature because I have been in situations where a friend does say, "You know, the song goes like this. . . blah blah blah". I am usually clueless with that because A) they are NOT trained as a singer and B) the lyrics might just be wrong. In this case, why not HUM the melody or tune? Awesome!!!
I found my song, now how do I play it?
Most of the new smartphones that are coming out have an intergrated music player already installed. Android devices have a "Music" application that has a basic interface with standard playlists, artist lists, and song lists. iOS devices have the classic iPod application. The first recommended app is Winamp, only on Android. TuneWiki is next for both operating systems, and then Shazam Music Player is last for only iOS, at the moment.
WinAmp
(available on Android)
This is said to be the ULTIMATE media player for Android. Many moons ago, I started using Winamp on my PC and loved every minute of it. On my Thunderbolt by HTC, it is even better than ever! Winamp on your Android device (2.1 OS & above) allows you complete music management solutions. You can play, manage, and sync music to your Android device from a PC or even a Mac! Winamp also gives you access to thousands of internet radio stations.
TuneWiki
(available on Android & iOS)
TuneWiki is another great music player. Commons features that made me chose it were the ability to share and talk about the lyrics and music of the artist playing. You have a true social media experience with TuneWiki. A special feature called SongBox allows you to discover new music that friends are playing and have recommended. It is also international so you can find new music from all over
Shazam Player
(available for iOS)
Choose a music player with a difference - with Shazam Player from Shazam. You can listen to your music, but now add the ability to see streaming lyrics, watch YouTube videos and read reviews of your favorite tracks and artists! Get to know your music with Shazam Player.
I want to discover new music!
Discovering new music is an amazing time in my opinion. There is the method of finding new songs through identifier apps. These are in a category all their own. With these apps, you can input an artist, song, or type of music and the app will reccommend and play songs that it thinks you would like. I use each Pandora, iHeart Radio and Slacker equally when trying to figure out new artists and genres to listen. Each one offers different suggestions. Prepare for new listening experiences!
Pandora
(available on Android and iOS)
Pandora radio is a personalized radio service that streams music on your phone. Start with the name of one of your favorite artist, songs, or classical composers, and Pandora will create a "station" that plays music and more music like it. You can pay for Pandora One and get ad free music.
iHeart Radio
(available on Android and iOS)
the iHeart Radio app brings you the best in class customizable digital listening experience. It combines live broadcasts and digital only radio stations with personalized radio stations similar to Pandora. The app has a discovery slider that lets you fine tune what song selection you would like. Start at familar and move onto "way out there" discoveries. It's free and there are no commercials.
Slacker Radio
(available on Android and iOS)
Slacker Radio is a free, totally customizable radio with over 100 genre stations. With a Slacker Radio Plus or Slacker Premium Radio subscription, you can store your favorite Slacker stations on your smartphone and listen even when you don’t have a wireless or Wi-Fi connection!
There they are. Plenty of options to explore, seek, and download brand new music and a little bit of old school favorites.
Enjoy the experience!
Later,
Matt