# iPhone software for recognizing CLASSICAL music

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-software-for-recognizing-classical-music/580250>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 30, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-software-for-recognizing-classical-music/580250 "2011-04-30T02:50:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-software-for-recognizing-classical-music/580250/1 "2011-04-30T02:50:19Z")

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So I’ve heard of various pieces of software that let iPhones recognize music (Shazam, Midomi, etc.). But they seem to work mainly on pop music. Does anyone know of any such software that recognizes classical music?  
thanks

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**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-software-for-recognizing-classical-music/580250/2 "2011-04-30T03:21:26Z")

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Not that I know of. Shazam type aps are notoriously bad for classical music. Fortunately, if you can find the source, classical music types love “Name That Tune” type challenges.

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**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-software-for-recognizing-classical-music/580250/3 "2011-04-30T05:09:15Z")

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The problem is that those programs listen for the EXACT sound of the file, IIRC. For any classical piece, there can be hundreds, THOUSANDS of recordings with wildly different dynamics and tempi.

I found a website a while ago where you can plunk out the melody and it runs through an engine. Haven’t tested it, so I can’t vouch for its effectiveness!

> **[Musipedia: Musipedia Melody Search Engine](https://www.musipedia.org/)**
>
> A search engine for tunes and musical themes and a collaborative music encyclopedia. Only the melody needs to be known to search Musipedia or the Web. The melody can be played on a keyboard or whistled or sung to the computer. The Musipedia...

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**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-software-for-recognizing-classical-music/580250/4 "2011-04-30T09:25:57Z")

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> [@antonio107](#):
>
> The problem is that those programs listen for the EXACT sound of the file, IIRC. For any classical piece, there can be hundreds, THOUSANDS of recordings with wildly different dynamics and tempi.
> 
> I found a website a while ago where you can plunk out the melody and it runs through an engine. Haven’t tested it, so I can’t vouch for its effectiveness!
> 
> [http://www.musipedia.org/](http://www.musipedia.org/)

That site is annoying in the exact opposite way. It only seems to have a classical repertoire.

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**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-software-for-recognizing-classical-music/580250/5 "2011-04-30T15:53:07Z")

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> [@BigT](#):
>
> That site is annoying in the exact opposite way. It only seems to have a classical repertoire.

Most of the tunes are put in through MIDI files, and there aren’t a whole lot of pop music MIDI’s cruising around the Internet in 2011. 😉