SoundHound

Common Sense Media says

ID tunes instantly -- with iffy lyrics.

Age(i)

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Quality(i)

 

Learning(i)

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SoundHound gallery

What parents need to know

Ease of play

Simply tap a big orange button to start sampling. Alternatively, speak the title or artist name. Recorded songs were identified within five seconds. Live performances took a little longer -- up to 2 seconds -- but we were blown away by the app's ability to recognize our heavy-metal hum of Smoke on the Water.

Violence

Depending on the artist, the app can return lyrics that describe violent acts.

Sex

Depending on the artist, the app can return lyrics that describe adult situations or even sex acts.

Language

It depends on the artist, but the app can display lyrics that contain foul or obscene language.

Consumerism

All song matches include a link to the iTunes store.

Drinking, drugs, & smoking

Some lyrics brought back by the app contained drug references.

Privacy & safety

Kids can connect to Facebook and Twitter through SoundHound and share a music finds with others.

 

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this SoundHound is a music app identifies songs it hears through the iPhone's mic and displays the name and artist along with a link to the iTunes store. The app also returns lyrics, which can contain profanity, sexual themes, or drug references. 

What kids can learn

Subjects

Arts

  • music

Skills

Tech Skills

  • using and applying technology

What Kids Can Learn

SoundHound wasn't created with educational intent, and we don't recommend it for learning.

What kids can learn

Subjects

Arts

  • music

Skills

Tech Skills

  • using and applying technology

SoundHound wasn't created with educational intent, and we don't recommend it for learning.

This Learning Rating review was written by Jinny Ree

Parents say

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AGE
16
QUALITY
 
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Kids say

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AGE
13
QUALITY
 
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What's it about?

Kids can search and discover new music using SoundHound. With one tap, SoundHound identifies a song kids they are listening to. And for fun, kids can sing or hum a tune, and the app will do a “singing search” to find the song and artist. Search results are comprehensive, giving information about the song and artist including albums, iTunes links for purchase, YouTube videos, an artist page, etc. And if you want to listen to your own playlists, SoundHound integrates with your iPod and provides the lyrics to your tracks.
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Is it any good?

QUALITY
 

Song stuck in your head? Hum or sing a few bars and Midomi SoundHound, a remarkably accurate music-identification app, can probably tell you everything you could possibly want to know. Title, artist, lyrics, YouTube performances, iTunes buy link. Everything is neatly displayed on one screen. SoundHound recognizes recorded music even faster, in mere seconds. But its ability to recognize songs from live performances is what sets it apart from the inferior Shazam Encore.

App details

Devices:iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire
Price:Free-$6.99
Release date:April 1, 2010
Category:Music
Publisher:Melodis Corp.
Version:3.10
Minimum software requirements:iOS 4.3 or later; Android 2.1 and up

This review of SoundHound was written by

Carla Thornton

About our rating system

  • ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
  • PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
  • OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
  • NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids of any age.

Find out more

Quality

Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Learning ratings

  • Best: Really engaging, great learning approach.
  • Very Good: Engaging, good learning approach.
  • Good: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
  • Fair: Somewhat engaging, okay learning approach.
  • Not for Learning: Not recommended for learning.
  • Not for Kids: Not age-appropriate for kids; not recommended for learning.

Find out more

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What parents and kids say

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Kid, 8 years old March 10, 2011
AGE
13
QUALITY
 

BAD

Depends on the artist. They can connect to facebook and twitter. They will be most likely to listen to songs they're not allowed to listen to that they like.
What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Safety and privacy concerns
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Parent of a 12 year old Written byMontysMom January 20, 2011
AGE
14
QUALITY
 

Perfect for olde kids because there is no way to control content!

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Kid, 12 years old December 13, 2010
AGE
12
QUALITY
 

for older kids who love music

very great and also useful app but one stupid thing is that you have to wait to to get more ids(points for the music you hear)
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