Music identification technology is used extensively in the age of mobile computing. First there were apps like Shazam and SoundHound that can identify a song just by analyzing a few seconds of it. On a digital level, another kind of identification technology is used to identify music that is being unlawfully distributed. Then on a more beneficent level, music is also analyzed for various characteristics to build radio stations tailored to an individual’s tastes. This concept was made popular by Pandora Radio.
As you can see, music data can now be manipulated much like all other data. A fairly new app called “Discovr Music” takes this data and presents it to you in a way that is highly accessible. This may sound rather geeky, but the app is actually fun and easy to use. You start by entering the name of an artist or group you like. In an instant it builds a star chart with the artist in the center with several related artists radiating from it. This chart can also be directly manipulated with your finger. Tapping twice on an artist’s icon gives you a mini-biography, a song list with previews, links to videos, and links to pertinent articles and websites. There should be enough to give you a feel for whether you would like this artist.
The app makes it easy to explore, and its interface actually encourages this. Tapping once on an artist’s icon opens up another constellation of related artists with lines drawn between those that are again related. The chart is very robust and can accommodate a very large number of artists with connections so complex that it looks like a spider web. You can zoom in and out and pull on the icons which will snap back smoothly.
The directions tell you to type in the name of an artist, but you can also enter the name of a song and you’ll get a chart of similar songs. That function is undocumented and unsupported but it’s still just as fun to discover music that way even though you won’t always find matches.
There are a few areas where this app has room for improvements. For example, it would be useful if we could be informed as to why certain artists are grouped together, and it would also be helpful if an artist’s signature songs were highlighted. Maybe something like that will be coming to this paid app, which sells for $1.99.
[etRating value=“ 4”]
