Google's 'hum to search' feature is perfect when you forget song lyrics - Business Insider - Business Insider

The technology works like this: the user can hum (whistle, or sing) for 10-15 seconds, and then Google's technology takes the song's melody and turns it into a numbers-based sequence. .

From there, the sequence can be used to "identify songs based on a variety of sources, including humans singing, whistling or humming, as well as studio recordings," according to Google's announcement.

The sequence also strips away any other outside noise, like accompanying instruments.