The Hum Dinger

I can't stand it when I have a tune in my head, but my internal orchestra has lost half the sheet music. Some really good hooks get in there and the only way to get unhooked is to find the song. Unfortunately, lyrics are the last thing I learn from a tune, and by the time I know them, I don't need this invention.

The Hum Dinger (tm) would take user input via a microphone and analyze it to match it to comparable melodies. [Granted, it would be cheaper to have a staff of music elitists listening to submitted recordings of hummers humming and then guess the tune, but then it wouldn't be technology, just customer service.] I know they've made great strides in beat extraction and auto-harmonizing, but I haven't seen a search engine that can work without text.

Oh, and it would have to make a dinging sound when it found a matching song, otherwise I'll have to find a new (and less catchy) name. A whistler's version could be made available on a subscription basis, and popular searches could be stored and sold to the original artists for R&D purposes. A great hook is worth its weight in weapons-grade Unnununium, so the ability of recording memorable bits of their hits could be invaluable to the ditty committees.

Hmmm...