Welcome to TuneTeller. In order to help keep you from wondering why you're here, we thought it would be wise to include some documentation on how and why things work (or not). So if you're feeling curious, mystified, lost, frustrated, discontent, pixilated, bewildered, higgledy-piggledy, discombobulated, or bloated, here is the place to be. Unless you feel bloated, in which case you should probably be at a medicine cabinet or a maternity ward.
What is TuneTeller?
Search Tips
Enhance TuneTeller
Troubleshooting
What is TuneTeller?
TuneTeller is a search engine. By means of some unwholesome combination of data-mining and database magic, we take your musical queries, interpret them, and find a corresponding tune that will appear to you in the form of one or more links to MIDI files on various webpages. In short, TuneTeller aspires to be the google.com of music. So if you want to identify a piece and you have no idea what the name is, or who sings it, or what key it's in, or whether it even exists, then give our search engine a whirl. Alternatively, if you're hunting down a tune and you do know some song lyrics, or the name, or other pertinent textual information, then use our search engine anyway because it's cool.
Seriously though, have you tried playing on that Java piano keyboard? It's like butter. Really.
Search Tips
Name-that-tune searching may not be as straightforward as run-of-the-mill text-based searches. Listed here are some tips to help ensure that you find that elusive ditty.
- When searching by means of the Java piano keyboard interface, henceforth affectionately referred to as TuneApplet, there are three ways to go about inputting note data.
- To input notes with your mouse, click the appropriate individual notes.
- To manually type in notes, click the text field and type notes in the following format: A3 | C#5 | Db4. (Note: You can substitute commas for the pipes.)
- The fastest input method utilizes an exaptation of your computer keyboard as a piano keyboard. To input notes with your computer keyboard, give the TuneApplet piano keyboard focus by either clicking on it or tabbing to it and press the space bar. Characters that correspond to keys on your computer keyboard should appear on the TuneApplet keyboard. You can produce sound by pressing these keys and you can input notes by shift-pressing, but don't expect to play anything particularly virtuosic. If you make a mistake, push the backspace key.
- If you're unsure of your input, press the Play button to review it.
- TuneTeller supports conjunctive searches. If you're aware of distinct melodies that occur separately in the same tune, place ampersands in the text box to delimit two or more separate strings of notes. For example: C3, D3, E3 & E3, D3, C3. This can prove beneficial in instances where you have vague recollections of melodic strings, in which case you can conjoin two or more sections of a melody, omitting the part you're unsure about.
- Melodies in our databases have been trimmed. Exceedingly short notes (grace notes) are removed from melodic data in our databases. In most cases, this should have no effect on searches.
- TuneTeller does not support chordal and/or polyphonic searches.
- Advanced searches permit you to search by melodic strings, keywords, genres, keys, and modes. The advanced search page supports browsers that aren't Java-capable, including text-based browsers. Users who want the benefit of advanced searching in conjunction with TuneApplet are advised to hammer out a string and copy and paste it into the corresponding advanced search Notes field.
- TuneTeller cannot vouch for the accuracy of key signatures or modes. TuneTeller attains key signatures from MIDI files, which very often fail to accurately represent a piece's true key. As a result, several pieces are inaccurately labeled with respect to their key signatures. Beware of using key signatures or modes as reliable search paramters.
Crawling
You can contribute to TuneTeller by submitting sites for incorporation into our database. By crawling you enhance the TuneTeller community. If you host a website that hosts MIDI files, please take the time to register with us. Alternatively, for information about incorporating our search technologies with your own site, visit our TALE page.
The TuneCrawler is deterred by large, obnoxious, labyrinthine sites with multiple redirects, frames, zipped MIDI files, flashy banners, and other ostentations. Please refrain from submitting sites with these characteristics.
Troubleshooting
The applet on the main page fails to load.
Your browser probably doesn't support Java. Consider an advanced search.
The applet sounds different on computers other than mine.
The applet uses different methods to produce sound depending on your browser configuration. Factors that influence the way the applet sounds include your Java Runtime Environment and your MIDI setup.
The applet loads but it fails to produce sound.
You may be using the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.2, which isn't supported. You can download and install a free upgrade from Sun's website. If you use JRE 1.3.1 or later, your computer must be MIDI capable for the applet to produce sound.
That didn't help, bozo.
Sorry.
My keyboard layout isn't supported by the applet.
At this time, the applet only supports QWERTY keyboard layouts. We will work to extend support for other layouts in the future. In the meantime, those of you who don't normally use QWERTY may resort to an alternate input method or temporarily switch to QWERTY.
I can't find what I'm looking for.
Don't despair! Oftentimes, it helps to try fewer notes from the same melodic line, or an altogether different melody from the same tune.
Our databases are largely user-controlled. To make TuneTeller a better place for everyone, please register and crawl. Click here to learn more about crawling the web. Otherwise, AllButForgottenOldies has thorough documentation on alternative text-based search methods.
Copyright © 2004 TuneTeller Corp. All rights reserved.
