user1908: I was watching an anime, and this really awesome piece of music came on. I want to know what it's called, but I don't know where to start looking. I know I can ask for help here on Anime.SE, but how should I do it? What information should I provide?

user1908: I'm glad you asked, person who is totally not me!
There are really only a few pieces of information that are essential when you're trying to have a piece of music from an anime identified. Namely:

The name of the anime. (Obviously.)
If you watched the anime dubbed (i.e. the dialogue was not in Japanese), indicate what language it was in.
A description of at least one time when the music you're looking for was played, meaning:


If it's something that has multiple episodes, the episode number.
A description in words of what is happening on-screen when the music plays.
If at all possible, you should provide a timestamp.
(That said, if you're looking for a song from, say, a movie you only saw in theaters, we understand that you can't reasonably come up with a timestamp for that.)


That's it! You can even fit it all into one sentence: "What is the song that plays 6 minutes into episode 134 of Naruto, at the beginning of Naruto's fight with Sasuke?" (I don't know anything about Naruto; this example is purely hypothetical.)

In some cases, additional information may help people find you an answer more quickly. For example:

If it's a vocal song, mention that. If you can tell what language it's in, mention that, too. (If you understand the lyrics, though, just go google them.)
Have you noticed that this song pretty much always plays when a character shows up on screen? Some songs are really easy to identify if you mention that it's so-and-so's motif.
Is the musical style distinctive, like a jazz piece in a soundtrack that's mostly electronic? That can definitely help people narrow it down faster.
If you can list off multiple instances where the song was played, that may be helpful.
If you're particularly enterprising, consider including a short extract (10-15 seconds, say) of the audio you're talking about - this way, someone who's familiar with the soundtrack might be able to answer your question right away! I personally like http://clyp.it as a place to upload audio, but anything works, really.


1908: <p>I was watching an anime, and this really awesome piece of music came on. I want to know what it's called, but I don't know where to start looking. I know I can ask for help here on Anime.SE, but how should I do it? What information should I provide?</p>
 1908: <p>I'm glad you asked, person who is totally not me!</p>

<p>There are really only a few pieces of information that are essential when you're trying to have a piece of music from an anime identified. Namely:</p>

<ul>
<li>The <strong>name</strong> of the anime. (Obviously.)</li>
<li>If you watched the anime dubbed (i.e. the dialogue was not in Japanese), indicate <strong>what language it was in</strong>.</li>
<li>A description of at least one time when the music you're looking for was played, meaning:

<ul>
<li>If it's something that has multiple episodes, the <strong>episode number</strong>.</li>
<li>A <strong>description in words</strong> of what is happening on-screen when the music plays.</li>
<li>If at all possible, you should provide a <strong>timestamp</strong>.<br>
(That said, if you're looking for a song from, say, a movie you only saw in theaters, we understand that you can't reasonably come up with a timestamp for that.)</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>

<p>That's it! You can even fit it all into one sentence: "What is the song that plays 6 minutes into episode 134 of <em>Naruto</em>, at the beginning of Naruto's fight with Sasuke?" (I don't know anything about <em>Naruto</em>; this example is purely hypothetical.)</p>

<hr>

<p>In some cases, additional information may help people find you an answer more quickly. For example:</p>

<ul>
<li>If it's a vocal song, mention that. If you can tell what language it's in, mention that, too. (If you understand the lyrics, though, just go google them.)</li>
<li>Have you noticed that this song pretty much always plays when a character shows up on screen? Some songs are really easy to identify if you mention that it's so-and-so's motif.</li>
<li>Is the musical style distinctive, like a jazz piece in a soundtrack that's mostly electronic? That can definitely help people narrow it down faster.</li>
<li>If you can list off multiple instances where the song was played, that may be helpful.</li>
<li>If you're particularly enterprising, consider including a short extract (10-15 seconds, say) of the audio you're talking about - this way, someone who's familiar with the soundtrack might be able to answer your question right away! I personally like <a href="http://clyp.it" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://clyp.it</a> as a place to upload audio, but anything works, really.</li>
</ul>
