Tierline Contact

Acoustic Search

Find spoken passages across recordings.

Interactive demonstration

Example library · 35 searchable excerpts in 6 collections

Browse library

Presidential Addresses TL-ADR-002

Last night, Japanese forces attacked

Franklin D. Roosevelt · 8 December 1941 · Public domain (FDR Library) · Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum · 00:36.1

Suggested passage Last night, Japanese 00:09.00–00:11.00 · 2.00 s

The example library

35 excerpts in 6 collections, each public domain or openly licensed and published by the institution its record names. Each record gives the source file, the second the excerpt was cut from, the rights statement and the processing, so any match can be found again in the original.

Navy Medicine Oral Histories

Interviews recorded by Jan K. Herman, historian of the Navy Medical Department, with nurses and officers who served in the Second World War, released by the Bureau for public use: the evacuation of Corregidor, a hospital ship off Okinawa, nurses in a lifeboat, an appendectomy aboard a submarine. U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Office of Medical History · 8 excerpts, 6 min 46 s · Public Domain Mark 1.0 (works of the U.S. Government)

RecordTitleSpeakerLanguageDate LengthSourceRights
TL-NAV-001 Two PBYs came in firstWho was flown out of Corregidor first, and why size mattered more than weight; she would rather go by submarine. Ann Bernatitus English 25 January 1994 00:50.2 BERNATITUSANNReleased at 00:34.53 in the source file Public Domain Mark 1.0
TL-NAV-002 Leaving Corregidor by submarineCalled out by name at night, driven to the dock, through the minefield to the submarine, and the sound of the water in the dark. Ann Bernatitus, Jan K. Herman English 25 January 1994 02:12.9 BERNATITUSANNReleased at 02:21.54 in the source file Public Domain Mark 1.0
TL-NAV-003 Tea and chocolate cakeWhat the submarine's crew gave the evacuees once they were aboard. Ann Bernatitus English 25 January 1994 00:06.1 BERNATITUSANNReleased at 06:43.35 in the source file Public Domain Mark 1.0
TL-NAV-004 Kamikaze, Kerama RettoLater in the war, aboard the hospital ship USS Relief off Okinawa: lights out at anchor, the kamikaze alarm over the loudspeaker, and the order to make smoke. Ann Bernatitus, Jan K. Herman English 25 January 1994 00:54.0 BERNATITUSANNReleased at 02:15.91 in the source file Public Domain Mark 1.0
TL-NAV-005 The five nurses in the lifeboatOn a burning transport, five Navy nurses are put over the side in a lifeboat that has torn a seam, with a French cook to row, and bail while the Marines on deck look on. Margaret Swann Dye English Undated 00:48.0 swann-margaret-1-a at 01:48.05 in the source file Public Domain Mark 1.0
TL-NAV-006 An appendectomy aboard SilversidesThe historian introduces Captain Worthington, diving officer of USS Silversides, who took what he calls the only known photographs of an appendectomy performed on a submarine. Jan K. Herman English 13 April 1993 00:31.2 WorthingtonRobert at 00:25.46 in the source file Public Domain Mark 1.0
TL-NAV-007 The photographsAsked about the episode of the appendectomy, Worthington talks about the snapshots he took aboard and the prints that survive. Jan K. Herman, Robert Worthington English 13 April 1993 00:43.2 WorthingtonRobert at 01:27.75 in the source file Public Domain Mark 1.0
TL-NAV-008 After the President's deathRoosevelt's cardiologist on the personal understanding between Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt, and on how little Truman knew when he came in after the President's death. Howard G. Bruenn, Jan K. Herman English 31 January 1990 00:40.1 BruennHowardGFinal at 36:08.74 in the source file Public Domain Mark 1.0

Presidential Addresses

Addresses recorded as they were given: Franklin D. Roosevelt asking Congress to declare war on 8 December 1941, and John F. Kennedy on the space programme at Rice University, Houston, on 12 September 1962. Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library; NASA Johnson Space Center · 4 excerpts, 2 min 21 s · Public domain (the FDR Library's statement; NASA)

RecordTitleSpeakerLanguageDate LengthSourceRights
TL-ADR-001 A date which will live in infamyThe opening of the address to a joint session of Congress, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Franklin D. Roosevelt English 8 December 1941 00:25.7 FranklinDelanoRooseveltDayOfInfamySpeech at 00:10.21 in the source file Public domain (FDR Library)
TL-ADR-002 Last night, Japanese forces attackedThe roll of the night’s attacks: Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippine Islands, Wake Island and, that morning, Midway. Franklin D. Roosevelt English 8 December 1941 00:36.1 FranklinDelanoRooseveltDayOfInfamySpeech at 02:48.11 in the source file Public domain (FDR Library)
TL-ADR-003 I ask that the Congress declareThe request to Congress: that since the attack of Sunday, December 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire. Franklin D. Roosevelt English 8 December 1941 00:29.9 FranklinDelanoRooseveltDayOfInfamySpeech at 06:21.37 in the source file Public domain (FDR Library)
TL-ADR-004 We choose to go to the MoonWhy the Moon, why climb the highest mountain: the passage at Rice Stadium in which the line is said three times, once over applause. John F. Kennedy English 12 September 1962 00:49.3 John-F-Kennedy_Speech_Rice-Stadium at 22:39.45 in the source file Public Domain Mark 1.0

Apollo 11 Mission Audio

Loops recorded in Mission Control during Apollo 11 in July 1969, digitized by NASA's Houston Audio Control Room. At each decision the flight director polls the controllers by position and each answers in turn; the same poll can be heard on more than one tape. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston Audio Control Room · 5 excerpts, 2 min 21 s · Public Domain Mark 1.0 (NASA)

RecordTitleSpeakerLanguageDate LengthSourceRights
TL-APO-001 Go/No Go for lunar orbit insertionBefore the burn into lunar orbit, the flight director checks with each position in turn. Flight controllers, Apollo 11 English July 1969 00:37.9 Apollo11Audio at 00:00.00 in the source file Public Domain Mark 1.0
TL-APO-002 Go for powered descentThe poll before the landing burn: Retro, FIDO, Guidance, Control, TELCOM, GNC, EECOM, Surgeon, each go, and CAPCOM: we're go for powered descent. Flight controllers, Apollo 11 English July 1969 00:16.5 Apollo11Audio at 01:19.61 in the source file Public Domain Mark 1.0
TL-APO-003 Go/No Go for liftoff from the MoonFour minutes to liftoff from the lunar surface: the last poll on the tape. Flight controllers, Apollo 11 English July 1969 00:20.3 Apollo11Audio at 02:09.66 in the source file Public Domain Mark 1.0
TL-APO-004 Go for powered descent, on tape 550-AAGThe same powered-descent poll as on tape 3172, as it was recorded on the landing tape. Flight controllers, Apollo 11 English July 1969 00:28.0 Apollo11Audio at 13:48.02 in the source file Public Domain Mark 1.0
TL-APO-005 Go/No Go for landingMinutes before touchdown, both loops of the landing tape together: the flight director's last poll before the landing. Flight controllers, Apollo 11 English July 1969 00:38.1 Apollo11Audio at 27:41.88 in the source file Public Domain Mark 1.0

Spoken Literature

Volunteer readings of public-domain books, recorded for LibriVox. Here, entries from Samuel Pepys's diary for June 1665, as the plague reached London. LibriVox volunteers, published on the Internet Archive · 2 excerpts, 1 min 49 s · Public domain (LibriVox dedication; the texts are out of copyright)

RecordTitleSpeakerLanguageDate LengthSourceRights
TL-LIT-001 2 June 1665: home at almost one in the morningA letter about Mr. Hater, supper at Lady Castlemaine's lodgings, and home past midnight to his office. Nicole Lee English 2022 (text: June 1665) 00:41.5 diarypepys1665_2202_librivox at 02:48.21 in the source file Public domain (LibriVox)
TL-LIT-002 22 June 1665: sending my mother into the countryWhether to send his mother home to the country, and an evening at the office. Nicole Lee English 2022 (text: June 1665) 01:07.2 diarypepys1665_2202_librivox at 30:30.66 in the source file Public domain (LibriVox)

The Raven, in Translation

Edgar Allan Poe's poem as read for LibriVox's multilingual project in 2009: in English by two readers, and in the French of Charles Baudelaire, the German of Hedwig Lachmann, the Spanish of Juan Antonio Pérez Bonalde and the Portuguese of Machado de Assis. From each reading, the same passage: the end of the fifteenth stanza and the whole of the sixteenth, two refrains. LibriVox volunteers, published on the Internet Archive · 6 excerpts, 3 min 34 s · Public domain (LibriVox dedication; the poem and these translations are out of copyright)

RecordTitleSpeakerLanguageDate LengthSourceRights
TL-RVN-001 Quoth the Raven, Nevermore (English)The close of the fifteenth stanza and the sixteenth, “Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!”, each ending on the refrain. Timothy Ferguson English 2009 (poem: 1845) 00:34.0 raven_multilingual_0903 at 06:43.55 in the source file Public domain (LibriVox)
TL-RVN-002 Quoth the Raven, Nevermore (English, second reader)The same passage in another voice: the end of the fifteenth stanza and the sixteenth. Anne Cheng English 2009 (poem: 1845) 00:33.8 raven_multilingual_0903 at 06:40.38 in the source file Public domain (LibriVox)
TL-RVN-004 Der Rabe: Nimmer (German)The same passage in Hedwig Lachmann’s translation, where the raven answers Nimmer. Katieamp German 2009 (poem: 1845) 00:34.8 raven_multilingual_0903 at 07:05.57 in the source file Public domain (LibriVox)
TL-RVN-003 Le Corbeau: jamais plus (French)The same passage in Baudelaire’s prose translation: « Le Corbeau dit : Jamais plus ! » Didier French 2009 (poem: 1845) 00:47.4 raven_multilingual_0903 at 10:09.65 in the source file Public domain (LibriVox)
TL-RVN-005 El cuervo: nunca más (Spanish)The same passage in Pérez Bonalde’s translation, each stanza closing on «dijo el cuervo: Nunca más». Karen Savage Spanish 2009 (poem: 1845) 00:32.6 raven_multilingual_0903 at 06:01.89 in the source file Public domain (LibriVox)
TL-RVN-006 O corvo: nunca mais (Portuguese)The same passage in Machado de Assis’s translation, closing on «E o corvo disse: Nunca mais». Leni Portuguese 2009 (poem: 1845) 00:31.3 raven_multilingual_0903 at 06:25.56 in the source file Public domain (LibriVox)

Spoken Words, Dutch

One-second recordings of single words, cut by MLCommons from sentences that volunteers read aloud for Mozilla Common Voice. Here two Dutch words, belangrijk (important) and iedereen (everyone), each spoken by five different people: the same word in different voices. MLCommons, Multilingual Spoken Words Corpus (from Mozilla Common Voice) · 10 excerpts, 10 s · CC BY 4.0 (Multilingual Spoken Words Corpus)

RecordTitleSpeakerLanguageDate LengthSourceRights
TL-LEX-001 belangrijk (important), speaker 903521The Dutch word belangrijk, cut from a sentence read by a woman for Common Voice. Common Voice contributor 903521 Dutch Undated (corpus published 2021) 00:01.0 data/opus/nl/test/audio/0.tar.gz at 00:00.00 in the source file CC BY 4.0
TL-LEX-002 belangrijk (important), speaker 9e5ef5The Dutch word belangrijk, cut from a sentence read by a man for Common Voice. Common Voice contributor 9e5ef5 Dutch Undated (corpus published 2021) 00:01.0 data/opus/nl/test/audio/0.tar.gz at 00:00.00 in the source file CC BY 4.0
TL-LEX-003 belangrijk (important), speaker f0ada9The Dutch word belangrijk, cut from a sentence read by a woman for Common Voice. Common Voice contributor f0ada9 Dutch Undated (corpus published 2021) 00:01.0 data/opus/nl/test/audio/0.tar.gz at 00:00.00 in the source file CC BY 4.0
TL-LEX-004 belangrijk (important), speaker 48513fThe Dutch word belangrijk, cut from a sentence read by a man for Common Voice. Common Voice contributor 48513f Dutch Undated (corpus published 2021) 00:01.0 data/opus/nl/test/audio/0.tar.gz at 00:00.00 in the source file CC BY 4.0
TL-LEX-005 belangrijk (important), speaker a01349The Dutch word belangrijk, cut from a sentence read by a speaker who gave no gender for Common Voice. Common Voice contributor a01349 Dutch Undated (corpus published 2021) 00:01.0 data/opus/nl/test/audio/0.tar.gz at 00:00.00 in the source file CC BY 4.0
TL-LEX-006 iedereen (everyone), speaker b0829aThe Dutch word iedereen, cut from a sentence read by a woman for Common Voice. Common Voice contributor b0829a Dutch Undated (corpus published 2021) 00:01.0 data/opus/nl/test/audio/0.tar.gz at 00:00.00 in the source file CC BY 4.0
TL-LEX-007 iedereen (everyone), speaker 6504edThe Dutch word iedereen, cut from a sentence read by a man for Common Voice. Common Voice contributor 6504ed Dutch Undated (corpus published 2021) 00:01.0 data/opus/nl/test/audio/0.tar.gz at 00:00.00 in the source file CC BY 4.0
TL-LEX-008 iedereen (everyone), speaker 07125fThe Dutch word iedereen, cut from a sentence read by a woman for Common Voice. Common Voice contributor 07125f Dutch Undated (corpus published 2021) 00:01.0 data/opus/nl/test/audio/0.tar.gz at 00:00.00 in the source file CC BY 4.0
TL-LEX-009 iedereen (everyone), speaker 5ede24The Dutch word iedereen, cut from a sentence read by a man for Common Voice. Common Voice contributor 5ede24 Dutch Undated (corpus published 2021) 00:01.0 data/opus/nl/test/audio/0.tar.gz at 00:00.00 in the source file CC BY 4.0
TL-LEX-010 iedereen (everyone), speaker 7ed410The Dutch word iedereen, cut from a sentence read by a speaker who gave no gender for Common Voice. Common Voice contributor 7ed410 Dutch Undated (corpus published 2021) 00:01.0 data/opus/nl/test/audio/0.tar.gz at 00:00.00 in the source file CC BY 4.0

From voice to evidence

One search, followed from a voice to its source.

  1. A recording

    Go for powered descent, from tape 3172 of the Mission Control loops, July 1969. Before the landing burn the flight director polls each controller, and each answers in turn.

  2. A passage

    “Guidance? Go.” 0.64 seconds of sound, at 00:07.00. Nothing is read from the transcript: the search compares the sound itself.

  3. Where it sounds again

    Of all 35 excerpts in the library, the closest passage is the same answer on another tape: Go for powered descent, on tape 550-AAG, at 00:14.4. It ranks first; Guidance’s answer in the later poll for landing is also in the first 5.

  4. Back to the source

    The match opens in its recording and in the original file, 550-AAG.mp3, at 14:02.4, with its record, its rights and the institution that holds it.

Run this search in the workspace

Beyond this example library

The archives Tierline is built for are searched where they are kept.

Tierline works with Indigenous communities under signed agreements. Their recordings stay in their own systems, searched under their own rules for who may listen, search and share; none is played or indexed on this page. The library above is public material, chosen so that anyone can try the same search.

Six signed community collaborations: four archive pilots in operation and two official partnerships in co-design.

2,184.1hours of archival audio, held in the four archive pilots in operation

  1. Pala Band of Mission Indians468.4 h
  2. Karuk Tribe836.7 h
  3. Yurok Tribe743.6 h
  4. Amah Mutsun Tribal Band135.4 h
Each square is one hour of audio in a pilot’s archive (each collection rounded to whole hours); each column is a day of listening around the clock. The bronze sliver after the last block is the whole example library on this page, 17 minutes of public recordings.
  • Muwekma Ohlone Preservation FoundationOfficial partnership, in co-design
  • Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla IndiansOfficial partnership, in co-design

Measured in the reference engine

  1. MFCC-DTW baseline55.69%
  2. Frozen XLS-R embeddings72.52%
  3. Tierline83.29%
Hit@5: how often a correct passage is among the first five results, on the same 826 held-out queries with independently reviewed reference passages. Measured with Tierline’s reference engine (XLS-R features); the search on this page compares log-mel features in your browser.
  • 0.92 smedian query latency in the reference deployment
  • 3,271,840speech windows indexed for approximate search
  • 12,486automated adversarial access-control cases run, with 0 unauthorized disclosures

Partners & archivesEvaluation and methodsFigures & sources