If you’re viewing this, you’re looking for help with Strands, the New York Times‘ elegant word-search challenge.

Strands puts players to the test with a twist on the classic word search format. Words can be constructed by linking letters in any direction — whether up, down, sideways, or at an angle, and they can shift direction, forming distinct shapes and designs. Every letter in the grid contributes to a solution. There is always an overarching theme tying together all the answers, alongside the “spangram,” a unique word or phrase that encapsulates the day’s theme and stretches across the entire grid either horizontally or vertically.

By providing an ambiguous hint and omitting a word list, Strands crafts a challenging experience that requires more time to complete than other games such as Wordle and Connections.

If you find yourself at a standstill or don’t have a full 10 minutes to tackle today’s puzzle, we have all the NYT Strands hints for the current puzzle to assist you in advancing at your own speed.

NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Key notes

The words relate to music.

Today’s NYT Strands theme simply outlined

These words are components of a musical composition.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today’s NYT Strands spangram is oriented vertically.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today’s spangram is Piano Pieces