BPS Research Digest: A natural history of the Earworm - the song that won't get out of your head

"Instead, they found that it is people who judge music to be of more importance who are more likely to get a song stuck in their head."

BPS Research Digest: A natural history of the Earworm - the song that won't get out of your head

"Two studies examine the experience of ‘earworms’, unwanted catchy tunes that repeat. Survey data show that the experience is widespread but earworms are not generally considered problematic, although those who consider music to be important to them report earworms as longer, and harder to control, than those who consider music as less important. The tunes which produce these experiences vary considerably between individuals but are always familiar to those who experience them. A diary study confirms these findings and also indicates that, although earworm recurrence is relatively uncommon and unlikely to persist for longer than 24 h, the length of both the earworm and the earworm experience frequently exceed standard estimates of auditory memory capacity. Active attempts to block or eliminate the earworm are less successful than passive acceptance, consistent with Wegner's theory of ironic mental control."

Beaman CP, & Williams TI (2009). Earworms ('stuck song syndrome'): Towards a natural history of intrusive thoughts. British journal of psychology (London, England : 1953)

What To Do When Earworms Strike

'Back in the 1700s, Mozart's children would drive him crazy by starting a melody on his piano and then walking away…'

Remember the old '70s song that starts with the lines "What they do! They smile in your face…"?

Parts of this song were stuck in my head for most of last week. I sang it to myself over and over again. I couldn't stop. Hoping the pieces of the song would fall into place, I kept repeating what I could remember.

At first, just the lyrics of the first line came to me, "What they do! They smile in your face…"

Then I remembered that those lines were joined by a drumbeat.

"Cha Cha Cha!" I heard a snare drum in my head wedded to the phrase, stressing each word forcefully and equally. I sang it a few more times. It felt like I was getting closer to scratching an itch in the middle of my brain as the song started to reveal itself.

The song's good old Philly soul harmonies came back to me. I kept singing it until I got the melody right and then I remembered the next lyric, which was also the name of the song, "Back Stabbers!"

According to an article on Howstuffworks.com, this happens to 99 percent of us. The phenomenon of getting a song stuck in your head has a few really cool names, "repetunitis," "melodymania," and the best one: "earworms!"

When a case of earworms hits, it can feel like we're at the mercy of our minds, doomed to repeat the parts of the song that we remember.

Researchers believe the compulsion to complete the song happens because the brain is trying to connect the dots and fill in the missing pieces of the pattern.

Earworms aren't just a modern phenomenon. Back in the 1700s, Mozart's children would drive him crazy by starting a melody on his piano and then walking away, leaving half of a melody hanging in the air.

This drove Mozart nuts, according to Exploratorium.edu. Each time his kids would do this, Mozart had to rush downstairs to finish the tune.

I don't mind falling prey to earworms every now and then. But for anyone who has a similar reaction to the phenomenon as Mozart's, the University of Cincinnati has a few suggestions to aid a speedy recovery.

1. Sing another song, or play another melody on an instrument.
2. Switch to an activity that keeps you busy, such as working out.
3. Listen to the song all the way through. (This works for some people.)
4. Turn on the radio or a CD to get your brain tuned in to another song.
5. Share the song with a friend.
6. Picture the earworm as a real creature crawling out of your head, and imagine stomping on it.

What to do when earworms strike Wednesday, August 18, 2010 By GENE MYERS

Building Brand Value Through the Strategic Use of Sound

Sound has an immediate, direct link to both the rational and emotional parts of our brain. The sound of a screaming baby will raise your hackles in no time. On the other hand, the sound of a gentle stream or windswept field is more of a feeling—one that’s calm and soothing, perhaps even therapeutic.

Building Brand Value Through the Strategic Use of Sound

Sonic Branding

"The Germans call these things ohrwurms or earworms - little bits of melody, little bits of sound that can worm their way into your ears and lodge themselves in your brain."

Sonic branding: An earworm to your pocket 







The most famous sonic brand of them all is Intel's "bongs" four notes which were composed in 1994 and have been heard more than a billion times since. The tune came to composer Walter Werzowa after a weekend of head-scratching.