Over 90 percent of the world’s population suffers from the phenomenon known as an earworm. Researchers have proposed various theories about why this occurs in our brains and how to get rid of it.
Emery Schubert, a professor at the Laboratory of Empirical Musicology at the School of Arts and Media at the University of New South Wales in Australia, has offered a scientific explanation for the persistent replay of melodies in our heads.
What the Professor Said
Why does it sometimes feel like a phrase from a is stuck on repeat in your mind? This happens because our musical memory is not structured like an audio file or a tape recording that plays from start to finish.
The thing is, in our consciousness is organized, so to speak, into pockets. Some of these pockets are reused.
These different pockets are connected by a mental network that resembles a series of instructions: “start with this introduction, play the verse twice, then move to the chorus and repeat it four times, go to the next section, return to the verse, repeat it,” and so on. These instructions are the key part of the story about earworms, as noted by Science Alert.
Several factors can trigger an earworm in your head: recently listening to a musical piece or part of it, a phrase you heard or saw, or a song suddenly sung by someone that sounds familiar.
Your habits can also play a role. For instance, if you take the bus every morning while listening to a song, a fragment of it might suddenly pop into your mind even after the audio has long been turned off.
There’s a deeper reason for this. An earworm starts to assert itself when a group of brain areas known as the default mode network is activated. Associated with daydreaming and wandering thoughts, it allows intrusive and repetitive musical fragments to surface more easily.
When it comes to remembering songs, this network is like your younger sister who picks her favorite part of a song and listens to it over and over all night long.
responsible for attention and knowing how many times to replay a song fragment and what should happen next do not have access to the default mode network.
Repeated plays of a song become the focus of the network. The instruction for imaginary playback of phrases now goes something like this: “when you reach the end of the fragment, go back and replay it.” Meanwhile, the number of repetitions is unknown, and other parts of the song seem to disappear.
How to Tame an Earworm?
Some people complain that song fragments get stuck in their heads for hours or even days. What can you do in such cases?
First and foremost, you need to deactivate your default network. One way to do this is to sing the annoying song out loud to others. Social interaction prevents the activation of the network, but your audience might not appreciate it. So, while effective, it’s not always the best option. Another approach is to replace the song with another, less intrusive one.
For those who struggle to shake a melody from their heads, the software company Atlassian has come to the rescue. They created and released a 40-second audio track called Earworm Eraser, designed to neutralize those pesky tunes. Perhaps this video will help you too.
Interestingly, an earworm can not only be exhausting with its endless repetitions but can also bring joy by continuously playing music that you love.
And if none of the above tips work for you, here’s one more: listen to a wide variety of music and embrace your inner earworm.
Photo: Unsplash
