Musical Earworms: The Science Behind That Song Stuck in Your Head
Why do some songs become earworms and what can music psychology tell us about getting them unstuck?
Have you ever found yourself unable to get a song out of your head? This common phenomenon is known as an “earworm”, where a tune plays on a loop in our minds. So, what exactly causes an earworm, and what makes some songs more likely to get stuck in your head than others?
Understanding earworms
Earworms are defined as segments of music that come to mind without any actual auditory trigger or intentional recall¹. The term ‘öhrwurm’ was coined over 100 years ago by German psychiatrist Cornelius Eckert². Since then, research has shown they are usually of a looping nature, where approximately 20 seconds of a song tends to qualify³. Pop music is a fertile breeding ground for earworms due to its repetitive patterns and catchy choruses. However, under the right conditions, almost any music has the potential to get stuck in your head.
As music is part of our lives today more than ever before — in cars, stores, and through people’s headphones — neurologist Oliver Sacks wonders if earworms are a problem of an electronic age².
More than a century ago, most people had to go to parties, concert halls, or places of worship to hear music. There were no radios, stereos, or MP3 players that people could turn on and play their personal playlist. But today, people are surrounded by music wherever they go — in cars, stores, and through their headphones. Earworms have constant access to people’s minds and memories.
What makes a song stick?
The science behind earworms is rooted in how our brains process and store music. There are various parts of the brain involved when we listen to music, spanning the auditory cortex, motor and other areas responsible for memory and emotional processing⁴. With all of these areas lighting up, this creates a complex overlay of neural activity that makes music one of the most memorable stimuli and thus, at times, inescapable.
When earworms occur, it is believed that the areas of the brain involved in musical processing get stuck, resulting in us experiencing musical memories involuntarily.
Research has posed several theories on what makes a song particularly vulnerable to becoming an earworm¹:
- Simplistic, repetitive, and “catchy” tunes: Our brains are innately wired to recognise patterns. Repetitive music can create neural loops, which reinforce memory and familiarity, making such songs prone to earworms. Think of advertising jingles, which are designed to stick in our heads.
- Emotional connection: Songs that evoke strong emotions, either positive or negative, are more likely to become earworms. Think nostalgia, sadness, joy, or any kind of association.
- Recency and familiarity: In line with the recency effect, songs that we have heard recently are more prone to get stuck in our heads, simply because they are fresh in our minds. Similarly, songs we are familiar with often become earworms, as our brains have already formed strong neural connections associated with these songs and find comfort in processing them. The more familiar a song is, the easier it is for our brain to replay it without any external triggers.
Moments of vulnerability: Boredom, stress, and other disorders
States that hold a low cognitive load — referring to the amount of working memory resources used — have been repeatedly associated with earworm activity⁵. This is often referred to as moments of “mind wandering” or “daydreaming”, where the mind is free to think spontaneously. Other times of low cognitive load are when we are bored, making us more vulnerable to such spontaneous thoughts (not just musical ones). In 2016, The Conversation explored why some songs are more likely to become earwigs at such times⁶:
About 90% of people are distracted by song snippets and the person’s current mood plays a part as “our brains spend up to 40% of our days thinking thoughts that are unrelated to our present task at hand.”
During times of high cognitive load, such as when feeling overwhelmed or stressed, there is a connection to experiencing more earworms⁵. Stress and anxiety can impact memory in various ways⁷, often depending on the emotional importance of the memory being formed or recalled⁸.
Earworms are a form of rumination, in which our memory systems become stuck on a loop. This makes those with mood disorders such as anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) more vulnerable to earworms¹, as their brains are wired to ruminate and reflect⁵. For those with PTSD, songs related to their trauma may surface as intrusive thoughts, intensifying their distress during flashbacks.
Even in individuals without such disorders, earworms can form a loop, where anxiety may trigger more earworms and vice versa. This cycle can lead to feeling overwhelmed and heightened anxiety levels, demonstrating the intricate relationship between music, cognition, and emotional wellbeing.
Losing the loop: How can I get rid of an earworm?
Earworms can be extremely annoying and even disruptive. Some studies have suggested possible fixes for scratching that musical itch:
- Listen to the song: Actually listening to the whole song (not just the earworm snippet) may close the cognitive loop and help satisfy that itch.
- Distract yourself: Engage in a task that will shift your brain’s attention. This is linked to an increase in cognitive load, which should hopefully overlay the musical loop in your working memory.
- Find another song to replace it with: Choosing another song to listen to can replace the earworm with a less frustrating tune, or redirect it to something else.
- Chew gum: As weird as it sounds, a study conducted by researchers at the University of Reading revealed that the motor activity involved when chewing gum can interfere with the ability to “hear” the music, helping to cure the earworm, and reduce overall voluntary and involuntary musical thoughts⁹.
The takeaways
Whether entertaining or frustrating, the common phenomenon of earworms demonstrates the profound impact of music on our minds⁶. Through exploring the science behind the songs that get stuck in our heads, we gain deeper insights into how our brains work, as well as the intricate ways in which music can influence our daily lives. As music is part of our lives today more than ever before — in cars, stores, and through people’s headphones — neurologist Oliver Sacks wonders if earworms are a problem of an electronic age².
Sources:
¹ Why do Songs get “Stuck in our Heads”? Towards a Theory for Explaining Earworms
² Your Brain on Music: Earworms
³ Why that song is stuck in your head: The Harvard Gazette
⁴ Cognitive Crescendo: How Music Shapes the Brain’s Structure and Function
⁵ Why Songs Get Stuck in Your Head — and How to Stop Them: Wired
⁶ Earworms: why some songs get stuck in our heads more than others: The Conversation
⁷ Mechanisms of memory under stress
⁸ Cognitive neuroscience of emotional memory
⁹ Want to block earworms from conscious awareness? B(u)y gum!
