Why do we get songs stuck in our heads? Most of the time we’re hearing a song, even if we’re not playing it. Have you ever felt a song stuck in your brain? Even though the song sounds weird, and the song makes you feel frustrated? Yup, but never feel alone, because 91% of us experience it every week. Phenomena like this can be referred to as earworms. This earworm phenomenon is indeed widely questioned by people. Then, a question arises, how did this earworm happen?
Earworm: Always playing songs in our heads
Earworms, is a term that makes a song ring in our heads.
This earworm phenomenon happens a lot, but it’s still a mystery. Because this earworm is arguably an accidental reaction in our brain. Like our neighbors who often perform a loud country song, so that we accidentally participate in listening. Then, this phenomenon makes our ears accustomed to songs that are frequently played. And because they are often played, this song has long been distorting our thoughts, even though the song was not played. Then, why is that song distorting our minds?
When everyone sings the song, somehow it feels right inside our heads…
When we hear a popular song, there’s a part in our brain called the auditory cortex, which is part that keeps our brain ‘singing’ a song even if it’s not played. It’s this part that makes the songs feel like they’re played all the time. This part tries to satisfy our brain’s need for musical rhythms.
Therefore, this earworm makes us feel that the song is always stuck in our minds. Like doing repetitive activities, we must also be used to and memorized, which sometimes we also remembered the activities.
For example, eating every day with a boyfriend, it must feel like our boyfriend is always with us. Likewise, when everyone plays the song over and over again, our brains will also record the notes in the music. The song is easy to remember, and our brain will always play the song, even if it’s not played. But, what kind of song keeps ringing in our head even if we don’t play it? Why do we get songs stuck in our heads?
Though Hate, But It’s Always Played In Our Brain
Surely hate a weird song, but the tones often flutter in our heads. And either like or dislike it, the song has to be fluttered.
We must be in the bad mood with some unusual songs, but because the song is frequently played, our ears become familiar with it. Until came the term earworm song, or songs that easily distort our minds. Generally, popular types of songs, such as pop, rock, jazz, rhythm & blues, can be said to be earworm songs.
For example, songs like Bad Romance, Don’t Stop Believing, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star. These songs can be said to be earworm songs, not only are they frequently played anywhere, anytime, but also they have repetitive notes. And automatically our brains will find the patterns so that we can also easily remember the music, even though it frequently distorts our minds. Likewise with annoying songs, because they are regularly played, and also the tone is easy to remember, our brain keeps playing the song and over time will survive in our brain.
Tried to solve the Mystery of the earworm
But, this earworm phenomenon is still a mystery…it makes us typically wonder, why did it happen? Why do we get songs stuck in our heads?
Many people end up curious about this earworm phenomenon, and a researcher named Elizabeth Margulis tried to solve this mystery through her research. She observed, that it turns out that earworm has something to do with the motor area in our brain. Although there is no conclusive conclusion yet, her research explains, that it turns out that our brains work like, in quotation marks, like a genius child.
After several plays of the same notation, our brain was able to memorize it. Then, when our brain then hears stimuli with similar notation, our brain can immediately predict the next notation pattern as if it were working on a mathematical formula. This is due to the motor cortex function of our brain that normally responds to and estimates our actions, as human beings.
Another Research
Then, there’s also Dr. Kelly Jabowski, trying to solve the mystery of this earworm, seeing that these symptoms can appear in songs of certain genres, such as popular music. The music contained in this popular music has repetitive tones and unique intervals. Then, these types of music that are played over and over again, such as being played continuously on the radio, make the song familiar to the audience.
Because we are familiar, our brains also unconsciously play the song continuously, even though the song is not played. Then, these earworm songs are often found in European music, because the notes in that music have repetitive patterns, making it easy for our brains to remember those notes. This is because these tones have become familiar, so our brain easily recognizes them. For example, in the legendary song, Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star, which we must have heard when we were kids.
Since when did this earworm phenomenon arise?
The earworm has been known since time immemorial by the Aboriginal Tribe.
The phenomenon of earworms itself is also, as it turns out, well-known to humans. Aboriginal tribes in Australia, are said to have used earworms, to help them hunt animals, in the desert. How can you do that? Aboriginal tribes use earworms, to memorize the direction of the dead wind, through their ethnic songs. The analogy is that we memorize the alphabet, with the songs A B C D E, so that it continues to be remembered in our brains. Very creative. Give them a round of applause. It’s very different from humans today who are already using technology but are still confused about which is right, and which is left.
So, that’s why a song can flutter in our heads because there’s a phenomenon called an earworm. Well,at least now you know the reason of why do we get songs stuck in our heads. Let’s share our earworm suffering, by writing a comment below, what song have you been “ear wormed” lately?
