Music that’s stuck in your head
Songs, melodies and jingles get stuck in my head. If it happens to you also, you know how maddening it is …
It’s got me wondering why it happens to me so often, and how can I fix it?
This morning for instance, a Gregorian Chant “Regina Caeli” popped into my head. I hadn’t heard this since Parochial school more than 55 years ago… random doesn’t begin to describe how obscure this chant is….
As I began to sing it..I stopped myself and wondered out loud “where did that come from?”
My wife says, I ask that question every time a random tune pops in my head and have done so forever.
I wasn’t thinking about it or anything religious or hadn’t heard anything remotely similar …it just started playing… over and over again.
So today, I took on the challenge to find out …..if I’m just crazy or if there is a reasonable explanation for it.
After pouring through psychonomic medical publications, I found a condition that describes exactly what I have been experiencing….
It’s called “Involuntary musical imagery” (INMI) which refers to a conscious mental experience of music that occurs without deliberate efforts to initiate or sustain it.
This experience often consists of the repetition of a short fragment of a melody, which is commonly called an “earworm.”
So, I guess what I’ve found is ….I’m not a raging lunatic….(some who know me might not agree).
It seems it’s not at all uncommon to have songs, melodies, or jingles get stuck in your head for days, weeks, or even months. Earworms are a widely recognized and studied occurrence, and they can be triggered by a variety of factors, such as recent exposure to a tune, repetition, or the emotional resonance of the music.
There are a few reasons why earworms happen:
- Recent exposure: Hearing a song on the radio, in a store, or even in a movie can cause it to get stuck in your head, especially if it’s catchy or memorable.
- Repetition: Songs with repetitive patterns or hooks are more likely to become earworms because the brain tends to latch onto patterns.
- Emotional connection: If a song has a personal or emotional connection to you, it can also increase the likelihood of it becoming an earworm.
- Cognitive factors: Sometimes, the brain just seems to generate earworms seemingly out of the blue, as you described with the Gregorian Chant. This could be related to random associations, memories, or even your subconscious processing of musical patterns.
Most people experience earworms at some point in their lives, and they can indeed be maddening. Some strategies to get rid of earworms include listening to the song in its entirety, distracting yourself with other activities, or deliberately replacing the earworm with another tune.
It’s good that I’ve found an explanation for my musical mystery. It’s a common experience, and understanding “Involuntary musical imagery” has helped me understand and manage it better. I’ll be using these new strategies to get rid of a few local jingles that haunt me for days like:
- Benie and Phyl’s …Quality Comfort and Price That’s Nice…
- 1-800 Cars for Kids
- How do you get your carpets cleaned..Call Andrew 8 -8,000
Dam…now all three are playing in a loop…. time to substitute some soulful Otis Redding…
The Bow Legged Blogger 