Songs That Get Stuck In Your Head

When was the last time you had music stuck in your head?  Is there a song in there now?

As a musician, the likelihood that we're hearing music in our heads is high since we're programming our brains to run through the same melodies over and over again through practicing.  And our brains are actually practicing when that is happening.  Cool, huh?

An earworm is different though.  An earworm is something you can't control.  And you don't have to

be a musician to have them.  How many times have you been walking along, and your footsteps happen to be the exact bpm (beats per minute) of the song from a commercial you heard on TV earlier that day - and before you know it, you're singing along, walking to the beat.  That sounds kind of nice, right?  Well, how about later, when you're sitting down to dinner, or to do your homework and it is STILL there?  Or when you're trying to fall asleep that night?  Or even..... when you wake up in the morning?!

Here is a fun little background on ear worms, including the science behind them and even multiple examples of pretty famous ear worms.

(My husband just had to get up and close his office door as I'm listening to these fun melodies saying, "Do you know how hard it is to write intelligently when you have, 'I am stuck on Bandaid brand, 'cause Bandaid's stuck on me' stuck in your head?!")

Between now and the start of the fall semester, students of mine should first listen to and read about ear worms by clicking on the link above and then jot down any earworms they have in the next month their music notebook as well as what they did to get RID of them.  Be prepared to discuss this in September's group classes!

Doodle-oodle-oop, Inspector Gadget.....