Why do songs get stuck in your head?
Scientists call it involuntary musical imagery, and about 9 in 10 people get it at least weekly. The stickiest songs tend to be fast, with a familiar melodic shape and an unusual twist.
Quick Answer
Nearly everyone gets earworms. In a survey of 12,519 people in Finland, 89% said a song got stuck in their head at least once a week; scientists call it involuntary musical imagery. People who spend more time playing and listening to music tend to get them more often. A 2016 study led by Kelly Jakubowski at Durham University found that the songs most likely to get stuck are relatively fast, have a common, easy-to-sing melodic shape, and include unusual intervals or repetitions. The most frequently named earworm in that study was Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” The good news: a 2015 University of Reading study found that chewing gum reduced unwanted musical thoughts, probably because it keeps busy the mouth and jaw muscles you’d use to sing along silently.
By the Numbers
Key Facts
- Scientific name
- Involuntary musical imagery
- How common
- About 9 in 10 people get one at least weekly
- Stickiest traits
- A fast tempo, a familiar melodic shape and an unusual twist
- A tested fix
- Chewing gum reduced earworms in a 2015 study
What makes a tune sticky
- A quick tempo
Songs that get stuck tend to be faster than other songs.
- A familiar shape
Their melodies follow common, easy-to-sing patterns.
- An unusual twist
A surprising leap or repetition makes them stand out, like the opening riff of “Smoke on the Water.”
Who gets them most
Almost everyone gets earworms, but a large Finnish study found that people who practice and listen to more music report them more often.
The anatomy of a catchy song
Researchers at Durham University compared songs people named as earworms with similar songs that weren’t. The earworms were faster and had more common melodic shapes, but also unusual intervals or repetitions that made them distinctive.
How to get one out
In experiments at the University of Reading, people who chewed gum had fewer unwanted songs pop into their heads. The researchers think chewing interferes with the “inner singing” that keeps a tune looping.
Myth vs. Fact
MythOnly musicians get songs stuck in their heads.
FactAbout 9 in 10 people get earworms weekly, though people who play or listen to more music get them more often.
MythAn earworm means something is wrong with your brain.
FactResearchers treat it as a normal part of how the mind handles music.
The Bottom Line
Songs get stuck because catchy tunes, often fast with a familiar shape and a surprising twist, keep replaying in the mind’s ordinary music memory. Nearly everyone gets them, and chewing gum may help shake one loose.
Sources & Further Reading
- American Psychological Association — Psychologists identify key characteristics of earworms (2016)
- Psychology of Music — Musical activities predispose to involuntary musical imagery (Liikkanen, 2012)
- Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology — Want to block earworms from conscious awareness? B(u)y gum! (2015)
- University of Reading — Chewing gum could remove that stuck record in your head (2015)
- Psychonomic Bulletin & Review — Involuntary musical imagery as a component of ordinary music cognition