Earworm Project
Why do tunes get stuck in our heads?
The Music, Mind and Brain group is currently running a number of projects examining the nature of earworms. We are funded by The Leverhulme Trust and our projects run in partnership with 6Music (BBC Radio).
LINK TO EARWORMERY.COM - The home of our original project questionnaire. Please fill in only once - then pass it on!
LINK TO QUICK EARWORM FORM - use this to report as many earworm experiences as you like.
What are 'earworms'?
The term earworm originally comes from a translation of the German word 'Ohrwurm'. It refers to the experience of having a tune or a part of a tune stuck in your head. Often a person experiencing an earworm has no idea why a tune has popped into their head and has little control over how long it continues. Earworms are a really common phenomenon: A recent poll suggested over 90% of the population experience them at least once a week, so it seems like having the odd earworm is perfectly normal. But 15% of people classified their earworms as "disturbing" [1] and in a different study one third of the people described their earworms as "unpleasant" [2] - This means that although earworms are essentially harmless they can get in the way of what you are trying to do and can stop you from thinking straight.
Despite the prevalent nature of earworms and the potential impact they can have on our normal thought processes very little is known about what causes earworms, why they happen to some people more than others and why some tunes are more commonly heard as an earworm than others.This is where our research comes in!
Our Projects
- Project 1: What features do typical earworm music tunes have in common? - Are some tunes naturally more 'sticky'?
NEWS! We have completed the first run of this project using over 1000 reports of earworm tunes. We used computational methods to analyse the structure of the tunes that were reported as earworms and then compared these tunes to 'control songs' to see which parts of the musical structure make a tune more 'sticky'. Our model is continuing to grow and develop in strength as we get more and more reports. To keep you updated, we can tell you that the current model can predict whether a tune has the potential to be an earworm with over 80% success. We are currently re-analysing our dataset to update our model and very soon we will have our first paper on this subject.
MORE NEWS! We presented our latest findings on this project at the 12th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition (ICMPC) in July 2012 in a specially dedicated symposium run by Dr Vicky Williamson. A website for the symposium, including a link to the talk, can be found here: http://icmpc12earworms.com/
- Project 2: What do people who frequently experience earworms have in common? - Are musicians or music lovers more vulnerable? What about people with different personality types?
NEWS! We have completed the first run of this project using nearly 2000 reports of earworm tunes. We used statistical techniques to determine whether certain types of people were more likely to experience earworms. To keep you updated, we have found some fascinating relationships between personality and earworms.Our first paper on this subject has been submitted for publication and we hope to provide further details soon.
MORE NEWS! Our PhD student Georgina Floridou presented our latest findings on this project at the 12th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition (ICMPC) in July 2012. A copy of her paper ('Contracting earworms: The roles of personality and musicality') can be found by visiting her co-author's (Dr Vicky Williamson) university website here and clicking on 'Publications': http://www.gold.ac.uk/psychology/staff/victoria-williamson/
- Project 3: What causes earworms? - Are some situations more 'high risk'? Can earworms have a purpose?
NEWS! - We have completed their analyses of over 3000 earworm reports provided by the general public using our questionnaire and 6 Music contacts. To summarise, the results of this analysis have shown that while the music in our environment has an effect on our earworm experiences, especially when we hear music repeatedly and outside of our control, this is not the only factor that leads to spontaneous musical imagery. The reports we have received highlighted the importance of spreading activation in memory (both personal memory and memory for simple knowledge and facts), as well as the effects of mood and attention states on the type of music that we hear in our heads.
MORE NEWS! Our paper on this project is now published!! You can find it in the Psychology of Music Online first. Please contact Vicky Williamson if you would like a copy.
- Project 4: What cures earworms? - We are currently building a database of 'earworm cures', supplied by kind members of the public. Have you worked out a way to control your earworms? Have you worked out a trick for silencing the stuck tune? Do you know of a melody or sound that you can play or imagine that knocks out an earworm without itself getting stuck? If the answer to any of these questions is 'yes' then we would love to hear from you!
Please email: earwormcures - at- gmail.com
'How can I get involved?'...
…By telling us about you and your earworm experiences at http://earwormery.com/ . In addition, anytime that you notice an earworm you can fill in our short report form which is hosted by 6Music here- the more the merrier! You can also send us earworm cures. Please email them to: earwormcures - at- gmail.com
The Research Team at Goldsmiths
Georgia Floridou
Rhiannon Jones
Mike Wammes
Please visit Vicky Williamson's blog on music psychology
Contact: Any questions and comments can be directed to us at: earwormery@gmail.com
External Links
Recent Interview on Radio 4 (Begins 7m into recording): http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t2xct#synopsis
Earworm Paper 1 (Project 3) on the British Psychological Society Blog:
The birthplace of our earworm hunt:http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/shaun_keaveny/
The video where the 6 Music team got Vicky in a white coat!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SkxXzitCuU
Tell us your earworm on Twitter: http://twitter.com/search?q=earworms (#earworm)
Visit our Facebook page: http://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/Music-Mind-Brain-Goldsmiths/10150121042135716
Learn more about our research group: http://www.gold.ac.uk/music-mind-brain/
Learn about our Masters in Music, Mind and Brain: http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/msc-music-mind-brain/
References
[1] Liikkanen L.A. (2008) Music in everymind: Commonality of involuntary musical imagery. Proceedings of the 10th International Conference of Music Perception and Cognition. Sapporo, Japan.
[2] Beaman, C. P., & Williams, T. I. (2010) Earworms ("stuck song syndrome"): Towards a natural history of intrusive thoughts. British Journal of Psychology, 101(4), 637-653.