YUCK! Doesn’t that sound awful? Well it kinda is… if you have ever had a song stuck in your head that won’t go away you have experienced an earworm. It’s a funny name for the phenomenon but it actually seems to make sense. There are so many catchy songs out there that seem to stick in your head and repeat over and over. People use these annoying songs for marketing to get you to remember their product and go buy it, hopefully before you quit singing the song in your head. If you have never experienced having an earworm consider yourself lucky. You are among only 2% who do not have this happen. I have to say, if and when I get a song stuck in my head it isn’t always a bad one that annoys me. Sometimes they are beautiful melodies that linger and become earworms and they aren’t always ones I want to itch. If that makes any sense?
If I want to quite my mind, I will listen to something else and try to replace it with a pleasant melody. It’s not always easy but it can be done. While I was in college I did some ear training. Once I had to sing a song on pitch while a completely different song and pitch/key was being played and the object was to try to remain in the same original key when both songs were interrupted I was tested and did surprisingly well. It must be that determination within me that never dies… Or maybe I’m just really competitive? Or maybe… I have a great ear worm? Ew!
It is very challenging to do this ear training exercise, but if you work at it, it starts to get easier. Basically I would separate myself completely from what was going on around me. It teaches you to become very centered and focused. It is a great activity that helps you to learn how to stay focused by tuning out everything around you. Actually, performing is a lot like this too. It takes an incredible amount of focus.
I enjoyed this activity but most people dreaded it. You really have to be completely memorized on your musical selection so you don’t get messed up. It shows you just how ready you really are to perform, because if you can get through that mess and come out okay you most likely will get through anything.
Let me know if you’ve ever had a song stuck in your head. And what was the song?
