Are earworms harmless

By Joyce St. Antoine

You know that tune that’s been crawling through your head all day? That’s called an earworm.

The dictionary definition of an earworm is a catchy song or tune that runs continually through a person’s mind. It can also be called a brainworm, sticky music, stuck-song syndrome or involuntary musical imagery.

If you have ever been unable to get a song out of your head, you have experienced an earworm. But is it a good or bad thing?

Radio personality Dan MacDonald works for 93.9 The River, and has his own local music show called Hear + Now. He said earworms put him in a good mood.

“I have earworms from when I was a child. Certain commercials – especially locally produced ads – have stuck with me to this day. Often music with heavy bass chords are the catchiest. “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes has a guitar and bass melody that sticks in your head,” said MacDonald. “Once you get an earworm, it’s very hard to flush it out.”

Matt Scalzo is the bass guitarist for the Windsor band, Disaster Strike. Scalzo said the band’s influences are Blink 182, The Beatles, Kiss and the Arctic Monkeys. He said he believes the goal of most pop artists is to create earworms.

“It’s always been pop music since the days of Michael Jackson, from his days in the Jackson 5,” said Scalzo. “Artists want to release a song that can stand out and stick in the listeners head for a long period of time.”

According to an article from CBC, moving onto another song will not force an earworm to leave your system. That plan will just result in a continuous loop of songs in your head.

Dave Collins, an elementary music teacher, actually recommends doing that. “It can be frustrating if it’s a particularly annoying jingle or song in your head. But if that happens, you can always play another song from your favourite playlist in the hopes of clearing your mind.”

He believes that it isn’t a good or bad thing, it is just how our brains work.

“I think many solo artists or bands can feel pressured by record companies to immediately attract listeners with a melodic hook or catchy guitar riff and follow a more ‘radio friendly’ format with a repeating chorus (verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus) that sticks in people’s minds. However, some of my favourite songs may not follow this pattern.”

Monique Soulliere is also a music instructor, but she believes jingles are less of a culprit than actual songs.

“I don’t hear jingles nearly as often as I hear the same songs being played by my students at work. So it’s the repetition that makes songs stick in my head,” said Soulliere.

Earworms can bring back good memories, put you in a good mood, and be catchy, but they’re not a bad thing, or anything to worry about.