Why do we get tired of some music?

[amirm]

And why do some songs get stuck in our brain? Anyone know?

I get that we have a defense mechanism to not keep eating the same thing pushing us to eat a variety of food. But why is our brain trained to dislike hearing a song we love, after a few repeated plays? And why it doesn't happen with some other music?

Anyone has ever studied this?

 

[NorthStar]

Preconditioning; from radio waves on the radio and TV (music and films and shows and news).

It creates dreams and repetitive music themes in our brain. It infiltrates us subconsciously at night (dreams) and during daytime (music themes).

I think. And of course some beats are more catchy than others to our own vibrating chords, even if we dislike them consciously.
Makes sense?

 

[treitz3]

Because one can only put up with so much Vanilla Ice.

I think the answer to one of your questions is the difference between "music" and music that moves you, gets you involved, makes you want to turn it up, makes you unknowingly tap your toes, makes you want to sing along, get up and dance or play air guitar. I know of no study about this though.

Tom

 

[rockitman]

And why do some songs get stuck in our brain? Anyone know?

I get that we have a defense mechanism to not keep eating the same thing pushing us to eat a variety of food. But why is our brain trained to dislike hearing a song we love, after a few repeated plays? And why it doesn't happen with some other music?

Anyone has ever studied this?

I watch a lot of CNN. I can't get that Norfolk Southern commercial jingle out of my mind...I kind of like it...lol

 

[ack]

And why do some songs get stuck in our brain? Anyone know?

I get that we have a defense mechanism to not keep eating the same thing pushing us to eat a variety of food. But why is our brain trained to dislike hearing a song we love, after a few repeated plays? And why it doesn't happen with some other music?

Anyone has ever studied this?

Would you read the same book over and over again? Yes, if it was stimulating. As a kid, I would read Ivanhoe over and over again until I had no need for that dictionary.
Would you watch the same movie over and over again? Yes, if it was gripping and entertaining. More so if it were 007

I think it's all about the challenge.

 

[amirm]

Looks like there are some potential answers: http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/songs-stuck-in-head.htm

Why do songs get inextricably stuck in our heads? Experts say the culprits are earworms (or "ohrwurms," as they're called in Germany). No, they're not parasites that crawl into your ear and lay musical eggs in your brain, but they are parasitic in the sense that they get lodged in your head and cause a sort of "cognitive itch" or "brain itch" -- a need for the brain to fill in the gaps in a song's rhythm.

When we listen to a song, it triggers a part of the brain called the auditory cortex. Researchers at Dartmouth University found that when they played part of a familiar song to research subjects, the participants' auditory cortex automatically filled in the rest -- in other words, their brains kept "singing" long after the song had ended [source: Prokhorov]. The only way to "scratch" brain itch is to repeat the song over and over in your mind. Unfortunately, like with mosquito bites, the more you scratch the more you itch, and so on until you're stuck in an unending song cycle.

There are many other theories about why songs get stuck in our heads. Some researchers say stuck songs are like thoughts we're trying to suppress. The harder we try not to think about them, the more we can't help it. Other experts claim that earworms are simply a way to keep the brain busy when it's idling [source: University of Cincinnati]. Just as there are many theories, there are many names for the phenomenon. It's been called everything from "repetunitis" to "melodymania."
So why do some songs get stuck in our heads and not others?

James Kellaris, a marketing professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Business Administration, has done research on earworms and brain itch, and he's found that as many as 99 percent of us have fallen prey to them at one time or another [source: BBC News]. Kellaris says women, musicians and people who are neurotic, tired or stressed are most prone to earworm attacks. With musicians, it makes sense because they're listening to music continuously, but Kellaris isn't sure why women are more susceptible to earworms [source: Prokhorov].

Researchers also aren't sure why some songs are more likely to get stuck in our heads than others, but everyone has their own tunes that drive them crazy. Often the songs have a simple, upbeat melody; catchy, repetitive lyrics; and a surprise such as an extra beat or unusual rhythm -- the same factors that made the songs or jingles popular in the first place (like the Chili's, "I want my baby back baby back baby back ribs" jingle, which made Kellaris' list of the most insidiously "stuck" songs).

Most people (74 percent) get caught up on songs with lyrics, but commercial jingles (15 percent) and instrumental songs (11 percent) can also be hard to shake [source: DeNoon]. What makes us groan is cause for celebration to record companies and advertisers, who are thrilled when people can't get their songs and jingles out of their heads.

Contrary to popular belief, we don't just repeat the songs we hate. In one study done by researchers at Bucknell University, more than half of students who had songs stuck in their heads rated them as pleasant, and 30% were neutral. Only 15% of the songs were considered unpleasant.

How to Get Songs Out of Your Head
Unfortunately, there's no tried and true way to get songs out of your head once they're stuck in there. They can stick in your brain for anywhere from a few minutes to several days -- long enough to drive even the sanest person batty. Most earworms eventually "crawl out" on their own, but if a song is nagging you to the brink of insanity, here are a few tips to try:

1. Sing another song, or play another melody on an instrument.
2. Switch to an activity that keeps you busy, such as working out.
3. Listen to the song all the way through (this works for some people).
4. Turn on the radio or a CD to get your brain tuned in to another song.
5. Share the song with a friend (but don't be surprised if the person become an ex-friend when he or she walks away humming the tune).
6. Picture the earworm as a real creature crawling out of your head, and imagine stomping on it.
[source: University of Cincinnati]

Don't worry if you keep getting songs stuck in your head -- it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you. However, if you actually hear music that isn't there (instead of just thinking about it), see a psychologist or other mental health professional. It could be a sign of endomusia -- an obsessive condition in which people hear music that isn't really playing.

 

[NorthStar]

Did you know about that article before you asked Amir?

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

It's interesting in that it happens with both songs we like and dislike. Regardless of that, it's annoying either way!

 

[Groucho]

I think we can get sick of any piece of music if we play it too often. I try to ration myself on the really good stuff - Beatles White Album no more than once a year! It's one of the reasons why I never have background music on, nor listen to an iPod at work. If it's music you love, why waste those precious plays in less than ideal surroundings? If it's not music you love, you're just clogging up your brain with mush and tiring your ears.

 

[MC352]

Heck, I can still hear that old Coke commercial song playing in my head after all these years. I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.......
I wish that and Hey Jude would just go away.

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

Heck, I can still hear that old Coke commercial song playing in my head after all these years. I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.......
I wish that and Hey Jude would just go away.

Thanks for the reminder!

 

[amirm]

Did you know about that article before you asked Amir?

No, I had no idea. But seeing how no one had any other ideas I did a google and found that one.

 

[amirm]

I think we can get sick of any piece of music if we play it too often. I try to ration myself on the really good stuff - Beatles White Album no more than once a year! It's one of the reasons why I never have background music on, nor listen to an iPod at work. If it's music you love, why waste those precious plays in less than ideal surroundings? If it's not music you love, you're just clogging up your brain with mush and tiring your ears.

Back in 1980s someone had a great idea of making a programmable timer using a cassette player. You would record music for the gaps and then record your own voice at the right time saying go to the next step. This was for developing photographic prints. The article came with a warning: "don't use your favorite music; you will get sick of it!" And sick I got with that song after hundreds of play.

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

 

[NorthStar]

No, I had no idea. But seeing how no one had any other ideas I did a google and found that one.

Cool, you're on the same discovery level as I. :b

________________

* From personal observation: This phenomenon was much more happening when I was younger, now I cannot remember the last time that I experienced it.
So, I'm not sure if age is in anyway related to it, but it is my factual observation.

Another thing that might also be related: space and travel. ...By that I mean if you travel more and you physically explore several various locations, it seems to be stronger with me.
Why? Because I am more subjected to more various music environments. And that has much greater chances to register with me as I want to fill the dots of what I don't have in my normal routine life.
The more I think about it the more I can get to the sources of the whys from this entire 'concept' (phenomenon).

"Getting tired of some music" is not exactly the correct way to say it in my opinion, or not the full story.

One more, each one of us is more or less exposed to it more than others, because of the music we listen to and to the movies, documentaries, news, ... we watch.
And of course add to this travel and various spaces.

It's like a tune we have in our head and trying to find its origin because we just don't know. ...You know that feeling? You want to know so that you can share.
Or that song that we can't get out of our head because we listened to it few times (or several) at different places over the years (time and space), and it's also a very "catchy" tune, with that intoxicating (grabbing, hypnotic) beat.

Our life's routine (in music listening) will dictate this phenomenon's level of intensity. ...Mixed with all the above ingredients I just mentioned; for me and from personal observations and from which lead me to believe with affirmation. ...Firmer certitude, confidence, steadfastness.

 

[amirm]

* From personal observation: This phenomenon was much more happening when I was younger, now I cannot remember the last time that I experienced it.

Well you know, the reason I started this thread had to do with you once again!!! I was walking into the bathroom and realized I could not get the Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball song out of my head and you were the that one that introduced me to it! So even though you are not subject to it, you are subjecting others to it.

 

[NorthStar]

Well you know, the reason I started this thread had to do with you once again!!! I was walking into the bathroom and realized I could not get the Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball song out of my head and you were the that one that introduced me to it! So even though you are not subject to it, you are subjecting others to it.

You're kidding!!! Lol ...I'm so sorry about that Amir!

 

[DSkip]

Could this not be compared to relationships? After the new wears off, they have the chance to simmer down or go completely stale. Even when things are still 'lively', you still don't want to see her in the same lingerie every night, do you?

 

[NorthStar]

Could this not be compared to relationships? After the new wears off, they have the chance to simmer down or go completely stale.
Even when things are still 'lively', you still don't want to see her in the same lingerie every night, do you?

Excellent point, and we got the proof right here! ...The people we hang around with; our friends, our girlfriends, our wives, our kids, ....
They can inspire, influence, subject us to it more or less. ...Just like I did to Amir!

Buy her new lingerie, be creative. ...Or ....

 

[Keith_W]

Interesting question, Amir!

The answer, I think, comes from what Mahler said. Music is the most abstract of all the arts. From least abstract to most abstract - film, painting, sculpture, literature, then music. A depiction of a bird in film can never be anything other than a depiction of a bird. A painting of a bird in adds a layer of abstraction, because it is possible to add ambiguities and intent without actually depicting what the bird is doing, thinking, or even what bird it is. Music is the most abstract of all, in that it is the least descriptive. If you go beyond birds and start depicting emotions, music becomes even more abstract. Where you might see an angry face in a movie, what you hear in music is a series of minor chords or dissonant harmonies.

Once you remove spoken words from music, it becomes even more abstract. Your imagination has even more work to do, and the meaning of the piece can only be discerned if you are actively involved in interpreting the music. The music loses its literalism and becomes whatever you make of it. This is why I can often hear different things from the same piece of music - the only thing that has changed is my emotional state and what I bring to the music.

Great art often spawns discussions that are far longer and far more intense than the length of the piece itself. Entire books and dissertations have been written about the works of major composers. I can spend an hour reading about a piece which may be only a few minutes long.

To me, this is why some music can be listened to over and over. Not because the tune is merely catchy, but because of what it says. Much music is not like this - it only has one thing to say, and it says it in an obvious, literal way whilst lacking in any originality.