It is quite a common thing to be thus annoyed with the ringing in our ears, or rather in our

memories, of the burthen of some ordinary song, or some unimpressive snatches from an
opera. Nor will we be the less tormented if the song in itself be good, or the opera air
meritorious.
Edgar Allan Poe, The Imp of the Perverse (1845).
Involuntary Musical Imagery is experienced by the vast majority of the population from vast
classical melodies, to simple folk song, to pop hooks. Musical daydreaming (Earworms or
INMI) is the experience of having music which is stuck inside ones head. Through recent
studies on the relationship between memory and music, researchers and musical psychologists
have become increasingly intrigued by the cause and purpose of INMI. In musicians,
earworms can include aural imagery in composition, score reading and mental rehearsal
(Bailes, 2006).
In recent years there have been a number of significant studies into INMI. For instance, on
2012, a Finnish researcher, Lassi Liikkanen completed a study into earworms. His research
was conducted to study whether or not INMI could be triggered by external stimuli. He
addressed this issue through two questions, 1) Can INMI be experimentally influenced? and 2)
What initiates INMI?
To address these primary questions, he implemented a cued recall system, which attempted to
inspire INMI by reminded participants of particular popular songs. The cued recall system took
the form of an online exercise requiring participants to fill in 3 words of lyrics following popular
lyrics from the verse or chorus of several well-known songs. Following this exercise, the
participant was distracted through a filler section of the experiment, in which they were asked
irrelevant questions. Following the filler section, participants were quizzed regarding their INMI
experiences in general, and were then asked if they had specifically experienced INMI during
the filler section. If they had, they were asked to identify the song amongst the cued-recall
songs, or name it if it wasnt amongst them. Word The title or lyrics within the INMI are linked
to a word or series of words that the person either sees or hears. (Victoria, J, et al., 2012.)
The same study also suggests other triggers include: Association, Situation, Recollection,
Anticipation, Mood.
Out of 9967 initial submissions, a startling 99.5% reported experiencing INMI at least once
monthly; a rather striking figure when one considers we know relatively little about INMI and its
purpose. Participants were required to meet a minimum threshold of familiarity with the music,
this reduced number of submissions to 991. A success rate of 68.2% was recorded for INMI
induction. The result really shows the responsiveness of musical memory, by providing merely
snippets of the text, the mind instinctively recalls the musical ideas that accompany the lyrics.
These results have a great deal of relevance in understanding the link between the language
and music centers of the brain, and sheds light on the idea that music and language are
inextricably linked. When we read the lyrics to a familiar song it is almost unavoidable to
imagine and internally hear the accompanying melody. Never gonna give you up, never gonna
let you.. it is very possible that you are now continuing along the chorus of this well-known
catchy song, and that the melody of it is annoyingly playing in your head. The experiment,

whilst proving the effectiveness of INMI induction, also sheds light onto the intimate cohesion of
music and language.
The limitations of this experiment include: Participants were unmonitored, which could have
lead to tampering with the results. Participants could have googled lyrics in order to meet the
familiarity threshold of the music. Other tasks or persons may have distracted participants
during the filler session, potentially altering the presence or lack of INMI.
The strengths include: Online collection of data ensured many people could participate from a
location of their choosing, perhaps creating a more pleasant, natural environment for the
experiment to occur (This could also be a negative, in that the variables between participants is
completely unmonitored). The data was collected from a very broad demographic. Using the
lyrics as stimuli left it to the individual to create the musical sounds.
This study by Liikkanen aligns well with a recent study conducted at the Griffith University in
Queensland, Australia. Both studies used stimuli to attempt to induce controlled earworm
experiences. The research at Griffith had 141 participants, a mixture of psychology and music
students with an average age of 21.4 years they had varying musical training (ranging from
those with no training to professionals). On average, participants listened to 3.47 hours of
music per day. This research aimed to outline the frequency of INMI when introducing
unfamiliar musical stimuli. Participants recorded one full day of INMI experiences before the
listening, which was performed in one of three different ways: 1) 6 times before bed 2) 3 times
before bed and 3 times within the hour of waking up 3) 6 times within the hour of waking up.
Results were recorded in one of two fashions 1) One would record when they realised they
were experiencing INMI 2) One set 10 random alarms per day, and would report if they were
experiencing INMI at the time the alarm went off Bailes, notes that the
immediacy of sampling experience in real time avoids the distortions involved
when asking people to report retrospectively. The unfamiliar musical stimuli was the piece
Cruise written by Florida Georgia Line ft. Nelly.
Given the overwhelming amount of evidence showing study works best when refreshed prior to
sleep, I hypothesized that those who listened 6 times before bed would experience more
earworms than the other methods. Furthermore, I hypothesized that those using the alarmcaught method would record more earworms than those using the self-caught because they
were forced to stop their activity and listen to their inner-ear.
In contrast to my hypothesis, results found the listening method had no actual impact on the
frequency of Cruise as INMI. The p score was 0.28 (meaning there is a 28% chance the
difference was random too great). The acceptable range is within 0.05, meaning there is no
difference between the listening methods. The recording method showed a p score of .054,
meaning the chance of it being random is 5.4% - with alarm-caught participants showing a
consistently higher rate of earworm detection than self-caught. This experiment differs from
Liikkanen in that it was performed during the completion of daily, normal tasks as opposed to a
set exercise on a computer. The stimuli differed, the Liikkanen using text, the Griffith test using
music. The average music lessons of participants also differed, with participants from
Likkanens having an average of 1-3 years, whilst the Griffith University study students had an
average of 7.6 years (clearly a significant difference). Participants in the Griffith University test
recorded their earworms over the course of two days, whilst Likkanens recorded ones
earworms in only one instance.

One of the strengths of this experiment is its use an unfamiliar song which has had
considerable commercial success. However, through personal communication and participation
in the experiment, I became aware of the fact that many participants actually found the song
particularly distasteful, eg. I hate this earworm song. I hate, hate, hate, hate it.. and Oh
wow this song is terrible. Whilst the song is indeed catchy, it may have been beneficial to
have used a song viewed less aggressively in order to inspire a more receptive attitude.
Alternatively, perhaps the feeling of any kind of strong emotion assists the recollection of the
song, thus making it a good choice as stimuli.
Another strength is the way in which the experiment was carried out during daily life
participants were not hindered by the constraints of confined computer exercises, or the stark,
unfamiliar environment of a research centre. By keeping it familiar, participants were free to
feel normal and comfortable within the regularity of their daily routines. One of the limitations of
this experiment is that the responses were unmonitored participants could have created fake
responses in order to save time, thus altering the final outcome of the results. Secondly, a large
amount of the participants were music students constantly rehearsing, practicing and
listening to music throughout the day, thus lessening the chance of experiencing an earworm.
Furthermore, the results/demographic section explains that the only covariate which had any
effect on the data was the years of music lessons people had, so that was the only one I kept
including in the final analysis however, it fails to discuss wether or not this is because the
participants with more music lessons were more likely to be music students thus almost
constantly surrounded by other music; or if it was because those simply with more musical
training were in some ways less susceptible to experiencing earworms. By leaving this
information, the researcher fails to separate some extra variables.
The experiment successfully collated information regarding the presence of earworms within
several variables. However, the information was gathered through such a narrow demographic
that it cannot be accurately applied within broader topics. The sheer percentage of musicians
within the experiment is definitely greater than that of the actual population. Gathering this
information through a broader source (such as online groups) would serve to widen the
demographic, probably giving a more accurate representation of the population. Given the
natural inclines of memory patterns, performing the test over 3 or 4 days, and with different
catchy tunes would also serve as beneficial in monitoring any spikes or declines in the
earworms over time. Within the actual context of the research, the study successfully
addressed its questions and completed the research effectively within its capacities.
Bailes, Freya (2006). The use of experience-sampling methods to monitor musical imagery in everyday life. Canberra,
Australia: University of Canberra.
Liikaanen, Lassi (2012). Inducing involuntary musical imagery: An experimental study. Helsinki, Finland: University of Helsinki
Williamson, V., Jilka, S., Fry, J., Finkel, S., Muellensiefen, D., Stewart, L. (2011). How do earworms start? Classifying the
everyday circumstances of Involuntary Musical Imagery. Goldsmiths, England: University of London.