Imagine walking along a road when you suddenly notice a photograph of Ayub Bachchu or hear one of his songs drifting from a nearby music box. Almost immediately, a familiar melody may begin to play inside your head. You might even find yourself silently humming a line such as “Ei rupali guitar fele…” or “Hashte dekho gaite dekho…”, without making any conscious effort to do so.
If this situation feels familiar, then you have experienced what scientists call involuntary musical imagery. In everyday language, this is more commonly referred to as an earworm. Research suggests that more than 90 per cent of people around the world encounter this phenomenon at some point in their lives. In recent years, researchers have begun examining why certain songs lodge themselves so firmly in our minds and how this mental process takes place.
Studies show that the section of a song most likely to become stuck is the part that repeats frequently without a clear break. A familiar example is a recurring segment from Ayub Bachchu’s song “Shei Tumi”. This same pattern can be observed in songs by many other artists. Put simply, when a particular line or melody is repeatedly recalled or hummed internally, it has a higher chance of turning into an earworm. Children’s songs such as “Baby Shark, doo doo doo” clearly demonstrate this effect due to their strong and continuous repetition. In a similar way, newly released and widely promoted songs, including those from Coke Studio Bangla, can also become embedded in the listener’s mind.
The human brain does not store music in a neat, linear sequence like a tape recorder playing from beginning to end. Instead, songs are organised into small mental ‘pockets’ based on familiarity and similarity. These pockets are connected to one another through various mental cues. An earworm may be triggered by recently hearing a song, seeing or hearing a word associated with it, or listening to another tune with a similar melody. Personal habits also play a role. For example, someone who listens to music every morning while travelling by bus may still hear fragments of a song in their mind on a day when no music is played.
At a deeper level, this experience is linked to a particular brain system known as the default mode network. This network becomes active when we daydream or allow our thoughts to wander freely. During such moments, the default mode network may randomly select a fragment of music and replay it internally.
While some people enjoy experiencing earworms, others find them distracting or irritating. To reduce their effect, the default mode network needs to be occupied with other tasks. One possible method is singing the song out loud in front of others, as social interaction can reduce the network’s activity, even if it feels awkward. Another approach is to replace the stuck tune with a different song that contains less repetition. Atlassian, a software company, has even developed a 40-second audio track designed to help eliminate earworms. If none of these methods work, the final suggestion is to listen to a wide variety of music or simply accept and grow fond of the song that refuses to leave the mind.
Source: Science Alert