Saturday, July 9, 2011

Earworms

You know, those melodies you can't get out of your head. The worst I ever had was a Renaissance lute piece called "La Volta":


Took two years to forget that. Also bad are commercial jingles like "I wish I were an Oscar Meyer weiner" or the Big Mac song: "Two all-beef patties, special sauce..." I even got this flamenco chord progression lodged in my brain once. But I have the solution! Just push it out by singing a Bach fugue subject to yourself. I find this one particularly effective:

The continuation is complex enough that it won't stay in your brain too long, but it is distinctive enough to over-ride the earworm.

You're welcome!

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