We recently had our Primary Program at my church – a well-rehearsed hour filled with songs and speaking parts presented by the children in the congregation from ages 3-11. Darren, for the life of him, has not been able to get one of the songs out of his head. It has gotten to the point where he is almost mad about it.
Consequently, I have been down an internet rabbit hole about why our brains latch onto certain songs.
Here’s what I found out:
1. The brain loves patterns.
Music has structure. Repetition, predictable chord progressions, and catchy melodic contours make the brain’s auditory cortex light up. When something is easy to anticipate, the brain keeps replaying it on its own.
2. The brain is sometimes under-occupied.
Psychologists call this spontaneous cognitive recurrence. When you’re doing something low-demand — driving, showering, folding laundry — the brain fills the open space with something familiar. Songs are easy fillers.
3. The brain loves to finish memory loops.
A short musical phrase can get caught in the brain’s phonological loop (the part of working memory that stores little snippets of sound for a few seconds). If the loop isn’t “completed,” the brain keeps circling it, waiting for resolution.
4. The brain enjoys some emotional charge.
If the song is tied to a mood, memory, or moment, it has more staying power — it’s stickier. Even neutral songs with a strong beat or surprising interval can trigger the same effect.
5. The brain works harder when something is incomplete.
If you heard only a fragment — a chorus at the grocery store, a snippet on Instagram — the brain sometimes replays it while “searching” for the rest. Researchers call this the Zeigarnik effect: unfinished things stay mentally active.
6. The brain uses stress, fatigue, and rumination to strengthen the loop.
When the mind is already looping thoughts, music can piggyback on the same circuitry. That’s one reason those songs feel more intrusive on anxious or overtired days.
7. The brain really loves rhythmic, high-contour, and simple melodies.
Songs like “Call Me Maybe,” “Shake It Off,” and the Chili’s baby back ribs jingle use short intervals, repetition, and strong beats. It’s the cognitive equivalent of Velcro.
I would bet we’ve all had the experience Darren was having — a song stuck in our heads that starts to drive us a little crazy.
Sometimes, just like song fragments, we have tiny sensory experiences that keep resurfacing, too — small internal signals we tend to brush aside.
A recurring thought about a task or a decision.
A desire that’s been whispering for a while now.
A worried feeling that keeps nudging for attention.
Something near the surface that feels more like direction.
What if, instead of getting impatient with these nudges or just treating them as noise, we saw them as signals — small indicators of where something might be unfinished or unattended. Something that wants to be acknowledged.
If we did that, we might give ourselves a surprising amount of relief.
Here are a few places to start:
1. Think about the small thing that’s surfacing consistently for you lately.
2. Name it without judgment — just a sentence or two.
3. Ask yourself honestly: which of these does it need — some clarity, some closure, or a little courage?
4. Give it one tiny gesture of attention or action today — even if that gesture is simply writing it down.
Think about it intentionally, name it, honestly assess it, give it some attention or a small action.
I can’t wait to hear what you notice when you give that small thing a moment — and if you want company while you figure out what it’s trying to tell you, let’s talk!
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