It's a frustrating thing most of us have experienced. A song gets stuck inside of your head, seemingly playing on a permanent loop. But what are the most difficult tunes to shift - and why do they get stuck in the first place?
Well, now you can find out - because researchers have developed a mathematical formula to explain the phenomena. The experts claim the formula sheds light on why some musical combinations are unforgettable - and in some cases, inescapable. These include Happy by Pharrell Williams , the Village People's YMCA and Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and We are the Champions.
幸運(yùn)的是，現(xiàn)在我們終于能弄清楚了，研究人員列出了一個(gè)數(shù)學(xué)公式來解釋這種魔性洗腦的現(xiàn)象了。專家解釋道，這個(gè)公式能闡明為什么某些旋律是如此的讓人難以忘懷，甚至揮之不去的原因。這些旋律包括了我們耳熟能詳?shù)母枨?，如Pharrell Williams的《Happy》，Village People的《YMCA》，Queen樂隊(duì)的《Bohemian Rhapsody》和《We are the Champions》。
According to the research by the University of St Andrews, the recipe for an earworm has five key components. These are receptiveness - how you feel about the song - predictability, surprise, melodic potency - how good the 'hook' is - and rhythmic repetition.
Bede Williams, of the University's School of Philosophical, Anthropological and Film Studies, looked at, among other things, a study into the nation's top 20 earworms, commissioned by Heinz to promote their new #cansong TV advert.
Bede, who is also research co-ordinator of the HARK project, which looks at our listening habits, said: "If you look at the songs which emerged from the research, they all have a distinctive rhythmic fingerprint - if we removed the melody they are recognisable by their rhythm alone.
"If you think of the opening of ' We Will Rock You ' or the chorus of 'Who Let the Dogs out?' you'd be able to identify the rhythmic hook that persists throughout each song independent of the melody.
“如果你回想一下《We Will Rock You》的前奏或《Who Let the Dogs out?》的副歌部分，你就能辨認(rèn)出貫穿于整首歌的節(jié)奏，它是獨(dú)立于旋律之外的。
"For example, the titles Jingle Bells, Shake It off and Gangnam Style would be referred to in poetry as anapaests, as they all have a pattern of two short syllables followed by a longer one.
“例如，《鈴兒響叮當(dāng)》、《Shake It off》，《江南Style》，他們的歌詞都是抑揚(yáng)頓挫，又兼含韻律。
"Uptown Funk is a perfect example of the rhythms of an earworm. One of the many devices used by the producers of Uptown Funk to make the song an earworm is the long rhythmic build-up of repeated phrases towards the drop of the chorus, which unusually, does not have any actual melody.“
