full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Elizabeth Margulis: Earworms Those songs that get stuck in your head

Unscramble the Blue Letters


Besides music, it's hard to think of another case of isuvnrite imgraey that's so widespread. Why music? Why don't watercolors get stuck in our heads? Or the taste of cseehy taquitos?

One theory has to do with the way music is represented in memory. When we listen to a song we know, we're constantly hearing forward in time, anticipating the next note. It's hard for us to think about one particular musical moment in isolation. If we want to think about the pitch of the word "you" in "Happy Birthday," we have to start back at "Happy," and sing through until we get to "you." In this way, a tune is sort of like a hbait. Just like once you srtat tying your shoe, you're on automatic until you tighten the bow, once a tune is ssgeuetgd because, for example, someone says, "my ulebrmla," we have to play through until it reaches a natural stopping point, "ella, ella, ella."

Open Cloze


Besides music, it's hard to think of another case of _________ _______ that's so widespread. Why music? Why don't watercolors get stuck in our heads? Or the taste of ______ taquitos?

One theory has to do with the way music is represented in memory. When we listen to a song we know, we're constantly hearing forward in time, anticipating the next note. It's hard for us to think about one particular musical moment in isolation. If we want to think about the pitch of the word "you" in "Happy Birthday," we have to start back at "Happy," and sing through until we get to "you." In this way, a tune is sort of like a _____. Just like once you _____ tying your shoe, you're on automatic until you tighten the bow, once a tune is _________ because, for example, someone says, "my ________," we have to play through until it reaches a natural stopping point, "ella, ella, ella."

Solution


  1. suggested
  2. umbrella
  3. habit
  4. cheesy
  5. intrusive
  6. imagery
  7. start

Original Text


Besides music, it's hard to think of another case of intrusive imagery that's so widespread. Why music? Why don't watercolors get stuck in our heads? Or the taste of cheesy taquitos?

One theory has to do with the way music is represented in memory. When we listen to a song we know, we're constantly hearing forward in time, anticipating the next note. It's hard for us to think about one particular musical moment in isolation. If we want to think about the pitch of the word "you" in "Happy Birthday," we have to start back at "Happy," and sing through until we get to "you." In this way, a tune is sort of like a habit. Just like once you start tying your shoe, you're on automatic until you tighten the bow, once a tune is suggested because, for example, someone says, "my umbrella," we have to play through until it reaches a natural stopping point, "ella, ella, ella."

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations




Important Words


  1. anticipating
  2. automatic
  3. birthday
  4. bow
  5. case
  6. cheesy
  7. constantly
  8. ella
  9. habit
  10. hard
  11. heads
  12. hearing
  13. imagery
  14. intrusive
  15. isolation
  16. listen
  17. memory
  18. moment
  19. music
  20. musical
  21. natural
  22. note
  23. pitch
  24. play
  25. point
  26. reaches
  27. represented
  28. shoe
  29. sing
  30. song
  31. sort
  32. start
  33. stopping
  34. stuck
  35. suggested
  36. taquitos
  37. taste
  38. theory
  39. tighten
  40. time
  41. tune
  42. tying
  43. umbrella
  44. watercolors
  45. widespread
  46. word