New research from UC Santa Cruz has revealed that a surprisingly large portion of the population has a hidden ability to accurately recall and sing songs in the correct pitch. Psychologists conducted a study on “earworms,” which are songs that get stuck in your head and play on a loop. Participants were asked to sing any earworms they were experiencing and record them on their phones at random times throughout the day. When the recordings were analyzed, researchers found that 44.7% of them had a pitch error of 0 semitones, and 68.9% were accurate within 1 semitone of the original song.
Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. candidate Matt Evans led the study with support from Psychology Professor Nicolas Davidenko and undergraduate research assistant Pablo Gaeta. Evans explained that while true perfect pitch is a rare ability possessed by less than 1 in 10,000 people, accurate pitch memory is more common. The study’s findings suggest that many individuals have a type of automatic, hidden ‘perfect pitch’ ability, even though they may not have the labeling ability that comes with true perfect pitch. Participants in the study were confident that they had the melody right, but less certain about singing in the correct key.
The UC Santa Cruz team used earworms to test whether pitch memory remained accurate when recalling music involuntarily. Their findings showed that earworms strongly followed the key of the original song, suggesting that there may be something unique about how musical memories are encoded and maintained in the brain. Professor Davidenko explained that musical memories are highly accurate representations that defy typical gist formation in long-term memory. Music sounds similar in different keys, but the brain does not ignore this information when encoding musical memories.
As researchers continue to explore the mechanisms behind musical memory, Evans hopes that the study’s findings will encourage more people to engage with music. The pitch accuracy of participants in the study was not predicted by any objective measures of singing ability, and none of the participants were musicians or reported having perfect pitch. This indicates that individuals do not need special abilities to demonstrate accurate pitch memory. Evans emphasized that music and singing are uniquely human experiences that everyone can participate in, regardless of perceived ability.
Evans believes that the study’s findings will help increase confidence among individuals who may have doubted their musical abilities. Many people refrain from engaging with music because they believe they lack the necessary skills. However, the research shows that the brain is already capable of automatically and accurately recalling songs in the correct pitch. Evans encouraged individuals to embrace their musical talents, even if they do not consider themselves to be expert singers. Music and singing are fundamental aspects of the human experience that everyone can enjoy.