Catchiness

Catchiness is how easy it is for a song, tune, or phrase to be recalled. It is often taken into account when writing songs, catchphrases, advertising slogans, jingles etc. Alternatively, it can be defined as how difficult it is for one to forget it. Songs that embody high levels of remembrance or catchiness are literally known as "catchy songs" or "earworms".[1] While it is hard to scientifically explain what makes a song catchy, there are many documented techniques that recur throughout catchy music, such as repetition, hooks and alliteration. Selling Sounds: The Commercial Revolution in American Music says that "although there was no definition for what made a song catchy, all the songwriting guides agreed that simplicity and familiarity were vital".[2]

The physical symptoms of listening to a catchy song include "running [it] over in our heads or tapping a foot".[3] According to Todd Tremlin, catchy music "spread[s] because [it] resonates similarly from one mind to the next".[4]

  1. ^ "Earworm". Dictionary (definition) (online ed.). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  2. ^ Suisman, David (7 May 2012), Selling Sounds: The Commercial Revolution in American Music, Harvard University Press, p. 49, ISBN 9780674054684.
  3. ^ Bogost, Ian (5 August 2011). How to Do Things with Videogames. U of Minnesota Press. p. 133. ISBN 9781452933122. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
  4. ^ Tremlin, Todd (February 2006). Minds and Gods:The Cognitive Foundations of Religion. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 195. ISBN 9780199885466. Retrieved September 23, 2012.