Study Reveals Hidden Musical Ability in Everyday Earworms

Research from UC Santa Cruz shows most people can accurately recall and sing songs stuck in their heads, challenging assumptions about musical memory.

Participants sang earworms with 45% matching the original pitch exactly and nearly 69% within one semitone.
The study suggests a widespread, automatic 'perfect pitch' ability, even among non-musicians.
Researchers collected 462 recordings from 30 volunteers over two weeks to analyze pitch accuracy.
Findings indicate that musical memories are highly precise, contradicting typical long-term memory shortcuts.
The study encourages more people to engage with music, highlighting innate musical skills.