I have a radio in my head

[Zach]

I'm serious. I constantly have a song playing in my head. When I wake up in the morning, there's a song playing in my head, and when I go to bed there is. Sometimes it is very loud and annoying, up to the point where I have trouble concentrating when I really need to, or even getting to sleep. And other times it is very quiet, like elevator music in the background, and I have no trouble concentrating on whatever I'm doing. I don't remember the last time it went completely away.

If I hear a song just once, the thing gets "downloaded" to my brain, almost perfectly, to appear at a random time to start playing in the future.

Is there something wrong with me, or is this kind of thing common?

[skydust]

i get that too occasionally, usually when im about to go to sleep, but its never annoying. have you tried thinking about something else that requires concentration to make it go away?

[Blueskied]

Crazy. Isn't it annoying like a Tinitus? Music all day long sucks.
Very rarely i image a song i like and listen to it in my mind, almost as if i would hear it on radio, very rarely.

[songwriter]

I almost always have that radio on my head. If not, I'm composing something in my head. But I rarely "download" the songs with one listen.

Yes, I've just wake up and I've got a song in my head, and it's there right now... that happens to many music lovers, I don't think that's any trouble.

[Erin Pavlina]

I too always have a song in my head. It could be one I haven't physically heard in years like a Beach Boys song but there it is. I've often wondered why. I am a musician so I thought that might have something to do with it. But after I went to see John Holland he said people who have a new song in their head in the morning and it's NOT one they heard very recently that it's usually a sign of clairaudience. since I am clairaudient, that made sense to me and explained a big mystery. However, I am not certain that is the real explanation. It could be one explanation but I am not convinced it is the only explanation.

[Jon]

This happens to me too, usually before I doze off. However, it's never a song I know. My mind just creates a tune on its own... but it's always a good tune. I wish I could recreate it.

I suspect this is how many of the great songs have been conceived.

[tropicality]

This happens to me too. Although its not 24/7, and it's only a song that I recently heard.

For example if there is a radio playing in the kitchen and I go and get something to drink, then I leave the vicinity of the radio, there will be a song playing in my head - even if I never even consciously noticed it playing while in the kitchen, it just repeats over and over and over and over so when it happens I usually turn on my own music (techno) to drown it out so it goes away.

Lately it seems to be happening less, maybe because I'm consciously aware of it and concentrate on using my mind to stop/prevent it.

[Angela]

Me, too. It always reflects my mental or emotional state. When I'm low, it tends to play "It's Impossible" but lately it has been "All your dreams can come true, it can happen to you.... when you're Young at Heart"

My mom used to call it The Frog. If you don't like a song that you're stuck with, the only way to get rid of The Frog is to give it to someone else -- sing it out loud until someone else catches it! But I find if I adjust my mental/emotional frequencies, the song on the "radio" changes, too.

[Erock]

I'd try some meditation and work on quieting your mind completely. I wouldn't worry about whether it is "normal" or not though, as everyone has their quirks.

Erock

[Sam988]

Originally Posted by Zach

I'm serious. I constantly have a song playing in my head. When I wake up in the morning, there's a song playing in my head, and when I go to bed there is. Sometimes it is very loud and annoying, up to the point where I have trouble concentrating when I really need to, or even getting to sleep. And other times it is very quiet, like elevator music in the background, and I have no trouble concentrating on whatever I'm doing. I don't remember the last time it went completely away.

If I hear a song just once, the thing gets "downloaded" to my brain, almost perfectly, to appear at a random time to start playing in the future.

Is there something wrong with me, or is this kind of thing common?

Not that i have much knowledge or any experience on this phenomenon, but i think it has nothing to do with clairaudience, as erin stated, since i dont believe in it. If you had clairaudience skills, wouldnt you hear sounds and songs on your head that you have never listened to before? Since you said that you "download" musics you have listened to even if only once, its most likely you memorized it.

What i have to add here is that i believe that if you can really "download a music after listened to it just once", it means to me that you have a great gift of memorizing sounds, the gift is just not polished so it annoys you, just like a genius IQ might annoy someone who hasnt mastered his intelligence yet and the consequences of such a gift.

I got completely no idea how you can possibly master this gift, so i cant help you much besides giving you my opinion stated above of what i think about this "radio" you got in your head.

[LivingWarrior]

I both suffer and thrive with this 'condition'. Sometimes as the poster mentioned above, a depression song will kick on to reflect my moods, making them seem very prevalent. Other times, the music feels like its going to leak out its so loud, with epic major chords lifting me up to new heights. Other times, especially when trying to go to sleep, it is a major annoyance.

I find an effective practice to meditate with the music, rather than engage with it (hard if you are a musician). The quieter I can get my mind the more I can focus on the purity of the music, which is sometimes reflected almost perfectly to the actual recording. Even complex pieces come across with every instrument and note exactly as they are.

Erin, I have never heard of 'clairaudience', but now I am very interested. I have in the past been diagnosed with a borderline schizotypal personality. Schizophrenic symptoms sometimes occur with a schizotype personality, including auditory hallucinations. I can say without hesitation that I have and do sometimes hallucinate. I choose not to medicate myself though and instead seek to embrace these conditions as just 'ripples on the surface.' Can you explain a little more what your definition/experience of clairaudience is like, or where I might find more resources on the subjects?

Thanks.

[moviestar]

I'd rather have a song playing in my head than a negative voice talking to me about nonsense. I actually like my radio .

[Erin Pavlina]

I like my radio too

Living Warrior: clairaudience is the ability to hear psychically whereas with clairvoyance it's the ability to see psychically.

So with clairaudience, a song in my head might actually be a message or a sending from spirit. Depends on the situation.

John Holland's book, Psychic Navigator, discusses all teh "clairs" at length. Check it out.

[tippybob]

I always have music playing in my head. It is similar to the description in Neuron Network Goes Awry, and Brain Becomes an IPod - New York Times . Sometimes I hum along with the music without even noticing it, which has occasionally been embarassing. It drives me crazy and I can't turn off the music.

[impaul99]

WHO let the dogs out...WOOF.......WOOF WOOF....WHO let the dogs out......WOOOF....WOOF WOOF.

Ok, who just heard that song in their heads?

What I find annoying is that it usually is the dumbest songs that get stuck in there...

If you want to really have some fun, go into the office and hum a tune in the morning and see how many other people get it stuck in their heads...

My favorites are kids shows like the theme from Inspector Gadget or another good one is Pink Panther theme. I think Inspector Gadget is worse though.

The new TMNT movie is coming out too, so everyone will be humming that one soon.

My latest one was after seeing the preview for the new Will Farrel movie where he's on the treadmill and he's singing the "My Hump.....My Hump, My Hump, My Hump" :>

[Lola]

Originally Posted by impaul99

WHO let the dogs out...WOOF.......WOOF WOOF....WHO let the dogs out......WOOOF....WOOF WOOF.

Ok, who just heard that song in their heads?

What I find annoying is that it usually is the dumbest songs that get stuck in there...

Oh yeah? How about this one - It's a small world after all - It's a small world after all - It's a small world after all - It's a small, small, world - - AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHH!

I have music in my head almost all the time and always thought it was because I'm a musician. It varies between stuff I've been singing, playing or listening to. Sometimes I go through an entire number but more frequently I repeat lines. Over. And Over. And Over.

And, like someone above, I frequently just start humming at whatever point the song is in my head. Used to annoy the heck out of the ex.

[bellbird]

Wicked! More 'radioheads!' (Is that where they got their name from I wonder? ) My internal cd player/radio surprises not only me but also my surroundings with the stuff that comes up. I mean.. from the muppetshow tunes to songs in a foreign language my dad used to sing when I was a kid (and I only know them phonetically, one russian, some spanish and french)... interesting entertainment I'm sure... When driving the car I tend to more hum along then sing but on long distances I sing so much of the self producting stuff that once I reach my destination I'm as hoarse as a dog (or whatever).

But how fun! More radioheads! (let's start a club) I always put it down to my creative brain and things whirring in there constantly. I do enjoy when it's quiet there too. The only thing I can recommend to tone that music down is nature and holidays, which has an abundance of... silence. Give it some time et voila, music gets whispery and silenced by the silence itself. Would the amount of music have to do with how active you gear up your brain? Dunno.
PS: We obviously have in common too that certain crappy songs get stuck in their and go on repeat...

[Jack Woods]

I've got to sat, this happens to me, too. It's excruciating bwhen I try to sing the song and realize I am singing better in my head than outside my head. If I can't remember the words, I'll make up words to the song. Sometimes I think I am hearing original songs.

This also happens with speeches and writing as well. If I have to give a speech or write a paper a lot of the prep time goes on in my head.

The down side is that I sometimes can't get my head to quit thinking. That's the very first thing I noticed when I tried to use mindfulness meditation techniques. I have so much crap going on in my head it's frightening!

And I was frightened for a long time until I relaized that trying to stop it or fearing it wouldn't stop just intensifies and perpetuates the frustration, if it is frsutrating. Sometimes I think I am loopy, but after reading this thread I guess I am not.

I read once that a lot of people thought in images, but I think I think in sounds and words. Just the way I am.

[taylor2]

its called "ear worms"...when u hear a song/tune and u can not stop it from going on in your head.it is common.taylor2

[hindweb]

aah, the same old symptoms, I think this happens to people who are musically inclined...

[Lallymac]

My kids say I have song for everything. I sing a lot (badly) and do it in conversation. The words come through in my readings as well. I was singing the supermarket the other day with my sister and she said it was obsene. No-one can be that happy in supermarket. But music is a powerful memory trigger. You can use music to key in vital information when you're studying. I had a meditaion tape I'd play to go to sleep when I was studying. When I play it now, I'm back on campus and can hear everything my lecturers are saying.
Lallymac

[timtams]

I am a radio!!! i love it! some people wake up worried or thinking about work but i get a brand new song everyday!

Its really the best

[ahimel]

Definitely. I got one of those "getting to know you" email surveys in high school with the question, "If they were going to make a movie of your life, which 10 songs would be the soundtrack?"

And I wrote, "10 songs would never be enough. In order to accurately portray my life, there would have to be a song playing in the background every second."

I don't quite manage 1st-time downloads (at least not often), but I can usually get it after 2-3 times hearing a song. I also have a little Google-song search: every word I hear all day gets plugged into the search bar, and has a chance at changing the song in my head. Since I learned a few days ago that my life purpose is "to lead people from despair", I've had The Weaponsmaster running through my head, because one of the lines is

...but I have seen him speak the word that brings hope from despair...

and so that's the song that plays when I hear or think the word, "despair."

I don't know about clairaudience, but I have found it a useful meditation tool. When something's bothering me, I sing the song in my head. Then I sing the song that pops into my head next. I keep free-associating like this until I feel better. Usually, as I look back, there's some logical progression of songs, but I frequently can't even verbalize what the problem was or what the solution was -- I just express it through the music.

I would guess that you (and everyone who's replied to this thread) have hearing as your primary sense. Not in the navigational sense (we all use sight because sight is better at helping you navigate), but in the sense of what's important to you. The sound of a room is probably more important to you than it's appearance in helping you relax. You're probably better able to recognize a person's voice than their face. A description of the sounds of a place would probably make it clearer to you than the most detailed description of it's sights. And probably music is more meaningful to you than visual arts. For me, it means that "visualization" exercises are well-nigh useless. But if I change them to "audialization" exercises (Hear yourself in a mountain meadow....) I can get great value from them.

As far as "normal"... it's not abnormal or defective. It is less common than people whose primary sense is vison, but it's no more "abnormal" than being left handed -- certainly there's nothing wrong with you. It's just something to be aware of as you go through the world and interact with people (most of whom are vision-primary).