Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Too Many Jingle Bells on the Brain? Try Earworm Eraser

14/12/2024

Too Many Jingle Bells on the Brain? Try Earworm Eraser 'Tis the season for incessant holiday music. If you need an escape, give this scientifically engineered audio track a try, or listen to our playlist of nontraditional winter tunes.

By

Bryan Parys

December 13, 2024

Image courtesy of Cottonbro Studio/Pexel

Its the most wonderful time of the year, but it is not always the most wonderful time for your ears. From November to the end of the year, a walk through a any mall or a few spins of any radio dial will yield an endless loop of holiday music.

It can get to be too much even for the most festive among us, and though its easy enough to avoid malls or turn off the radio, once you hear these songs, they have a way of rocking around your Christmasd brain for a long time after the songs are over.

Enter the Earworm Eraser-a 40-second collection of sounds designed to help you exorcise that endless jingling. Designed by software company Atlassian in partnership with music psychologist Kelly Jakubowski, the idea was to make something intentionally not catchy as a way to scrub out anything stuck in your head.

Cant get Jingle Bells out of your head? Try Atlassians Earworm Eraser:

Jakubowski explained to NPR that the hallmarks of earworm-worthy music tend to be danceable beats and a predictable melodic shape. So, the team made a sound collage where, as she explains, Every few seconds, it switches between fast and slow tempi, while also changing time signatures and musical styles. And while many at Berklee might read that description and think Oh, you mean jazz, the Earworm Eraser dares even the most avant-garde ears to find a groove.

The track isnt foolproof, as a cursory scan of the tracks YouTube comments reveal. And the problem isnt always the music, but the memories that these songs can conjure, as songwriting professor Kat Reinhert explains in this exploration of why some people just cant stand holiday music. If you need a more musical solution, try immersing yourself in the following playlist curated by the Berklee community designed to bring the winter vibes, but without the baggage.

Related Categories

News

Most Popular

Rihanna sings during the Concert for Valor in Washington, DC, November 11, 2014.

Image by EJ Hersom / CC-BY-2.0

This Rihanna Song Has Secret' '80s Easter Eggs The SOS songwriter revealed a nostalgic twist to the lyrics, and it's going viral on TikTok.

Latest

Daedelus

Image by David Bodnar

Berklee Professor Daedelus Talks Performing with Andr 3000 The Electronic Production and Design faculty member joined the superstar multi-hyphenate on stage for Andr 3000s New Blue Sun tour stop at Bostons Wang Theatre.

Berklee concert at the Gnaoua and World Music Festival on June 29, 2024, in Essaouira, Morocco.

Image by Zakaria Latouri

Berklee at the Gnaoua and World Music Festival Returns for Its Second Year The Berklee on the Road program will be held June 16-21, 2025, in Morocco.

Students performing at Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics in Perugia, Italy, in July 2024.

Image courtesy of Berklee Global

Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics to Celebrate 40th Anniversary in July 2025 Applications for the 2025 edition will open December 17, 2024.

Read All

Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
LINK: https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/too-many-jingle-bells-try-ear...
See more stories from berklee

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

21/03/2026

MPG announce new Impact Award

Presented to War Child UK's HELP(2) project The MPG (Music Producers Guild) have announced the launch of the MPG Impact Award, a brand-new honour that w...

21/03/2026

Eduardo Tarilonte's Ancient ERA Persia from Best Service

Microtuning support for Arabic, Persian & Turkish scales The latest release from Best Service brings together a selection of string, wind and percussion ins...

21/03/2026

New campaign from NAATI and SBS CulturalConnect highlights how we all deserve to be understood'

New campaign from NAATI and SBS CulturalConnect highlights how we all deserve t...

21/03/2026

Statement regarding Rhoda Roberts AO

Statement regarding Rhoda Roberts AO 21 March, 2026 Media releases SBS is deeply saddened by the passing of Widjabul Wieybal woman from the Bundjalung Na...

21/03/2026

Survey: Fans Prefer Sports on Broadcast Over Streaming

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Graham Promotes Stephanie Slagle to VP, CRO & GM of WDIV Local 4

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Study: Repurposed Traditional TV Ads for CTV Is a Missed Opportunity

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Carr Backs Trump Army/Navy Game Executive Order

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Opponents File Emergency FCC Petition to Block Nexstar/Tegna Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Eight States Ask for Court to Stop Nexstar/Tegna Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Cine Gear Connect NY Ramps Up for March 28 - 2026

Cine Gear Connect NY, presented by Universal Production Services, is filling in the slate for a full day of panels, peers, learning the latest, and mixing it up...

21/03/2026

Studio Technologies Debuts New StudioComm System at NAB 2026

Studio Technologies Debuts New StudioComm System at NAB 2026 Brie Clayton March 20, 2026 0 Comments StudioComm Model 794 Central Controller and Model ...

21/03/2026

Restoration Christian Fellowship Captures Worship Music Videos with PYXIS 12K

Restoration Christian Fellowship Captures Worship Music Videos with PYXIS 12K Brie Clayton March 20, 2026 0 Comments PYXIS' open gate provides cre...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: Net Insight unveils Market-Leading JPEG XS at Scale for Live IP Media Production

Net Insight will introduce a JPEG XS solution for full IP environments at NAB Sh...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: LTN and Harmonic Expand Partnership to Support FAST Growth and C-Band Migration

LTN has expanded its technology partnership with Harmonic ahead of the FCC's...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: Solid State Logic to Preview SSL Live V6.2 with New SolidPitch Effect and Major Workflow Enhancements

Solid State Logic will preview SSL Live V6.2 at NAB Show, booth C6907. The softw...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: Fujifilm Announces Availability of FUJINON UA22x4.8BERD 4K Broadcast Zoom Lens

FUJIFILM North America Corporation's Optical Devices Division has announced ...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: Fujifilm Announces Development of FUJINON UA16x4BERD, UA30x7.3BERD, and UA94x8.7BESM 4K Broadcast Zooms

FUJIFILM North America Corporation's Optical Devices Division has announced ...

20/03/2026

TrueVisions NOW Chooses Bitmovin's Observability

TrueVisions NOW, a streaming platform in Thailand and part of the TrueVisions Group, has selected Bitmovin's Observability product for real-time video analy...

20/03/2026

Marquee Sports Network Expands Distribution to Hulu + Live TV, Prime Video

Marquee Sports Network has announced distribution agreements with Hulu + Live TV and Prime Video ahead of the 2026 MLB season. Marquee Sports Network is now av...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: Software-Defined, AI-Powered Workflow Tells the Story of the New FOR-A America

FOR-A will exhibit software-defined and AI-driven solutions at NAB Show 2026, bo...

20/03/2026

TNA Wrestling and Eurosport India Announce New Multi-Year Exclusive Programming Agreement

TNA Wrestling and Eurosport India have entered into a multi-year exclusive progr...

20/03/2026

GameTime Productions Expands Technical Vision for Athletes Unlimited Basketball in Nashville

When Athletes Unlimited brought its professional women's basketball season t...

20/03/2026

Calrec Craft Interview with Senior Broadcast Audio A1 Engineer and Music Director Rick Bernier

In this craft interview, Rick Bernier reflects on a career that has taken him to...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: IP Innovation, SoftwareBased Media Infrastructure & Dynamic Media Facility Workflows on Display for Lawo

Lawo will announce a new product ahead of NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas, where it w...

20/03/2026

Ratings Roundup: 2026 World Baseball Classic is Most Watched WBC Telecast EVER with Over 10 Million Viewers

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...

20/03/2026

MLB Names Polymarket Exclusive Prediction Market Exchange Partner and Signs Agreement with CFTC to Establish Integrity Framework

Major League Baseball (MLB) has named Polymarket as its Official Prediction Mark...

20/03/2026

How Big Tech AI Will Lead Broadcast Innovation: Lessons from the Enterprise Market

With AI now the industry-wide priority, Big Tech companies are uniquely position...

20/03/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 8: Los Angeles Angels' Davin Maske - SoCal Baseball in Anaheim

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

20/03/2026

Fanatics Studios, FOX Sports Focus on Cavalcade of Stars in Fanatics Flag Football Classic

Abundant player mics and RF and other ground-level cameras will be used to captu...

20/03/2026

ESPN Ramps Up Production Levels for NCAA Women's Tournament as Popularity, Viewership Skyrocket

Regional sites also will receive big boost in production resources, including on...

20/03/2026

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Addison Heimann, the Writer-Director of Touch Me

By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...

20/03/2026

Spotify Marks 5 Years of EQUAL With EQUAL: The Podcast' and Global Events

In 2021, we launched EQUAL, a program designed to address an industry reality that persists: Women artists, songwriters, and producers too often face fewer oppo...

20/03/2026

Spotify's BTS Music Quiz Celebrates ARIRANG' and Puts ARMY Knowledge to the Test

BTS' long-awaited fifth studio album, ARIRANG, is finally here. To celebrate...

20/03/2026

Spotify and Kenia Os Bring K de Karma' From Streaming to Stage With Fan-First Experiences

A new era for Kenia Os has arrived, and Spotify marked the moment by putting fan...

20/03/2026

Spotify y Kenia Os llevan K de Karma' del streaming al escenario con experiencias nicas para Top Fans

Una nueva era para Kenia Os ha llegado, y Spotify marc el momento poniendo a lo...

20/03/2026

Sound Magic launch Supreme Drums Orange

Combines sampling & physical modelling Sound Magic have announced the launch of a comprehensive virtual drum instrument that's been designed to cater to...

20/03/2026

Mix Rescue: Ian Shepherd Video

How much difference should mastering make? In our latest Mix Rescue feature, SOS Editor in Chief Sam Inglis revisits a project from back in 2019, carrying o...

20/03/2026

Feast for cycling fans as SBS extends road cycling broadcasts to include all Grand Tours and Monuments

Feast for cycling fans as SBS extends road cycling broadcasts to include all Gra...

20/03/2026

London Calling - When The Industry Convened to Help Streaming Find its MoJo

In this blog, Laura Rognoni reflects on key discussions from the Connected TV World Summit in London, where NAGRAVISION hosted a panel on content discovery and ...

20/03/2026

The Gauge: Poland | February 2026

After a series of increases, February brought the first slowdown in time spent in front of TV sets in a long time. While traditional television was losing viewi...

20/03/2026

Eric Wolff Joins Chyron as Director of Venues Sales, North America

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/03/2026

Study: Broadcasters Rebuild Live Operations Around IP

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/03/2026

Matt Conrad Acquires DSC Labs

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/03/2026

Glensound celebrates its diamond anniversary at NAB Show

60 years of audio innovation, driven by the people who use it...