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Spice Girls' Wannabe 'is catchiest hit single' | Spice Girls' Wannabe 'is catchiest hit single' |
(about 9 hours later) | |
The Spice Girls' debut hit, Wannabe, is the catchiest UK hit single, an online experiment has suggested. | |
Participants recognised the song in 2.3 seconds, compared with an average of five seconds for other popular hits. | Participants recognised the song in 2.3 seconds, compared with an average of five seconds for other popular hits. |
Researchers developed the interactive game, called Hooked on Music, as part of a scientific study to unlock the secrets of what makes music memorable. | Researchers developed the interactive game, called Hooked on Music, as part of a scientific study to unlock the secrets of what makes music memorable. |
The initial results from the study will be unveiled at the Manchester Science Festival on Saturday evening. | The initial results from the study will be unveiled at the Manchester Science Festival on Saturday evening. |
Data from more than 12,000 participants was collected from the online experiment, which was developed by the Museum of Science and Industry (Mosi). | Data from more than 12,000 participants was collected from the online experiment, which was developed by the Museum of Science and Industry (Mosi). |
People who played the game were asked if they recognised a song, which was randomly selected from more than 1,000 clips of best-selling songs, dating from the 1940s until the present day. | People who played the game were asked if they recognised a song, which was randomly selected from more than 1,000 clips of best-selling songs, dating from the 1940s until the present day. |
The Spice Girls' debut single, which spent seven weeks at number one during 1996, was the most quickly recognised song by participants, taking an average of 2.29 seconds. | The Spice Girls' debut single, which spent seven weeks at number one during 1996, was the most quickly recognised song by participants, taking an average of 2.29 seconds. |
Second was Lou Bega's Mambo No 5, which was identified in an average of 2.48 seconds. | Second was Lou Bega's Mambo No 5, which was identified in an average of 2.48 seconds. |
Survivor's Eye of the Tiger was third, with an average time of 2.62 seconds. | Survivor's Eye of the Tiger was third, with an average time of 2.62 seconds. |
Overall, it took people an average of five seconds to recognise a clip from one of the UK's best-selling records. | Overall, it took people an average of five seconds to recognise a clip from one of the UK's best-selling records. |
The Hooked on Music concept was designed by Ashley Burgoyne, a computational musicologist from the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, and colleagues. | The Hooked on Music concept was designed by Ashley Burgoyne, a computational musicologist from the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, and colleagues. |
"I work within a group that studies music cognition in general - any way in which the brain processes music - and we were particularly interested in music and memory and why exactly it is that certain pieces of music stay in your memory for such a long time," he told BBC News. | "I work within a group that studies music cognition in general - any way in which the brain processes music - and we were particularly interested in music and memory and why exactly it is that certain pieces of music stay in your memory for such a long time," he told BBC News. |
"You may only hear something a couple of times yet 10 years later you immediately realise that you have heard it before. | "You may only hear something a couple of times yet 10 years later you immediately realise that you have heard it before. |
"Yet other songs, even if you have heard them a lot, do not have this effect." | "Yet other songs, even if you have heard them a lot, do not have this effect." |
Dr Burgoyne said that his team wanted to see if it was possible to identify whether the most memorable pieces of music shared particular characteristics. | Dr Burgoyne said that his team wanted to see if it was possible to identify whether the most memorable pieces of music shared particular characteristics. |
"When we went to look at this, you would have thought that it would have been studied to death yet, in fact, it has not - there is very little scientific literature," he said. | "When we went to look at this, you would have thought that it would have been studied to death yet, in fact, it has not - there is very little scientific literature," he said. |
"There are lots of ideas [about] why this is the case but very, very little empirical research." | "There are lots of ideas [about] why this is the case but very, very little empirical research." |
Manchester Science Festival director, Dr Marieke Navin, said people's appetite to participate in real scientific research and the experiment's need for a large, diverse group of participants made it an ideal addition to the festival's programme. | Manchester Science Festival director, Dr Marieke Navin, said people's appetite to participate in real scientific research and the experiment's need for a large, diverse group of participants made it an ideal addition to the festival's programme. |
"It does not matter whether or not people want to do the science per se; they can just play an online game for fun," she told BBC News. | "It does not matter whether or not people want to do the science per se; they can just play an online game for fun," she told BBC News. |
"It has a wide appeal for gamers, or for people who just like music and want to test their knowledge and how good they are at recognising hooks. | "It has a wide appeal for gamers, or for people who just like music and want to test their knowledge and how good they are at recognising hooks. |
"While people are playing, it is actually an experiment and scientists are collecting data. This allows the scientist to test different hypotheses about the musical hook." | "While people are playing, it is actually an experiment and scientists are collecting data. This allows the scientist to test different hypotheses about the musical hook." |
Dr Burgoyne added: "The most important aspect of this stage of the experiment was getting this very precise measurement of exactly how memorable segments of the songs are. | Dr Burgoyne added: "The most important aspect of this stage of the experiment was getting this very precise measurement of exactly how memorable segments of the songs are. |
"What I am going to focus on for the next year is asking what explains this; what are the musical features that makes something catchy? | "What I am going to focus on for the next year is asking what explains this; what are the musical features that makes something catchy? |
"Although this is just a casual observation on my part, very strong melodic hooks seem to be the most memorable for people." | "Although this is just a casual observation on my part, very strong melodic hooks seem to be the most memorable for people." |
The game will remain online until at least the end of the year, and Dr Burgoyne explained how the experiment fed into his team's wider research. | The game will remain online until at least the end of the year, and Dr Burgoyne explained how the experiment fed into his team's wider research. |
"While it is fun to know this - because people love music but in the long run - if we have a better understanding of how the musical memory works, we are hopeful that we can move into research on people with dementia," he explained. | "While it is fun to know this - because people love music but in the long run - if we have a better understanding of how the musical memory works, we are hopeful that we can move into research on people with dementia," he explained. |
"There has already been some research that shows that if you can find the right piece of music, something that had a very strong meaning, playing that piece of music can be very therapeutic. | "There has already been some research that shows that if you can find the right piece of music, something that had a very strong meaning, playing that piece of music can be very therapeutic. |
"But the challenge is figuring out what is the best piece of music." | "But the challenge is figuring out what is the best piece of music." |
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