Why We Love Repetition in Music

Learn why we love repetition in music. Repetition in music isn’t just a feature of pop songs, it’s a global phenomenon. Learn why people love repetition and how to use it when creating music.

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Mark V.

Written By Mark V.

Mark Valenzuela is a professional blogger, entrepreneur, and educator with more than 15 years of experience in music production. In 2008, Mark founded Hip Hop Makers, a top resource for aspiring music producers and beatmakers. He specializes in content on music production, software, gear, and free music resources. Committed to empowering creators of all levels, Mark continues to inspire and help music creators pursue their dreams.

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Comments

  1. good post something to think about when creating!

  2. I agree! People forget the significance of repetition and music in the learning process. The part on the study using non repetitive vs digitally altered repetitive music was spot on in the determination of memorable music and music we wont listen to ever again.

  3. That sh*t literally blew my mind. It makes sense that people prefer repetition because they can focus on each aspect of the phrase. You listen to something once that isn’t repeated and your brain can’t appreciate its different parts

  4. Great video. Repetition is definitely a key factor. Sometimes I enjoy the perfect imperfection of a human playing just ahead or a little behind the beat, but there’s definitely something that happens to the human psyche when a perfectly timed sample is placed equidistant. Perfection be cray. Thanks again!

  5. Very interesting. Come to think of it, a song without repetition would just be down right weird.

  6. There was TED experiment, you can watch that on youtube. Mathematics creates a melody that hasn’t any repetitive patterns at all. And then great piano music played that in public. It was very bad for my ears :) Sorry for my English.
    This video explains that.

    Now I understand why Justin Bieber’s “Baby” is a hit :). Cuz it has a repetitive melody and repetitive simple words.

  7. Oh those musical EARworms! Annoying when a tune suddenly pops into your mind out of nowhere and you can’t get rid of it. Sadly the only solution I found is to put on the earphones and play a different song.?

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