It's normal to play the same song over and over again (2016)

I do this. A lot. Play the same song over and over and over. Often this is just in appreciation of a particular song (do this a lot with Yeasayer tracks).

But these days, I most often do the repeat while I'm programming or writing; I want to keep in a particular zone-emotional and mental. Here are some tracks I've done this with (a good "music for programmers" list, actually).

Meeting in the Aisle - Radiohead

Sketches - Daniel Lanois

Jolie Cycliste Sous la Pluie - Galerie Stratique

In Threes - Loscil

Gelis - Natureboy Flako

Closed Circuit - Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

Birds Fly by Flapping Their Wings - Biosphere

Unknown - Kutiman

Rainforest Suite - Robert Rich

Surface Currents - Kutiman

Structures from Silence - Steve Roach

Le Ballet des Mouches - Michel Moulinie **

No Partial - Rhythm & Sound

Mango Drive - Rhythm & Sound

Minus - Robert Hood

Echoes of Nothing I - Kyle Gann,, Aron Kallay from the Beyond 12 compilation

Night Vigil I - Michael Harrison

Sun Inside The Sun Loscil Remix - Souns, Loscil

Black Monk In The Dunes - X.Y.R.

** This (and the rest of the album Chrysalide) is a brilliant brilliant gem, and almost impossible to find, except here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUWvXb6jVpw&list=PLh2Bth4KYI...

I think this is right. A lot of my favorite music finds ways to rotate what's repeating. It finds a balance of keeping the groove while still playing with the listener's expectations. But, to your point, if there isn't enough repetition, there's not enough to grab hold of. Obviously, it depends on what you're trying to accomplish, but for most applications, you want to give the listener engaged with your music.

Beyond, or beneath, song structure, I've noticed that experienced songwriters repeat notes in their melodies more often than people starting out.

Before CDs, I laboriously made a tape with Queen's "We Will Rock You" repeated over and over. I wanted it for car stereo demonstrations, but when others found I had it I sold dozens of copies, mostly to people who just liked the song.

Nobody was interest in my Mozart supercuts, alas.

As an adult I never experienced this, but I have vivid memories of staring up at the ceiling at 3 AM hearing "Paradise by the dashboard lights" play over and over and over again as a teen.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us!

I'm not a professional musician, but I've played and performed in different settings for about 15 years.

Until reading your comment, I didn't realize that many people don't get songs stuck in their head. I often get very long and complex songs stuck in my head for hours to days. Sometimes it's just portions, but sometimes it can be the full song.

I don't quite know how to describe my recollection of music, but it seems to be somewhat akin to eiditic memory, but for sounds. After looking into things, the term eichoic memory seems to come up, but I'm not sure it quite encapsulates what I'm trying to express.

Out of curiousity, do you have aphantasia? I do, and often wonder if the strength of my music recollection comes from a lack of visual recollection in my mind.

Sometimes it takes a few listens to fully memorize a song, but I can revisit music many years later and still have perfect recollection of the piece despite the complexity of the music I tend towards.

For example, my favorite band is Between the Buried and Me (a progressive metal band) and their compositions tend to use a ton of complex and mixed meter, as well as non-repetitive rhythmic patterns. Despite all that, I have perfect recollection of their music—even for songs over 17 minutes long.

Sorry for the long response—your comment just triggered some things I've been thinking about for a while and I wanted to process them and share.