Musical cognition encompasses various spontaneous mental processes, such as involuntary musical imagery (InMI), whose implications for creativity remain largely unexplored. Earworms, the repetitive melodic fragments that emerge involuntarily in the mind, are considered common within the population (Liikkanen & Jakubowski, 2020). Typically interpreted as remembered events, this perspective limits the understanding of the creative possibilities associated with the phenomenon. This study challenges such a premise by discussing the phenomenon in light of the literature in neuroscience concerning the consolidation and recombination of memories. Drawing on studies that reveal mnemonic flexibility and the role of “processing errors” in learning, we suggest that earworms not only represent musical recollections but also potentially creative recombinations. Thus, the study contributes to a broader understanding of InMI and its relationship with creativity, reinforcing the significance of the phenomenon as a subject of musical cognitive research.
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