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A Brief History of Synaesthesia and Music
 
Page 1
 

Synaesthesia is the general name for a related set of various cognitive states having in common that stimuli to one sense, such as smell, are involuntarily simultaneously perceived as if by one or more other senses, such as sight or / and hearing (see Cytowic 1989; Baron-Cohen & Harrison 1993). For example, the sounds of musical instruments might make you see certain colors, each color specific and consistent with the particular instrument playing; a piano, for example, might produces a sky-blue cloud, and a tenor saxophone produce an image of electric purple neon lights. One highly documented case of synaesthesia involved Michael O. Watson, who felt at or within his right hand different flavors -- the flavor of spearmint, for example, felt like cool smooth glass columns (see Cytowic 1989, 1993).

Synaesthesia is additive; that is, it adds to the initial (primary) sensory perception, rather than replacing one perceptual mode for another. For example, with synaesthetically colored musical instruments, you both hear and "see" the sounds; the visual images do not replace the audial sensations. Both sensory perceptions may thus become affected and altered in the ways they function and integrate with other senses. Synaesthesia is generally "one-way"; that is, for example, for a given synaesthete, tastes may produce synaesthetic sounds, but sounds will not produce synaesthetic. However, there have been a few rare cases of «bi-directional» synaesthesia, in which, for example, music induces (synaesthetic) colors and seeing colors induces (synaesthetic) sounds -- the correspondences, however, are not the same in both directions!

Synaesthesia may be divided into two general, somewhat overlapping types. The first, "synaesthesia proper", is as described above, in which stimuli to a sensory input will also trigger sensations in one or more other sensory modes. With the second form of synaesthesia, certain sets of things which our individual cultures teach us to put together and categorize in some specific way -- like letters, numbers, or people's names -- also get some kind of sensory addition, such as a smell, color or flavor. The most common forms of cognitive synaesthesia involve such things as colored written letter characters (graphemes), numbers, time units, and musical notes or keys. For example, the synaesthete might see, about a foot or two before her (the majority of synaesthetes – about 70% -- are female), different colors for different spoken vowel and consonant sounds, or perceive numbers and letters, whether conceptualized or before her in print, as colored.


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Comment List

Topic: Author:
Time:
Synesthesia
Carl Bennett 09.02.2009 03:08

Wow, it's good to know I am no the only one.

I developed a musical linked Synesthesia after an accident many years ago. It took me 15 years to realise it was not just me.... That was only three years ago. Never told anyone as I thought they would not understand until 3 years ago.

I first realised it when I told a friend how good an LP looked???

My Synesthesia turns on and off dependent on whether I open or shut my eyes. It is difficult to explain as "sight would be to explain to someone that cannot see". Anyway.... I see a range of varying colours in soft and sharp shapes, but unlike some of you the colour and shape is determined by volume and depth of the music. For example, electric guitar is generally sharpe and bright in colour, such as yellow and a bass guitar deep purple and rounded.

I cannot read music as the notes dance around when music is playing but I can learn to play instruments fairly easily.

This may sound stupid, but does anyone think this makes them more "understanding" or "deeper thinking"?
   RE: Synesthesia
Emily Bourke 22.05.2009 13:03
I also have synesthesia, and I understand what you mean. Half the time I need to have my eyes closed to actually see the colours and patterns, but then other times I can also see it with my eyes open. If I can't see it with my eyes open, I can generally 'sense' the colours around me and such. Does anyone else experience it like that?

And sorry if this is messy, I am new to this forum thing and don't know if this is how I reply to a post xD

music coloures
hani alrashdi 22.11.2008 23:34

i can see all the write coloures of music.im sure i can see the music pictureill give u examples:piano:white/guitar:yellow/flute:pink and im sure there is blue and green and i can give you the colour of the sound exactly/and there is some sounds composed of 2 or 3 coloures and i can see the picture of the musical sentence clearely thats why i can play any musical sentence while i cant read the notes of music how can i help?i can differentiate between these coloures without any confusion in the degree of the colour for example i can find the pink colour degree not any pink which is in some instruments become darker in the higher octave in some instruments but the colour become lighter in the other instrument

   RE: music coloures
Huw Clarke 27.11.2008 15:48
Hey whats up!

My name is Huw Clarke from Wales in the UK and I recently discovered that i have this version of synasthesia, I am doing a major creative project on it this year for my final year at university studying popular music. Could i ask for some peoples e-mail addresses cos i would absolutely find it so helpful if i could speak to some of you about your versions of it, the colours/textures you see so you could contribute to my work so to say.

My address is hellchild_66618@hotmail.com if anyone wants to add me.

Thank you

Huw


> i can see all the write coloures of music.im sure i can see
> the music pictureill give u
> examples:piano:white/guitar:yellow/flute:pink and im sure
> there is blue and green and i can give you the colour of
> the sound exactly/and there is some sounds composed of 2 or
> 3 coloures and i can see the picture of the musical sentence
> clearely thats why i can play any musical sentence while i
> cant read the notes of music how can i help?i can
> differentiate between these coloures without any confusion
> in the degree of the colour for example i can find the pink
> colour degree not any pink which is in some instruments
> become darker in the higher octave in some instruments but
> the colour become lighter in the other instrument
>
>
Amazing
Alice Crossroads 06.02.2008 23:16
I have just found out about this wonderful thing called synaesthesia and i think it is beautiful the way you picture songs colers places and things. I found out about this just yesterday and i am eager to learn more about it all. I read the book " A Mango Shaped Place" and typed up synaethesia to learn more about it and came across this.

i am speechless
Music Synesthesia
Phil Nyce 11.12.2007 21:19
I can never pinpoint the exact color of the notes i hear and they usually mix with sort of image that is difficult to describe.

When distortion or overdrive is added to guitars, i get this static or grainy type of image. this is the only somewhat describable image and it varies from degree of overdrive to degree.

It's not only color, but i "see" the sound or note. If something is played on a violin, i see the note drawn out and i usually see it in a tan color.

Piano notes seem to have a more percussive and black and white image to them, like the keys.

High to mid-range guitar notes are almost always yellow and the guitar screech from Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" is very purple and grainy with overdrive.

bass guitars have colors in the black to purple range, incorporating other dark yellow tones as well.

This is the best description i can give. It's really impossible to communicate the "sensation" or "image" that reflects the music but there's definitely something weird about it.

It makes music more interesting and adds "dimension".
CAN YOU HEAR, SMELL, TASTE OR FEEL COLOURS OR SHAPES?
T P 30.08.2007 16:38
http://theartbeyondsight.blogspot.com/
   RE: CAN YOU HEAR, SMELL, TASTE OR FEEL COLOURS OR SHAPES?
sam burrell 16.11.2007 08:35
> http://theartbeyondsight.blogspot.com/


yea
i dunno
when i hear an individual note
i see a flurry of colors that act in different ways
like
a low E flat
i see a flashing of lights
and i feel weightless and extra heavy at the same time
but as soon as i hear more notes together
like in a song
in my mind
i see places
these places are usually more vivid than the real world
but i can't help but wonder if i really have synesthesia
or if i just have a wild imagination
Volume
lance h 07.04.2006 07:03

i also experience notes and sounds as 'textures' and sometimes colors. Dm is a deep midnight blue, Dmaj more purple in hue. the 'textures' are akin to a 'feeling on the skin' but on some other skin that doesn't exist - somehow outside of spatial dimension.

the curious thing, for me, is that these effects generally only occur at high volume levels, or intensities. and they are not neccessarily 'logical' at all: the white needle of a test pattern whine is somehow also blunt and smooth and chrome and cool.

somehow, somehow: this has led me to a love of noise music and experimental artists who work with high-volume soundscapes. i just hope i don't go deaf anytime soon ;)
Synesthesia
Cecily s 08.01.2006 15:06

I am a synesthesiac with perfect pitch, and I always see different notes as colours, not keys. For example, a C major chord consists of a C - red/yellow, E - pink, and a G - brown. When I hear this chord, I see all of these colours ina picture that I can't describe. It has been very interesting to see how other people conceive things, and also how they can find it difficult to describe. I also see the texture of sounds; a c major chord played quite long on a stringed instrument reminds me of something in a very sticky substance, amber or resin, for example.
Synaesthesia is Fascinating
Kip Rosser 21.01.2005 08:52
This is one of the most comprehensive treatises I've ever read about the phenomenon of synaesthesia. The depth and breadth of the research is stunning.
synaesthesia
Nicole Collins 16.11.2004 07:55

Thanks for an informative article. It has given me lot's of names to follow up on.
I am a painter and teach Colour and 2D Design at an art college and am researching for a section on synaesthesia for my classes. I'm really looking forward to exposing the students (and myself) to some experimental music to go along with the abstract painting that we will explore.
cheers
Nicole Collins
   RE: synaesthesia
marty quinn 17.10.2007 23:23
Nicole,

I have just given a talk at the MET as part of the Art Beyond Sight Multimodal Approaches to Learning, Creativity and Communication on ArtMusic. I would be interested to hear what you think of my approach. You can view and listen to a number of art works as music at www.drsrl.com/artmusic.

Regards,

Marty Quinn
>
> Thanks for an informative article. It has given me lot's of
> names to follow up on.
> I am a painter and teach Colour and 2D Design at an art
> college and am researching for a section on synaesthesia
> for my classes. I'm really looking forward to exposing the
> students (and myself) to some experimental music to go
> along with the abstract painting that we will explore.
> cheers
> Nicole Collins
 
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