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A Brief History of Synaesthesia and Music
by Sean A. Day
February 21, 2001
Sean A. Day is a fairly unknown composer, who has written few works in his spare, hobby time. Sean synesthetically "sees" colors corresponding to musical timbres; each instrument has its specific color.
Page 7
Kandinsky, working in the 1920’s, was also not a synesthete, despite his fame for his synesthetic artwork. Many of his paintings and stage pieces were based upon a set and established system of correspondences between colors and the timbres of specific musical instruments. Kandinsky himself, however, stated that his correspondences between colors and musical timbres has no «scientific» basis, but was founded upon a combination of his own personal feelings, current prevailing cultural biases, and mysticism (see Kandinsky 1994; see also Dann 1998; Riccò 1999: 138-142).
Schematization of the correspondences between colors and musical timbres according to Kandinsky:
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Colors
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Musical timbres
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Yellow
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Trumpet; Sound of the fanfare
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Azure
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Flute
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Blue
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Deep sounds from the organ
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Dark blue
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Cello
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Very dark blue
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Bass
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Green
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Middle tones of the violin
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White
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Temporary pause
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Black
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Conclusive pause
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Gray
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Lack of sound
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Bright red
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Fanfare; Tuba/Horn
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Crimson red
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Drum-roll; Tuba/Horn
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Cool red
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Medium and deep tones of the cello
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Bright cool red
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Other tones of the violin
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Orange
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Middle bells of the church; Strong contralto voice; Viola
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Violet
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English horn; Bagpipe
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Deep purple
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Deep tones of the woodwinds; Bassoon
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Sir Arthur Bliss, who wrote his Colour Symphony in 1922, was not a synesthete. He was simply yet another influenced by the ideas of «color music», although, for him, it did not come with the trappings of mystic religions, but, rather, with British traditions. The symphony features four movements: Purple; Red; Blue; and Green. Bliss based this work upon the symbolism generally associated with the colors in traditional English heraldry, along the following lines: «Purple – Amethysts, Pageantry, Royalty – and Death; Red – Rubies, Wine, Furnaces, Magic, …; Blue – Sapphires, Deep Water, Skies, Loyalty, Melancholy; Green – Emeralds, Hope, Youth, Joy, Spring, and Victory» (Dannatt 1991).
Around 1925, Alexander László, Hungarian musician and composer (born in 1895) composed a small set of Lichtmusik (light-music) pieces, including Eleven preludes (opus 10). Eleven preludes had the following scheme: 1. ultramarine; 2. yellow; 3. violet; 4. leaf-green; 5. grey; 6. red; 7. ice-blue; 8. white; 9. sea-green; 10. cress; 11. black. It is quite questionable as to whether László was a synaesthete; my current guess is that he probably was not.
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Thomas Wilfred.
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Also in the 1920’s, Danish-born Thomas Wilfred came to the United States, became involved with the Theosophist movement, and designed and built a «color organ» which he named the Clavilux. He named the art-form produced «Lumia». He toured the U.S. and Europe, giving concerts. Likewise, Mary Hallock Greenewalt developed a color-organ which she named the Sarabet, on which she also gave concerts (see Moritz 2000).
Comment List
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Alice Crossroads
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06.02.2008 23:16
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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
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Phil Nyce
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11.12.2007 21:19
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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".
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T P
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30.08.2007 16:38
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http://theartbeyondsight.blogspot.com/
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sam burrell
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16.11.2007 08:35
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> 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
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lance h
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07.04.2006 07:03
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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 ;)
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Cecily s
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08.01.2006 15:06
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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.
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Kip Rosser
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21.01.2005 08:52
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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.
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Nicole Collins
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16.11.2004 07:55
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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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marty quinn
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17.10.2007 23:23
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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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