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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.
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Olivier Messiaen.
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Composer Olivier Messiaen, who flourished in the 1940’s, on the other hand, was more likely a synesthete; the question is raised quite well in his own writings and in interviews (see Samuel 1994). Many of his compositions, such as Couleurs de la cité céleste, L’ascension, and Des canyons aux étoiles, are directly based upon his, in a sense, trying to "produce pictures» via sound, writing specific notes to produce specific color sequences and blends.
In 1940, Walt Disney studios presented Fantasia. One of the main themes of this animation film was to put pictures to pieces of orchestral music – in a sense, an early version of MTV. The results, however, did not produce much in the way of synesthetically motivated art – with the noticeable exceptions of the opening piece, the abstract colors accompanying J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in d-minor. More direct to synesthesia, but constantly overlooked in the movie Fantasia, is the short divertissement section featuring an animated oscilloscope-like «sound track» which presented shapes and colors for various instruments. These colors and shapes bear some similarities to the types of actual perceptions colored-music synesthetes experience.
In the late 1940’s, Oskar Fischinger developed a color-organ which he named the Lumigraph, on which he gave a few performances (see Moritz 2000).
In 1989, Miles Davis presented his album, Aura, which is a suite of 10 modern jazz pieces each set upon a color. Aura was composed by Palle Mikkelborg, who was not a synesthete. The composer was aware of the concept of synesthesia, but only slightly. The correspondences made between the musical styles and particular colors is basically based upon western-European – and more so, on North American – culture. Furthermore, the associations are fairly «loose»; the colors are arranged in a certain sequence, and the musical pieces of the suite flow in a certain arrangement, but there is not strong attempt to have the two sequences correspond.
In 1990, Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina composed Alleluja, which includes an optional part for color keyboard.
Composer Michael Torke, on the other hand, is definitely a synesthete, reporting that one of his types is colored time units (days of the week, years, and such). Torke composed Color Music in 1991. He is currently on contract with Walt Disney studios to write music for films.
French drummer Manu Katché is a synesthete who synesthetically sees things to music and sound stimulation. He has performed with such musicians as Peter Gabriel, Joe Satriani, Tori Amos. As I currently write, he is on tour with Sting.
Currently world-famous oboist Jennifer Paull wrote to me: "I am a musician and publisher. I have been motivated my entire life by a rainbow of colours which do not belong to the limited, conventional rainbow -- but are totally real for me. I cannot put them into words. There are rainbows of textures, rainbows of moods and feelings too. The first moment I heard the timbre of the oboe d'amore, I knew that I had to play it and I have spent my life doing so. . . . I found out that I saw things differently when I was 11. My best friend was totally bored by my saying letters and numbers represented colours. She noted everything I said and tried to trip me up. Of course, she couldn't. «[Regarding the sound of the oboe d’amore], I cannot put into words. I can feel it, see it, but I can't put it into words. This sound -- this colour -- took me over. I had no choice.»
This is only a most basic of overviews of synesthetic themes in the various arts – barely scratching the surface. Suffice to say that, currently, such concepts abound, and there is no dearth of artists employing such ideas in their work, particularly nowadays. Present day true synesthete artists, however, are quite a bit rarer, and are hard to point out, particularly since the diagnosis is still not common, resulting indirectly in most synesthetes not talking about their special perceptions.
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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