SYNESTHESIA
81You Have Such A Beige Voice....
One day in 1995 I was listening to the TV from another room in my apartment. The program on was entitled "The Other Side", an NBC presentation. The subject under discussion grabbed my attention at once---synesthesia. Suddenly the show host started introducing a phoneline show participant whose last name was also mine. She began describing in detail my own experiences with the crossover of senses called synesthesia. As she went on, I was amazed at her accuracy on the subject, repeatedly exclaiming "That's RIGHT!", and "Yeah! YEAH!" She was describing something I'd long experienced but never discussed or heard discussed.
Perceptual synesthesia is a long-known mental capacity that has recently come under serious scientific study. It is a highly subjective sensory experience. Some researchers say it's a left-brain event. A synesthete, for example, mentally sees color and/or shapes in sounds; a set of musical notes are distinctly red or some other color as soon as they're heard or thought of; a touch has a specific shape; numbers have color association, etc. The coloration and /or spatial forms of each stimulus is lifelong and unchanging. Seeing sounds or music as color is called chromasthesia, or colored hearing. For me every sound I've ever heard, from infancy on, has a 3-dimensional spatial form, and some have color. A squeaking chair, a dropped object, the sighing of passing vehicle tires, a popped toe or fingerbone, a yawn, a sniffle, a cough; all of these have a specific spatial form which automatically comes into my mind's eye as soon as I hear them. The perception is instantaneous, and the stimuli and the perception are inseparable. Most sounds are grouped into general form categories--they're similarly shaped. Touch sensations also have shape, a form of tactile synesthesia.
People don't realize how beige their voices are! The introductory guitar chords of McCartney's "Band On The Run" are so shiny lemonyellow it's ridiculous! His guitar phrases in "Listen To What The Man Said" are a deep, smooth-textured limegreen. The spatial shapes they show are partially curved and are dynamic, moving with the music. Saxaphone phrases in Stevie Wonder's song "Tuesday Heartbreak" are a combo of brilliant orange and flashing, shimmering yellow.
Because the shapes of the sounds are unchanging, it's possible to remember a piece of music without its title by recalling the shape of some of the notes of the piece, maybe its early notes. On the other hand, some songs may incur dislike due to their horrible mental image, texture or shape. But listening to music is definitely a lifelong enriched extra-dimensional experience. I recently took an online synesthesia test (which, of course, I passed). The test battery would be improved by the addition of a test for synesthetic imagery.
There are many varieties of perceptual synesthesia, and differing degrees of development per person. I've heard of forms of it that puzzle me and which would never have occurred to me otherwise, such as a sense connection between spoken words and taste.
Learning more about perceptual synesthesia is easy enough: type the phrase "Synesthesia Organizations", "Wikipedia Perceptual Synesthesia", "Perceptual Synesthesia", or just "Synesthesia" into a Google or Yahoo Search bar. You can test yourself for synesthesia@ www.synesthete.org. Go ahead, see how you do. You might be synesthetic yourself, even as you read this. Perhaps my general tone is just a bit on the tan side, with a touch of gray in it....
- The Synesthesia Battery
A battery of tests for music tone synesthesia is offered here. - Synesthesia: It\'s A Beautiful Day!
This site includes YOUTUBE videos on synesthesia. - music and sound color synesthesia
This is the color music page for synesthesia in Australia
The Man Who Tasted Shapes
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The Man Who Tasted Shapes (Bradford Books)
Price: $12.75
List Price: $24.95 |
Wesnesday Is Indigo Blue
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Wednesday Is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia
Price: $18.74
List Price: $29.95 |
Synesthesia
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Synesthesia: Perspectives from Cognitive Neuroscience
Price: $45.86
List Price: $59.95 |
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Comments
Hi, dee; your comment and interest are appreciated.
The directional hearing you mention is more likely an auditory issue.
Synesthesia involves a blending or crossover of senses and perceptions that are "normally" separate; sorta like 2 signals designed for separate wires sharing 1 wire.
The blue water images you see could be the result of a conscious, ingrained association of the color blue with water, as many people associate the color silver or copper with silverware.
What you describe sounds somewhat different from basic synesthesia in that this condition most often creates completely personal sensory perceptions that are in striking contrast to universal sensory perceptions.
A spoken number is vividly brown/orange/purple; an odor has a definite shape. The synesthetic brain spontaneously and consistently assigns spatial, pigment or other characteristics to incoming sensory data that are not thought to have those characteristics in themselves.
Personally, when I hear music, I see every note--its spatial form as a separate note and its form as part of the note groups; this helps me to play by ear, since I see the spatial placement of each note the same as you see specific colors and patterns when you look at jelly beans on a plate.
Each bean has a clear cut position and color, and none escapes your view.
Consequently, I see the music I compose and recall my many un-named fragments by seeing their note patterns in my mind before I go searching for them on recording media.
Okay I'm tired now...chat with you later if you like.
I always thought it was natural to 'see' music - till I learned otherwise! Thanks for a wonderfully informative hub!
I've had a breather since my last comment. I wanna thank you for the appreciation you express. Imagine it-- being appreciated just for doing something you like anyway.
You must be a natural synesthete; as far as I know we ALL think that way until we find out different. I don't know if you have but I've tried to imagine hearing music withOUT seeing it too. My, what a loss! Like compressing the music data right out of an audio file. A much flatter experience to be sure.... I'd like to hear more from you about your sensory life if you care to share.
Also, if you look for it in a google or yahoo search engine you'll find synesthete websites somewhere; I did years ago. I thought about starting a Hubpages Synesthete group---I think I'll try just that. What do you think about that?
Hey by the way--did I see you on the limericks page? I'm hoping to start up a new challenge with somebody. I snuck 2 quickies in yesterday, but no reply thus far. Chat with you later. Thanks for being a fan. Looks like I'll be returning the favor to you and dee soon. Stand by.
Thanks LEWJ (Dee) That is so neat and amazing what u can do.
Again, glad to share it. You do limmericks?
Oh, my goodness, I have little chills and the perfect synchronicity of this hub. Just today my s/o mentioned this ability to hear and see differently, but we couldn't remember the name for it, and I clicked on your hub, and received a hub from someone who experiences this. Fascinating!
How wonderful to experience sound in this way! I almost feel as though I know what you're talking about, because you describe the sensation so vividly.
Violet Sun: You know, I'm always more fascinated by types of synesthesia that are different from mine. Tasting words, for example--how amazing!
Your response when you found a matching example reminds me of how I felt when all of a sudden one day this woman's voice came out of my TV and started to tell me about my experiences--in perfect detail. And she had MY last name too! If you want to follow up, you'll find a load of very interesting info on the subject, including recorded radio shows on it (I'm listening to one right now on my Mac); just type the phrase (in lower case) "synesthete catherine lewis" into the GOOGLE Search Bar.
There's a guy on there who says letters and numbers have what he calls "back stories" and personalities.
The author of the book "Wednesday Is Indigo Blue" is interviewed on this show.
Thanks for your support.
Amanda Severn: One fact is well highlighted by synesthesia: we all experience life differently, subjectively. Synesthesia is completely subjective and every bit as real per synesthete as "normal" perceptions are per everybody else.
It never occurred to me as a child that, for example, the sound of vehicle tires going away from where I was, could be something other than gray and shaped like a large, moving paintbrush smear on a canvas. As the sound faded, so did the size of the smear, but not the color.
The impact of pressure on my skin always triggered a shaped mental image instantaneously; the whippings I got all had shaped blows, the shapes of which I recall at will. I can see some of them as I write this, though the radio show I just mentioned is still on. Impressions can be very vivid and permanent as synesthetic experiences.
The music of Jimi Hendrix is extremely vivid for me and full of counterpoint-like image movement. I never was interested in taking drugs, but I've heard that LSD causes similar sense crossing. I have no use for drugs, though.
The effects THEY produce are only temporary anyway....
LewJ: Saw your comments in my hub. :) And sorry, yes, I had read this, but didn't think of adding my comment. I will do a Google search, as this is very interesting; I wonder if maybe most of us are limited in the way we "hear". Thanks for your info!
How interesting! I wonder if everyone's senses are even half as honed. And I hope my voice isn't a boring beige! :)
OK VioletSun, gotcha.
Feline Prophet: Actually, my synesthetic beige is a smooth, creamy hue that's not quite as plain as ordinary beige. It's not flat like wall paint, but is more like thick cake batter without the bowl. You'd probably be amused to see it yourself.
I had never heard of this before but it struck a chord in me to explore it further.
And just for reference my mind percieves your mental voice as a blue gray much like shale. Dunno why.
First time I heard of a mental voice with a color! If you do explore it you'll come across some intriguing things.
It must be absolutely wonderful to experience everything so vividly. Just curious are your dreams more vivid do you think than other people's? Or is it only when you are actually subjected to the sound?
Hi...I've always dreamed vividly and in color, and often recall my dreams. I can recall bits of dream scenery from my childhood days.
That subject is a longtime fave of mine---dreams.
Thanks for your support, and best to you here on Hubpages.
I have heard of this before, but only experienced it with some music. I was not real impressed, as what I saw made the music feel like fingernails on a chalkboard. Hey, maybe that group is horrid anyway.
Ha Ha! I know what you mean. That must have been awful!
The opposite happens when you hear what you like, though.
Now, tell me, do you like the music because it looks good, or does it look good because you like it?
Whether it looks good or bad, it looks, always and everytime.
The images of musical sound are incidental to my fondness for music itself. So if I were not synesthetic music would still be deeply appreciated, only not with the richness provided by synesthesia.
Maybe the song Tuesday Heartbreak is yellow because Tuesday is yellow. It is to me anyway! (Although not orange..) I've always thought of days as having colours and numbers and some letters too. I thought this was normal until I came across the term synesthesia and learnt more about it. Your hub explains it very well, and I enjoyed reading it. (Plus it's always good to come across somebody who doesn't think I'm crazy, lol!)
The most powerful thing for me is that strong feelings (as well as dreams) that I have are also associated with colours and colourful images. I have many memories, both good and bad which have stayed so clearly in my mind because I can so vividly remember the colours and images that I was seeing at the time.
You're a bonafide synesthete for sure! The info sources listed here yield a lot of interesting things. Glad you got something personal out of this hub in a positive way.
Great Hub LEWJ, i had never heard of this before except in movies where someone had taken LSD,and could see colours, is it possible that the brain could be open to this through the use of certain drugs, or is that just a load of movie nonsense?
No it's not nonsense at all. LSD is an hallucinogen that powerfully affects brain circuitry and function. Any drug acting so directly upon the brain is bound to produce unusual results of some kind. Thanks.
So interesting, I had never heard of this before, I enjoyed the video too.
Yeah, it's a very interesting subject with lots of info behind it online.
Hi, I thought I'd have a quick peak at your hubs and was amazed to read this. I thought it was normal to see colours when you hear or see words etc i have always been like this. not so much with music but names and days. monday is blue, tuesday yellow, wednesday green thursday grey friday red saturday orange sunday very dark green. now i've got the name for it. great hub Nell
Glad you found out about it! You've been carrying around a synesthetic mind without knowing what to call it, like many others. Well, now you know.
Thanks for the support.
Yes you learn something new everyday! thanks again Nell
This is really, really interesting... I'm heading over to the website you mentioned to try that test out.
I don't think I see it naturally but definitely if you asked me to describe what a sound looks like I could describe it in terms of colour. So maybe I have it in some lesser sense...
Actually, come to think of it I wrote a hub not long ago about breaking writer's block, and one of my methods is to use music and colour coded markers that represent emotions. So when you hear the music, either the emotion or the colour will connect with different notes and you get a sort of storyline.
It worked for me but maybe that was just a fluke.. who knows :P
Sounds unusual, your own experience. I'd be interested in hearing from you here on your test results. Will you report back?
Will do. I did the preview questions and answered yes to a couple of them, but it wanted my email and stuff to answer the rest of the tests. I'll do that tomorrow, its movie time :)
ttys
Hey so I did the test, and it turns out I definitely don't have synesthesia in regards to specific musical notes or chords, but yes for different musical instruments. Verrry interesting!
So how about that! Your case verifies the variety observed in synesthetic thought processes. Lots of info can be found online about it. Thanks much for sharing this with us, Katelyn Weel.
Hi, read your article with interest. I too have it to some extent. i see all the lettres of the alphabet in different colours and it never changes. Also the numbers and emotions are colours - joy is read and truth is blue - bliss is too - peace is white. etc. I'm not not sure about voices -yes music to some extent. Fascinating isn't it. I enjoying your piece on Poe and Dickenson and and Twain in Books and writing. Do you write any of your own poetry or fiction?
donna bamford: You do have it! I posted a reply after your post in the Books/Writing forum. Yes I've been published many moons ago, poetry, verse and nonfiction. I tend toward nonfiction now, though verse or poetry are never remote from my mind or emotions. My fun with limerick verses start on page 46 of the LIMERICKS-LIMERICKS-LIMERICKS portion of the Sandpit Forum. That is, I THINK it's the Sandpit. My hub subjects will likely stay in the prose area---poems on here are'nt really appreciated anyway. The JFK HUBS just completed were the biggest prose challenge for me recently, but I enjoyed it all, even the final leg that kept me up till 3:30am proofreading. Do you compose verse, fiction, etc?
I think that this is like most things in life, a continuum, and we all have it to some degree, whether it be barley noticeable, or as loud as the thunder. Defiantly something the general populous should be aware of, kudos for raising the consciousness.
To Stolas: We're all connected even though we perceive the world differently; synesthesia has been a feature of comic strips for many years, as when a comic illustrator draws straight or jagged lines extending from an audio device to "show" the sounds emitted by the device.
very interesting, i had no idea it was employed by artists regularly, but that does make sense. :)
dee says:
3 months ago
this is neat! would my hearing things clearer from behind, more then in front of me be something of what u speak of? I know when my mind hears water, it more then likely sees blue. maybe I haven't a clue what I just read...lol. But I found it interested known the less. thanks