To see music
 

I don't know if this thread exists already (I have searched), but I think it might be interesting.

When I listen to music, the sounds create images in my head. Sometimes, it's really simple, like a colour, but when listening to other songs, I see detailed, multi-coloured images and shapes.
For example, in my head, Radiohead's "Bodysnatchers" is dark blue, and Martina Topley Bird's "Carnies" is orange.

I think a lot of people "see" music, and I'm interested in how sounds look like in other people's head.

Do you see music? Do you have any songs or albums that... stand out visually?

I experience sound/colour synesthesia with most music as well. I'm not huge on visualizing shapes, but I do find most songs, albums, and instruments have a colour to them.

I experience synesthesia in various ways, too, mostly with numbers and letters taking on colors and personalities; but I also tend to associate colors, shapes and other visuals and sensations with music (movement, temperature, texture etc.) seemingly via intuitive processes.

Because of the way my brain seems to processes information, I tend to combine many ideas, sensations and experiences together, and focus on them (basically, like perpetual metaphorical thinking). I have several playlists for different "meta-experiences". For example, I started to create different playlists for different colors, shapes, etc. Some experiences are automatic, others are visualized/imagined via intuitive capacities. (I wonder if they're not related).

I kind of see two different things at once with my "mind's eye," when I listen to music, one 'vision' being more automatic (requiring no thought or imagination), the other being based on my own imaginings and experience, like a daydream or memory. It can be hard to tell them apart, so I'm not 100% certain I have synesthesia for music, or if I just have a really abstract imagination.

I picked a random song to see how I respond to it, since I'm having a hard time thinking about really notable examples right now...
This song is simple in structure, so it's a lot easier trying to describe it than a song with complex arrangements, which I tend to prefer.


Boards of Canada - Seeya Later - YouTube

My automatic response to this song is a general texture and visual feeling of oil on water- "hot" in places and "cool" in others (like the feeling of standing in cold water on a hot day), with silvers, saturated deep blues (kind of like you would see in a neon light) and similar purples with an indigo undertone coming through a thick, dark liquid. The drums are fuzzy splashes of neon green faded into black, like 2-dimensional sparks, that jut upward in steep V-like shapes. There's an overall metallic feeling... It's hard to explain.... I'd have to paint it or something.

There are only a handful of songs that have given me that experience but one that stands out most is Mentim by U-Ziq (technically that U is supposed to be the Mu symbol) the track isn't on youtube so here's a grooveshark link instead - Grooveshark - Free Music Streaming, Online Music.

It's on the Royal Astronomy album, it stands out as being one of the more ambient tracks on the disc, lacking any sort of big beat. Same as the album stands out from most of his catalog as being the most melodic and least glitchy.

Anytime I hear it I can't help but imagine a coastline being bombed during the greyness before dawn or just after dusk. No specific colours but the impression is definitely there, it's not a happy piece of music.

I see what you mean about your imagination. I feel the same way. SOme songs remind me of people I've met, for example.
But I also see numbers and letters in colours (and in sexes, male/female, sometimes).

The track you posted made me feel like I'm falling down a dark tunnel, but not in a bad way, more in a adventurous way. Sometimes, warm lights appeared and lit up the walls of sand and clay.

I felt like I was in a hall, with pretty white and light red colours. There were cracks in the ceiling, which the sounds came through.

Interesting similarities for different sounding tracks. Have you noticed it happening with other songs or is this just coincidence?

It's cool to see what you guys had to say about your experiences with music. I'm sure that people who don't experience music in this way would think we were on LSD or something! :laughing: .

I think that some people who direct music videos probably have a similar mindset. It's like music taps into subconscious thoughts in a way that's something like having a dream.

appleghost, If you often picture yourself in a tunnel or hall, is it as if a song creates an immersive experience, where you're completely surrounded by what you're experiencing?

When I experience a song, it's like watching things happen on a 'screen' or 'canvas' or in a contained space inside my head. The "hallway" experience is foreign to me. I thought your description was neat. Sometimes I wish I could be telepathic so I could experience things like that.

mr dave's track was more "intrusive" in tone to me. The sounds have a penetrating power. There is a midnight blue background with expanding rings of color in time to the music, like a shockwave or a ripple on water- some a brilliant pink, others orange. They vibrate like plucked guitar strings.The whole thing gets distorted by ink-like black 'tears' in the 'material' of it all, like how water distorts an image. The whole 'coastline being bombed' feel is definitely understandable, and frankly pretty awesome, in a dark sort of way.

...common thread for me seems to be liquid. Time to me can be associated with the complex movement of liquids. Music has a strong correlation with time. Maybe hallways are the similar?

I feel the same about songs and albums, but I've never felt that way about instruments... can you tell me more about it? It's interesting.

They're actually not that similar: The tunnel was pretty dark, and the air was warm. In the hall, the air was fresh and a little cold, like the air an early morning.

It depends on the song. Some songs, like Aphex Twin's "Jynweythek Ylow", only creates shapes of different colours. But then again, a song never 'looks' exactly the same every time. They very often create the same picture, though.

:laughing:

Yeah, definitely. Radiohead's music videos often capure the feelings of the song very well. The music video for "Street Spirit" is a good example.
Also, when I'm making music myself, I often have a spesific colour or picture I try to "paint".

It's fun to see the similarities between everyone's visualisings. I also had the "intrusive" feeling: the sounds coming through the cracks in the ceiling.


Nude - Radiohead (Live from the Basement)- YouTube
What do you see when you listen to this?
I see a dark purple-coloured circle, pulsating slowly to the beat. Behind the circle is only a black background, but as the song builds up, the background lits up and becomes orange and white.
I'm looking forward to see what you... see.

Guitar scaling
 

Oh guys am onu,am a guy,am from Nigeria and i play guitar and piano.i really someone who can be my friend,maybe we could be friends or something

Sometimes it comes down to a part in a song sounding "bright" or "shiny", and it's not much of a leap from there to say it sounds yellow or white.



The bassline in this song is clearly black to me, with the synths and harmonies playing rainbow colours; I find this album really well paired with its artwork. Perhaps artwork influences my synesthesia a little too heavily, because I find things pair up well a lot, and then I wonder if it was just the power of suggestion.

I associate colours with names, places, people, letters, and numbers as well.

Well, I see what you mean now. It surprises me I haven't though of that before. I've only been thinking of the instruments as "sounds", not as instruments.
For me, the bassline was brown/dark orange. The vocals were white, bright yellow.

Yeah, artwork affects me too, but not that much. For example, many of the songs on OK Computer are white/gray, like the album cover, but they also have many other colours as well: "Lucky" is dark green, "Electioneering" is strong yellow, and so on.

Very interesting thread,it would be beautiful to see these represented somehow. I sometimes describe music as shiny, but I'm not sure what exactly I mean. Examples of what I think is "shiny"-
Wild Healer- Gojira
Fortune Days- The Glitch Mob
Dust and Light- Krallice (but it's more of a gritty shiny, like some kinds of sandpaper?) :shycouch:
I don't usually have colors associated, the most I get is dark/light, or sometimes sunset colors (usually if it's lyrically themed that way)
I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of any others.

The power of suggestion can be strong, which I find a little bit annoying. I don't like it when a music video or album cover looks different than what I see in my head, because my pure idea of how I see music gets affected. It's like trying to write about something that happened in a dream. I know that whatever ends up on the page, it will never exactly represent what was experienced in the dream, and the memory of it slowly fades over time.

You mean like this?

http://scrappycrafter.com/images/ite...er_300x300.jpg

Some people like to try to paint, write, compose, or otherwise express their synesthesia physically. I personally like to use synesthesia for inspiration in painting, writing and photoshop/ graphic work. Maybe I'll post some stuff in the art thread one of these days.

As for instruments, they definitely have an influence on me. Any hand-clap kinds of sounds are like a white flash, and notes descending or ascending on a keyboard register as a gradient. The bassline of that song was a dark brown/ blue for me, like rubber wobbling in a line.

Yes, like that, although for that song I think of it as dark. I sometimes consciously create images while listening to certain pieces of music, or have vague associations, but it's frequently heavily influenced by the lyrics/album art/what other people have said. Although, when I've read the descriptions people have given and then listened to their example, they usually fit well (and sometimes make it more enjoyable.)

I think an art based on/inspired by music thread would be wonderful, something I would follow for sure.

That's a good idea. I wouldn't be opposed to starting a thread like that, but I really shouldn't until I have something scanned/ photographed and ready to share (to be sure at least someone would be posting in it). Wouldn't be opposed to other interested members starting the thread though, if applicable. I'll take note of it and keep my eyes peeled.

I definitely agree that hearing peoples' descriptions makes it more enjoyable :).

I think "gritty shiny" might be the masculine way of saying "glitter".

:laughing: Sure, but painful glitter.

That would've been a good name for a death metal band.

kandinsky's paintings have the reverse effect for me. I hear music when i look at them...

There was a guy on Britain's Got talent a few years ago who could see music and learned to play piano on his own incredibly well through it. I get reminded of things when I listen to songs, I'm definitely taken somewhere and being musically minded I'd say I get far more into a piece of music than the likes of my girlfriend who's idea of enjoying music is having the radio on quietly in the car as a bit of background noise. But I think 80 % of the people who say they're seeing things when they listen to music in this way are just talking bull**** and the rest are harboring some sort of mental or physical illness that allows for their mind to objectify a piece of music in this way....

Interesting perspective. Would you consider synesthesia to be an illness? I'd imagine the guy from Britain's Got Talent doesn't think so. But it is a rare "condition." I think it has more to do with giftedness or cognitive functioning than mental illness.

Reminds me of X-Men vs. regular humans. I can just see it. Synesthetes holding signs saying "We don't need a cure!" haha.

I thought the first post established that the visualization of colour is an inspired thought process, not a hallucination. I don't literally see the world change colour, but certain things have very strong colour associations that I make in my mind.

From what I understand, there are various ways a person can experience visualizations of colour. The synesthetic way being automatic and uncontrollable (thus classified as a "condition"), the cognitive way being creative and imagined (and therefore accessible to anyone with a good abstract/ metaphorical imagination, where colors can be used as metaphorical depictions of sound and other senses), and the hallucinatory way which is achieved either through the use of drugs or the experience of psychological illness.

So, really, it all depends on whether the colors you see are inspired in your mind by conscious or semi-conscious effort, or if they are innate and occur automatically, without any outside influence. There are various theories surrounding these experiences, but so far they are only preliminary (again, as far as I know).

All of the experiences mentioned so far have been either truly synesthetic, or at least similar to synesthesia in that they were consciously imagined in a similar way. Whether they are talking bull or not, it's interesting to hear what people imagine in relation to sound, no matter how the experience came about. (although I'm opposed to recreational drugs! So don't take that as advice haha)

As for actually seeing the world changing color, true synesthetes will see black letters like the ones I just typed with "ghosts" of color "on top" of them (an image in their mind, and not actually truly visible in the outside world).
For me, the words "black letters" look roughly like this:
black letters
This is an uncontrollable experience, and the colors associated with each letter have been consistent and unchanged for as long as I can remember.

The colours aren't right for me, and it bothers me.

:laughing:
I know, right?
It's like OCD that way. Other synesthetes' colors can be a bit annoying. For me it's worse than bad spelling. But I liked everyone's music descriptions for some reason. Interesting...

Do you get annoyed when the colors are wrong in logos or ads, or just in normal writing/type?

This is a virtual image that create in the mind when we listen music By all means (concentrete ) the image and the visualization create with the music . I like listen music and many time the mind setup feel this audio codecs is the MusicBuilding in a qualitative music , i mean in best clearity of sound.

It doesn't bother me when they're all the same in a headline or advertisement, because it's not as strong with whole words as with individual letters. But it bothers me when each letter is singled out in a different colour.

I once tried to make a chart in photoshop of the alphabet as I coloured it, and found that the shades had to be very precise to "feel" accurate. It isn't enough for instance, to say that M was red, because I have an exact idea of which shade of red it should be.

Ped, you're wrong. M isn't red, it's blue. :)

I actually agree. My example above was generalized. Plus, it doesn't take into consideration textures, shine, or personality.

In my name, the individual letters would look somewhat like this:
http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/.../Jonathan3.png
(Enough to give me a headache)

But all together, the word looks more like this, with the blue/grey color of the J affecting all the other letters, creating a more subtle overall picture. Stronger letters, like the a's and t's can withstand being affected, but "weaker" letters, like h, fade into the background. The letters tend to get less clear further from the first letter.

http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/.../Jonathan2.png

And that's without the complexity of the backdrop, which would be impossible to actually replicate.

I also see M as red; a really saturated, deep "cool" red (more on the blue side than the yellow side).

Do you still have the chart? It's easy to get frustrated trying to create a good representation. The example I gave seems incomplete for me. If only there were videotapes for the mind.

Here is the unsatisfactory chart I made a few months ago. I didn't spend a lot of time with it, so it's not very accurate, and a few of the colours I settled on still bother me. Screen brightness and things affect something you make in photoshop, so it's difficult for me to get it right.

I did not take fonts into consideration.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...YNESTHESIA.png

Well, from the colors my computer screen is generating for me, it actually looks like we perceive a few alphanumeric characters in a similar way...

I made a ripoff version of your image with my colors. Not 100% for me either, but close enough. Looks like there are a few vague similarities, but definitely some striking differences. What a world it would be if I saw black R's and purple 7's!
http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/...esthesia-1.png

A bit off topic, but I just find this kind of thing so interesting.

This is getting very interesting! Geekoid, I found your striped '1' very cool! When I see letters and numbers, they're only coloured and are masculine/feminine.
I'll post my alphabet very soon.

Yup, music gives me strong visual sensations. Too complicated to be explained, you guys would need to get into my head for a while but I don't recommend it - it's weird up there. Often I see little stories, kinda like music videos when I listen to some songs. I actually would really like to make music videos. I've made few for fun, but they're not exactly music videos, more or less just videos where I use music.

Human mind is a curious thing. Considering that people like so different kind of music, we must sense things very differently. Same must go with colours and images since people tend to have favourite colours. Also, have you people ever wondered if someone sees colours completely differently than you do? (not talking about colour blind people) I mean, we all agree that grass is green, but what if someone sees green as I see blue? Then when I show them something else green, they agree with me that it's green, though they see it as I would see something blue. How could we ever know how other people see this world. It might look completely different with your eyes compared to mine. Ok, I'm not sure if I'm making myself clear here :D Just curious, curious things.

Oh, one more thing. I definitely think all people should become blind for a while. Just for a week or two in order to be able to appreciate seeing. I lost my sight due to an illness when I was 15 (no worries, everything went ok, I can see again, as you might already have guessed :D ) and it made a great impact on me. When the bandages were removed and I was able too see again, wow, it was amazing! Ever since I've paid much more attention to all kinds of little details and colours - world seems a lot more beautiful place than it was before. In fact, it was after that when I became more interested in all kinds of art - music, photographing, painting, drawing...

I had a heated argument with an ex once about whether something was blue, as I said, or purple, as he claimed. Perception is a unique and curious thing.

My mom and I always get into arguments like that. I have a much broader term for "black" than she does. For me, there's neutral [grey] black, green-black, red-black, and blue-black. But she often likes to lump together what I see as the green and grey-blacks, and considers any blue-black (no matter how dark) to be navy blue.

One frequent debate that I've noticed has to do with violets. Some people like to agree with the poem that says "violets are blue," while other people insist that, like their name, violets are decidedly violet (purple). I usually try to get people to meet in the middle and just agree on "indigo," if they'll go for it. But a lot of it depends on the lighting:

as for perception, color blindness would certainly be a factor, too. I wonder if there are color blind synesthetes?

appleghost The striped "1" is kind of symbolic. I see it as a red-black. If you've ever seen something colored in black pen ink, and then tilt it into the light, there's usually a metallic red sheen that appears. That's how 1 shows up to me (which is why I could never decide if it should be black or red).

It'll be cool to see your perception of the alphabet!

mervi Good points as usual. The idea that people see colors completely differently was one of my favorite "philosophical discoveries" when I was younger. Interestingly enough, it seems to be an idea that many people come to understand on their own, as opposed to being introduced to it.

I should really try being blind for a week. I have degenerative retinas, which I recently got laser eye surgery to correct (by fixing the holes in my retina). My chances of going blind are much higher than most peoples' (probably won't be until I'm in my 60s), so I should really make the most of my sight while I have it.

If you've never experienced synesthesia, it might be baffling.
Seeing music is something that has created some of the greatest musical prodigies and music videos. Could be an interesting topic if you're open to learning something new...

Pretty sure he be trollin', based on a few of his other posts.

This is an amazing thread with some great insight into how people react to music. The connection of the senses is a very important part of the music listening experience (both live and recorded.)

Hey, sorry for being away for so long. Here's my alphabet plus some numbers:

http://i49.tinypic.com/1t6f0w.jpg
I notice that the colour blue (in different shades) is one of the recurring colours.
All the letters of the alphabet (excluding 'X') also appears as masculine/feminine. I find this interesting.
Feminine: B, D, N, P, Q, R, Y,
Masculine: A, C, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, O, S, T, U, V, W, Z

Some of the numbers from 1-10 have (and yes, this might sound insane) different personalities that they have developed through years of math homework. If someone really wants it, I can go a little more in depth.

Anyways, I hope this discussion keeps going. It's extremely interesting. People's heads, people's heads.

Also, please ignore my poorly drawn 'O'. I copied the template you've used, but something went wrong with the 'O', so I had to draw it. That's mad photoshop skillz right there yo

Perhaps the mental visualizations that we perceive while listening to music have something to do with the sound waves from the music vibrating our retinas or the vitreous fluids in our eyeballs, thus sending back signals to our visual cortex that our brain then interprets as mental images?