Famous Synesthetes

[image error]Zack, the narrator of Stuff We All Get, has sound-colour synesthesia, a condition that causes him to see colours when he hears music. Zack is not alone. There are numerous musicians with this “extra-sensory” perception.

Billy Joel (quoted here from Wikipedia) describes his synesthesia thus: “I would say the softer, more intimate songs — there’s ‘Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel), ‘And So It Goes,’ ‘Vienna’ and another called, ‘Summer, Highland Falls’ — when I think of different types of melodies which are slower or softer, I think in terms of blues or greens…When I [see] a particularly vivid color, it’s usually a strong melodic, strong rythmic pattern that emerges at the same time. When I think of these songs, I think of vivid reds, oranges and golds. — From an interview with Billy Joel

(check out a recent performance of the wonderful tune, Vienna http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsEBGhbSKVc&feature=fvwrel) 

 

The British painter, Kilford http://themusicpainter.com/, paints the colours he sees while listening to music.

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He’s painted at live concerts performed by various musicians, including Paul Weller, Robert Plant, Damon Albarn, Black Eyed Peas, Brian Eno, and Deep Purple.

The following lovely quote comes from the autobiography Piece by Piece by singer / songwriter Tori Amos http://www.toriamos.com/: “The song appears as light filament once I’ve cracked it. As long as I’ve been doing this, which is more than thirty-five years, I’ve never seen a duplicate song structure. I’ve never seen the same light creature in my life. Obviously similar chord progressions follow similar light patterns, but try to imagine the best kaleidoscope ever.”

Imagining sound-colour synesthesia for the writing of Stuff We All Get made me wish I shared this talent, but I’ll have to settle for the kaleidoscope. If I can find one…