Synaesthesia: Primary research interviews

I decided to interview some musicians to see what their opinion on synaesthesia was and if they knew much about the neurological condition and if they would like to know more etc. 

QUESTIONS

Do you know what Synaesthesia is?

DEFINITION: Synaesthesia is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads too automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway.

-hear a sound/note and see it as a colour or a shape

- making associations between two things

- Sound triggers the visualisation of coloured, generic shapes

Do you have it? If not, do you associate any visuals or colours with your music style or individual songs?

Have you ever worked with anyone (or yourself) with it? Did they respond to the music in any interesting ways?

Do you feel it gives those with it an advantage within the industry?

Would you want to have it?

Would you want to find out more about it?

ANSWERS

Jasper Cole

Do you know what Synaesthesia is?

Yes

Do you have it? If not, do you associate any visuals or colours with your music style or individual songs?

I do have it, I see colours in theoretical music note names, chords, letters, numbers and sounds.

Have you ever worked with anyone (or yourself) with it? Did they respond to the music in any interesting ways?

I’ve worked with musicians who have it and it’s interesting to see how they respond to sounds or how they interpret and approach new music with the condition, compared to normal musicians without synaesthesia they seem a lot more engaged and emotionally connected to the music.

Do you feel it gives those with it an advantage within the industry? Within the music industry yes, but it can completely depend on the extent on the subject’s condition, for example they could see or hear things that are completely different to another’s perception of what sounds good.

Would you want to have it?

Yes

Would you want to find out more about it?

It would be interesting to know why and where it comes from and also other categories that people might fall into.

Rachael Victoria

Do you know what Synaesthesia is?

No

Do you have it? If not, do you associate any visuals or colours with your music style or individual songs?

I don't have it myself and have never actually heard of any musician I know to have it either. So I’m unaware of how a musician who does have it would respond to it.

Do you feel it gives those with it an advantage within the industry?

I think that in terms of memorising songs and from a creative aspect of music, i think those who do have could have an advantage of being more successful in the industry if it helps them with developing as a musician.

Would you want to have it?

I'm unsure if I’d want it myself. Just because of how unfamiliar I am with it I’m not sure how I’d respond to it.

Would you want to find out more about it?

Yes, I would like to learn more about it. I've only just heard of it now and it sounds really interesting. I think hearing people’s experiences who do have it would be very interesting.

Chris Mcintyre

Do you have it? If not, do you associate any visuals or colours with your music style or individual songs?

I don’t think have it because personally, I don’t associate specific patterns or colours with the music I hear or perform. Although on a basic level I do associate the overall mood of a piece with a certain colour. For example, when I was working on the lighting for my final recital I decided to use bright yellow house lights for my most exciting tunes, but used a blue tint and dimmed the house lights for my softer, more emotional ballad. This is to create a more immersive experience as the majority of people would appropriately associate these colours with the changing moods my music as well.

Have you ever worked with anyone (or yourself) with it? Did they respond to the music in any interesting ways?

I have never worked with anyone that has been officially diagnosed with Synaesthesia, but one of my friends has self-diagnosed himself with it. He does associate sound to colour but I’ not quite sure how serious it is. Are there different levels of Synaesthesia or do you either have it or not have it?

Do you feel it gives those with it an advantage within the industry?

I feel it can be both an advantage or disadvantage. One could argue the immediate association of sound and colour inspires more creativity as it stimulates brain activity but on the other hand, this association may also cause stubbornness and a reluctance to associate things that don’t go together in their mind.

Would you want to have it?

I would like to experience it but I’m not sure if having it as a constant part of my life could cause me to find certain things more stressful. I would be worried about how similar the experience would be to having another syndrome such as ADHD and how this would affect my overall concentration and anxiety levels.

Would you want to find out more about it?

I would be very interested to find out more about this and how personal it is to each person that has it. Is there a general agreement between “sufferers” of which sounds, colours and patterns interact? or is it entirely individual? Do stress and anxiety levels change or warp the way the brain associates sound to colour or are they a constant?