Synaesthesia

Hello people,

I have synaesthesia. That is, I see sounds. The Coldplay song Hurts Like Heaven is bright yellow for example, well not all of it but large parts of it. Usually only parts of songs are of the same colour, three or four bars or a short section, not the whole song. Sometimes it's just one instrument that's brightly coloured, the rest might be grey or light blue. It's something to do with mymigrane headaches cause it's the strongest just before and during a migrane. It's not a type of insanity if you're thinking that, it's actually pretty cool. Anyone else have it?

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Reply 1

Drunk Punx

Unfortunately not. I thought I did for a while, but I was wrong :sad:

Imagine if Synaesthesia is the next stage of evolution... that would be awesome.

Reply 2

kerily

Music -> colour :yep:

I also associate colours to letters and numbers, but I don't see them as the different colours in the same way as I do music.

Reply 3

spacepirate-James

Some people like to pretend to have it.

Reply 4

tazarooni89

I wonder if different people with synaesthesia could listen to the same music and all "see" the same thing?

Reply 5

fayled

I have synaesthesia too. For example, the Coldplay song yellow is yellow...

Reply 6

Kallistrate

I have spatial sequence synaesthesia- I see time. I also have elements of colour association synaesthesia, not sure what the proper word for it is.

Reply 7

Jtking3000

Wish I could hear colours, that would be even cooler :sexface:

Reply 8

Tiger Rag

I'm sure there was a thread on this recently? Don't have it myself.

Reply 9

StBebe

Original post by fayled

I have synaesthesia too. For example, the Coldplay song yellow is yellow...

Haha really? To me Yellow is bluey grey.

Reply 10

Tudball

Numbers and letters all have colours for me.
A = Red
B = Brown
C = Blue
D = Deeper brown
E = Green
F = Yellow
etc.

Reply 11

Ahotaru

Original post by StBebe

Haha really? To me Yellow is bluey grey.

I think he was being sarcastic OP.

I don't have it, but I think it has to be pretty cool :tongue:

Reply 12

fayled

Original post by Ahotaru

I think he was being sarcastic OP.

I don't have it, but I think it has to be pretty cool :tongue:

May have been a sarcastic reply though lool :smile:

Reply 13

Luxray

Original post by StBebe

Dude that is awesome. What do more pop music type songs like Rihanna only girl Look like? Also does is it ever become a nuisance such a if u watched a movie which had a bold soundtrack

Reply 14

StBebe

Original post by Luxray

Dude that is awesome. What do more pop music type songs like Rihanna only girl Look like? Also does is it ever become a nuisance such a if u watched a movie which had a bold soundtrack

My synaesthesia isn't very strong so not all songs have colours, and tbh I don't think I've heard that Rihanna song =P I also have migrane headaches and I think my synaesthesia's linked to them coz its strongest just before and during a migrane. During my worst migrane to date all sounds had colours, like the ticking of a clock and humming of the air conditioning, that wasn't pleasant.
But the Green Day song Extraordinary Girl is bright orange, the Coldplay song X&Y is bluey-yellow. Some of my colours don't make sense as "real" colours =P You probably don't know Boxer Rebellion (my favourite band) but most of their songs are different shades of grey, most of which couldn't exist as physical colours. They have hints of blue or yellow or white but they're still distinctly grey. My favourite sound-colour is Julia by The Beatles, it's this beautiful pearly grey with just a tinge of blue.

Reply 15

camaieu

Hi there

Certainly yes, for music I can 'hear' or envisage colours! :smile:

Reply 16

darkestskies

Yes! Letters, numbers, days of the week and often words too have their own distinct colours for me. :smile:

Music does too, but in different ways - a song might be a certain colour/colours when just listening to it, but when I'm reading music, notes, key signatures and even flat/sharp signs also have colours. So that means that I might feel the colour of a song by listening to it alone, but if you handed me the sheet music of that song I'd probably get a different impression of the colours, which gets quite confusing for my head. :tongue:

(I think this disparity comes from the fact that I don't have perfect pitch - maybe if I did it would all match up.)

Oh, and OP - I also get it when different parts of songs are different colours, or more than one colour simultaneously. :smile:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 17

lightburns

I often question whether I have it. Because it is only present with so few things. I mix up words that are really similar (Biology/Sociology, Exeter/Warwick, etc. are pretty much the same words). People look at me funny when I say "it's a university, not Warwick, but it starts with a W. Or a really similar letter, like E or X or something..... Ohh! Exeter! See, I was close with Warwick."

But when it really comes out... 'chelsea' and 'cocktail party'.
'Chelsea' is distracting. I was trying to read a post once on TSR where someone kept using that word. I couldn't concentrate on what they were saying because my mouth was full of cheese. Cheap fake cheese.
'Cocktail party'..... Ugh, I'm actually typing it. I'm going to feel sick for a while now. There's a C-P effect which I was meant to talk about in an essay, and I refused and talked round it. I just was not going to type that phrase out over and over. It's revolting.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 18

RetiredAccount89

Original post by StBebe

an ex of mine and her sister.
They saw letters and words as colours, both sharing the same 'view'.
Apparently made ofr great memory aid.

Both very clever and artsy as well