It is not very common to meet someone who claims to be able to smell or hear colors, but although it may seem crazy, this interesting ability of perception is real, and it’s called synaesthesia.
Synaesthetic people can “see the music,” “taste the colors,” or “feel the color” in a different way than other people; that is, they can naturally merge their senses, achieving unusual creativity. Several artists, such as Vincent van Gogh and Wassily Kandinsky, or musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Lady Gaga, and Kanye West, are considered synaesthetes.
What is synaesthesia?
The term synaesthesia comes from Greek and means “mixed sensations.” In neuroscience, it is the ability to jointly perceive color tones, sounds, and intensities of flavors or colors, that is, the ability to perceive two fused senses. This condition is present in approximately 2 to 4% of the population, and according to a study by the University of Edinburgh, it is estimated that one in every 100 people are synaesthetes.
Examples of synesthesia
– Seeing colors when listening to music
– Touching soft surfaces can elicit a sweet taste
– Feeling the love of a color
– Hearing sounds when seeing colors
– Smelling something bitter with a sad song
Synaesthetic artists
As mentioned, some artists, writers, inventors, and musicians, such as Wassily Kandinsky, Vincent Van Gogh, Marcel Proust, Jimi Hendrix, Franz List, Richard Wagner, Duke Ellington, Nikola Tesla, Stevie Wonder, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Pharrell Williams, Marilyn Monroe, and Virginia Wolf, among others, are considered synaesthetes.
Kandinsky, for example, took this natural ability in his art to another level and created a collection of abstract paintings that expressed the way he associated each musical note with a color.
“The sound of colors is so definite that you would be hard pressed to find someone who would express bright yellow with low notes or a dark lake with high notes,” the painter said.
In the case of guitarist Jimi Hendrix, it is known that he created his chord, the C7#9, known as “The purple chord,” which can be heard in the classic Purple haze.
Types of synaesthesia
There are two major categories, cognitive synaesthesia, and synaesthesia proper. From these, five of the most important types are derived, which are:
– Grapheme-color synesthesia
– Time-color synesthesia
– Music-color synesthesia
– Synesthesia sound-color
– Synesthesia note-color
Story originally published in Spanish in Cultura Colectiva
