![]() And I think there does seem to be a spiritual connection to it just because it feels like more of an impression of the feelings the music evokes, rather than a very literal translation of what I’m experiencing, but I don’t know if that’s the same concept as feeling the aura of a song, you know what I mean?ĪS: Yeah, it’s fascinating stuff. ![]() MM: (laughs) I actually can relate specifically to that – my roommate and I are interested in those sorts of topics and we’ve talked a lot about auras and things like that. So I can relate to what you’re saying a little bit, although I wish I was a good visual artist. That’s really cool though.ĪS: I could see a yellow glow around people, especially around their heads. I don’t tell too many people that, but now it’s it’ll be in print, so I’m sure to get some (ahem) comments. So, I’ll tune in and tune out, but it’s never gone…ĪS: Is this related to anything else that you experience? For example, years and years ago, I was taught how to focus and relax my sight to see auras around people.ĪS: Yeah. I may not pay attention to it as much, you know, just like if I might be more in tune to the smells of the room or the conversation that I’m having rather than just focusing on the colors that are being expressed through the music at that moment. MM: It’s involuntary, so it’s just always happening. (laughs)ĪS: Is this something that’s on all the time or can you turn it on and off? So yeah, I don’t think it was much of a hindrance, but there were ups and downs to it, for sure. So, I think that sometimes that was a little upsetting to me, which is why I started painting – just to connect that a little bit better into the real world and with other people. I’m very passionate about music and it can be – I wouldn’t say frustrating, but kind of a moment of mismatch knowing that I’m having these experiences and they’re not exactly transferable or relatable to someone else. I’ll know they have a blue name, but I wonder, does it start with an “A,” does it start with an “F”…? And then alongside that, the relatability of having these experiences with music. It’s like a mnemonic device for remembering a lot of things, but it kind of would get in the way sometimes, like when meeting people. ![]() This made it easier for me to remember formulas because I’d be familiar with what colors were in that formula. I remember that math was a fairly easy subject for me since I see numbers in all their different individual colors. MM: I think in some ways it was very helpful. So, it was relatively late in my life to understand that, you know, something was a little bit different about me.ĪS: Was it difficult as a youth to have this special ability that other people didn’t have? I ended up speaking to the whole class about my experiences. Hearing his analysis convinced me that this is what I have. I found out that synesthesia wasn’t very common but nevertheless it actually ended up being discussed in one of my college psychology courses! The professor asked if anyone had experience with synesthesia and since I was familiar with it and pretty sure that was what I had, I raised my hand. So, we explored that conversation and not long after I opened it up to some other friends and family members and started to get a better idea of the way my brain was wired. I thought that something must be different in his brain because the color/sound connection just seemed so apparent to me. And he kind of stopped me in my tracks and said, “what are you talking about?” I was just amazed that he hadn’t had the same experience. And when I was trying to find a ringtone for my phone (laughs) I was consulting a friend on it and was talking about how this song matched my phone better. It just kind of seemed natural to have that colorful component to it. ![]() MM: When I was about 16, I honestly had never even given a thought that other people may not experience music as color, probably because there’s such a high association between visuals and music – you know, album artwork and music videos and light shows at concerts. It’s basically just my senses overlapping in a way they wouldn’t normally in a neuro-typical brain.Īlón Sagee: How did you discover that you had Synesthesia? Spatial synesthesia is another, where days of the week and numbers or anything that’s sequential is mapped out around my physical body or in my mind in specific places. I have a form called grapheme synesthesia, in which, if I’m reading a book, all the letters and numbers are color coded as well. Synesthesia can occur in a number of different ways. it’s involuntary and simultaneous – an automatic response to music. So, in my case, whenever I hear music, the color faculty of my brain is triggered at the same time. Melissa McCracken: Synesthesia is a neurological condition in which the brain’s senses are cross-wired. We’ll begin this article by having artist Melissa McCracken give us a short introduction to synesthesia and how it inspires her artwork. ![]()
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