So what exactly do synesthetes
see? Typically, the visual concurrents of synesthesia are colours and/or
abstract or geometric shapes, with or without texture. They are not figurative (pictorial) images. For example, the letter A or a particular piece of music might be red,
the taste of chocolate might be a rectangle or the sound of an accordion might
be a jagged purple line, but synesthesia does not normally produce figurative
images like people, buildings, everyday objects or landscapes with natural
elements like flowers or trees. However, some synesthetes – albeit a minority –
have this kind of experience in response to certain stimuli, and they are
actually even quite frequent in the case of some types of synesthesia (which
perhaps should not be considered synesthesia but rather some other similar
phenomenon, although at present they are usually accepted as such). Here we talk about the types of synesthesia or parallel phenomena that can
produce not only colours and abstract shapes but also complete images, with
descriptions written by people who have experienced them.
(click on each link to go to them)
Sexual (and romantic) synesthesia / Touch-to-image
They are highly consistent: the same image tends to be related to the same word throughout the entire lifetime of the person who perceives it.
The images often have movement and are associated with a specific action, meaning they may be related to lexical-motor synesthesia.
They often seem to be linked to childhood memories, perhaps dating back to the time when the word in question was learnt.
In other cases they appear to relate to the sound of the word: simple elements that would make that kind of sound are perceived. They can even be connected with the way a person would position their mouth to pronounce the word. In other cases the association could stem from the written graphemes themselves, so words containing the letter “k” might trigger perceptions of sharp objects, for example.)
One of the people reporting this kind of perception in the descriptions below lost her hearing as a child and learnt sign language, and some of the images she perceives are similar to the sign denoting the word in question.
These figurative visual associations, often associated with actions or movements, appear to be more frequently triggered by people’s names or proper nouns (see below).
There are cases of projector synesthetes who actually see the images physically in front of them (although this is extremely rare), as compared to associator synesthetes who only perceive them in the mind’s eye, but the images are always involuntary and conscious and more than a mere association requiring an effort to be pictured.
“Black Friday” looks like a
headless black sheep bouncing around (animated, not gory). “Fresh” is a white
sheet being dramatically pulled off an invisible object. “Multiple” looks like
a bunch of white grapes popping. (…)
Some words look reminiscent of their ASL signs. The word “help” is a white platform raising up. The ASL sign for it is a palm, with the other hand in a thumbs up raising up together.”
“Fresh” has movement and looks
like a scrawny surfer dude with shaggy sandy brown hair and a big nose, sliding
across at eye level from left to right with one arm up and out in front of him
(and his arm is bendy-looking like it’s made of rubber rather than having a
proper elbow and hand).
“Multiple” is a blurry red
plastic section of honeycomb down by my chin.
“Periwinkle” looks like one of those cheap shiny metallic and colorful pinwheels.”
“Mistake is a fork with a carrot slice on it, and purpose is a purple diamond.”
(Source: a conversation in the Facebook group Synesthesia, 27/11/2018).
Go to the page on grapheme-shape/texture/colour/image synesthesia
THE IMAGES OF NIKOLA TESLA: SYNESTHESIA? OR NEXT LEVEL HYPERPHANTASIA?
Scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), the “genius of electricity”, had incredible mental capabilities, clearly those of a savant. They included an eidetic (photographic) memory and extraordinary visualisation skills: he never needed to take notes or draw plans for his inventions. It is highly probable that he was a synesthete. However, the following description of what he would visualise as a child on hearing spoken words seems to be more in consonance with a trait called "prophantasia”, where mental images are actually projected physically as if seen in real life. Rather than a synesthetic concurrent it is the top end of the scale of visual hyperphantasia (see below for a definition of hyperphantasia), as what he was visualising corresponded to the actual object being described and was therefore not idiosyncratic, which is an important feature of synesthesia.
“During my boyhood I had
suffered from a peculiar affliction due to the appearance of images, which were
often accompanied by strong flashes of light. When a word was spoken, the image
of the object would present itself so vividly to my vision, that I could not
tell whether what I saw was real or not… Even though I reached out and passed
my hand through it, the image would remain fixed in space.”
(Source: the online magazine Futurism.)
Associating figurative images with words appears to be more common in the case of proper nouns. The images often incorporate movement and involve a specific action, bringing to mind the case described by George Devereux in 1966 (which he called “audio-motor synesthesia” although a more accurate term would perhaps be “lexical-motor”). It is clearly conceptual in nature and is connected with childhood memories associated with people’s names.
Here are some descriptions written by people with strong image/action associations evoked by proper nouns:
“My husband’s name is Travis, and when I hear his name I get simultaneous images of a seatbelt being buckled up and a slice of American cheese being unwrapped.”
(Source: This post on Reddit/Synesthesia. 2014.)
Ariane / Ariana - someone dropping a letter to the mail
Celine - someone playing a violin
Whitney - someone playing golf
Paul - someone playing billiards”
(Source: This post on Reddit/Synesthesia. 2020.)
“Ever since I was a kid, I’ve made associations with names to a mental picture. Almost every name has an item or a shape that I think of when I hear the name. (…)
Some
examples: - the name Ryan is crinkle-cut fries - the name Paul is a slightly
curved, dry bar of pinky-reddish soap, but Paula is a set of shoulders - Joseph
and Josephine are a top hat - Brianna is garlic bread, but spelled Breyanna,
it’s a homemade loaf of white bread, cut in half - Mike is spiky, frosted tip
hair - Dylan is a toilet seat (sorry to all Dylans) - Shelby is a cartoon
turtle.
Some names
have super strong, instant mental images but some others don’t really give me
much. And it’s not always a regular item, for example “Devon” is a white semi
circle and “Aaron” is a square with a small circle in the top left corner. And
spelling affects the image sometimes as well, because “Erin” is a small stud
earring.”
(Source:
This post on Reddit/Synesthesia. 2021.)
In this case it is important
to distinguish between what is and what isn’t synesthesia, as both synesthetes
and non-synesthetes can associate and create mental pictures with songs and
pieces of music and with sounds.
The
manifestations normally considered to be synesthetic concurrents are colours
and/or abstract shapes, basically consistent and corresponding to a specific categorical or sequential aspect of the music (or sounds), usually one of the following: tones/pitch – chords – keys
– timbres of the different instruments – songs, artists or genres.
Go to the page on the different types of musical synesthesia
What isn’t synesthesia: “music videos”
Some people, both synesthetes
and non-synesthetes, report that certain songs or pieces of music trigger a
kind of “music video” in their mind, with a specific location, atmosphere,
objects, characters and sometimes a story or narrative. They are consistent:
the same song always brings to mind the same sequence, and the “video” often
gains in detail as the song is heard more often. They frequently bear a
relationship to the words of the song or the atmosphere it suggests (so jazz music
might induce a scene in New Orleans in black and white or rap music might suggest
graffiti, for example.)
These manifestations can be automatic, vivid and consistent but they are not
synesthesia, as by definition the synesthetic visual concurrent lacks any kind
of narrative and it cannot involve figurative scenes of several minutes’
duration. They appear to be more in keeping with an interesting phenomenon
called “visual hyperphantasia”. People with hyperphantasia have an excellent
capacity for mental visualisation, with an abundance of visual imagery that
they can evoke in all its colour, detail and dimensions with no effort
whatsoever.
What could perhaps be part of synesthesia, however, is the combination of visual hyperphantasia and synesthetic photisms.
If a person with synesthesia also has hyperphantasia and the tendency to involuntarily create detailed images in their imagination, it is also possible that both phenomena can occur together: the typical colours and/or abstract shapes of auditory-visual synesthesia and the more complete images of hyperphantasia. It is fairly rare for them to happen at the same time, as it is necessary to focus on either one experience or the other, but some synesthetes do experience it in this way. If such people also happen to have auditory-tactile synesthesia (and/or tactile hyperphantasia), the corresponding physical sensations that are being felt can increase the sensation of reality of the visual images evoked and in some cases, in a state of profound relaxation and concentration, can open the door to lucid dreaming (“WILD”, wake-induced lucid dreams). In any case, the pictorial images themselves wouldn't be considered synesthesia, just a phenomenon that might enhance the synesthetic response in people who have this kind of experience or succeed in evoking it.
Image visualisation in a music-induced creative trance
An interesting phenomenon exists that may bear a relationship to synesthesia with musical sequences as an inducer. It consists of the visualisation of figurative images, random but usually very consistent, by people in a state of heightened concentration while playing a musical instrument, and occurs while the person is creating, memorising or learning a piece of music. It would seem to be a rare phenomenon, as yet unknown, although it may achieve more recognition in future. The images perceived are usually of places, people or objects, they sometimes include autobiographical childhood memories, and the same images can repeat, being associated with the same musical sequences. It is connected with the special state of profound concentration and/or relaxation induced by the creative process of playing a musical instrument and memorising new pieces.
“I'm curious to know if others and indeed if all pianists see random images or think of certain things/people when they play a piece. I get it with every piece I play, but it's nothing that's connected to the style of the piece..it's much more abstract than that. (...) The last few pieces I've learned (and it's always at the same part of the piece) I have had flashes into my head of random images such as - a crocodile, my sister, a girl I at my work who I have never spoken to, my friend's ex boyfriend (again..don't even know him that well), a boat on the water, a woman waiting for her husband to come back from war..and the word banana. (...) The only way I can describe it is as if you were recalling your dream from the night before and images flash into your head.”
(Source: this forum on the classical piano website Piano Street. 2017.)
Go to the page on images seen in creative/musical trance
Go to the page on auditory-visual synesthesia
Although rare, for some synesthetes different types of pain can trigger an automatic and consistent synesthetic concurrent in the form of a figurative image.
"For example when my back hurts
I see a close up of ball of twine and it's kind of dark. When my hands hurt I
see a beach on a cloudy day with mountains at the back of the beach, the sand
is more rocky and there are some black rocks like obsidian down by the water in
front of the "camera".
I say image because it is like looking at a photograph. It's more than seeing an abstract mash of colors and patterns.”
(Source: This comment on Reddit/Synesthesia. 2014.)
Go to the page on pain-colour and pain-shape synesthesia
It is also unusual for a synesthete to visualise emotions as figurative images (the typical concurrents are colours and/or shapes), but cases have been described in which this type of association is involuntarily, consciously and consistently evoked on feeling or perceiving different emotions:
“For as long as I remember,
when I feel certain emotions strongly or think back on a memory where I felt
such an emotion strongly, I picture a character at the same time.
For example, excitement is a dark-skinned young woman, frizzy hair, dyed a pastel rainbow at the bottom, wearing a purple tank top and black denim shorts, with a unicorn horn headband. Anger is a young pale-skinned man with fawn brown hair, wearing a red flannel shirt. His body cuts off at the torso and has no arms, and he has floating purple hands.”
(Source: This post on Reddit/Synesthesia. 2020.)
Go to the page on emotion-colour/shape/image synesthesia
Person-colour synesthesia, where the synesthete associates each person they know with one or more colours, can sometimes be more complex than a mere chromatic association. The colours can have textures, shapes and patterns and also spatial location, and occasionally the association extends into figurative territory, taking the form of landscapes, animals or objects, which may even be seen physically superimposed on the person being observed in the case of some projector synesthetes. It is not clear whether this is really a form of synesthesia or whether these are simply strong, lasting associations linked to some aspect of the person’s personality or appearance or to their synesthetic colours.
“When I think about my grandmother, I get an image of a little robin hopping around. My boyfriend is the colour blue, but also white clouds of a light blue sky, and the ocean splashing against cliffs (gently). My mother is violet, some lavender, and a swan.”
(Source: This (now deleted) post on Reddit/Synesthesia. 2017.)
Go to the page on person-colour synesthesia
SEXUAL (AND ROMANTIC) SYNESTHESIA; TOUCH-TO-IMAGE SYNESTHESIA
Another case is sexual synesthesia, which could also be called romantic synesthesia as its photisms are is not only triggered by sex and orgasm but also by moments of intimacy, hugs, kisses and tactile experiences involving the person with whom the synesthete has a romantic – and usually stable –relationship. It is yet to be determined whether it is actually a type of synesthesia: there has been little research as yet and from what has been documented it can be observed that the concurrents are somewhat different from those of other types of synesthesia and are often figurative, random and inconsistent.
“When I hug him or kiss him, I see strange, vivid images in my mind. Sometimes they are beautiful - e.g. a pulsating mandala of balls of light, or an intricate, sprawling lichen on a mossy rock in a misty forest, or an iridescent frog. Other times they are bizarre and intense - e.g. a multi-limbed, dancing, boldly coloured cave painting of a woman. Yet other times they are mundane, ridiculous and often hilarious - a jar of mayonnaise, or a derpy dog running into a wall, or a cake decorated with raw green beans.”
(Source: This post on Reddit/Synesthesia. 2020.)
Go to the page on sexual (and romantic) synesthesia
This page last updated: 13 October 2024
Hi- I'm not exactly sure whether or not to label this as synesthesia.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I listen to a song I enjoy, I see a single static image. It's always a scene with no movement and is always consistent with the song.
I've also had a strange association with words, specifically plants connected to animals. Someone says cactus, and I think bird, or someone says turtle and I associate it with fox.
Hi! No, I don’t think either of them are synesthesia. The one about the songs is very interesting, being a single static image, I personally think it could be something similar to the “music video” effect, where most people tend to develop the images the song suggests to them into a series of images, different viewpoints or some kind of progression or narrative. But from what you say it sounds like the same effect: you think of that image as related to that song, and then it “sticks”, because it is very memorable. I presume that you see the scene in your mind’s eye and not physically as an image appearing as a flash when you have your eyes closed, is that right?
DeleteI love the plant-animal connections and I have no idea why you have them. It sounds like you are just perhaps a very efficient associator in that area: when you associate something it sticks! It isn’t any known type of synesthesia though, as synesthesia would normally involve at least one of the concepts – the inducer or the concurrent – being a more abstract concept.
I don’t know if this counts as synesthesia because these associations always have a history behind them, but musics and concepts - people, places, memories, games. I have an entire album that specifically reminds me of one tram line because I once listened to it when I first used that line. Or some musics that I can’t listen without thinking of someone because they once told me it was one of their favorites. So music is the inducer. Does that count as synesthesia ?
ReplyDeleteHi! No, it wouldn't be considered synesthesia. Auditory-visual synesthesia would be more like a similar feeling of a strong association, but it would be more abstract, usually colour or shape, and also it isn't usually possible to trace back the visual concurrent to where it comes from. This is related to you having made associations from memories you have that you've linked to the particular music. Enjoy them, though, because they can be very powerful, nostalgic and evocative!
DeleteI'm not sure what to call this but listening to a song can invoke a very vivid, detailed "music video" in my mind with amazing movements involving characters, shapes and/or lights that dance along with the music. Details are complex and woven together with various notes, cords, etc. The "video" has a theme or emotion and is unique to the song itself and is same when the same song is played again. It is like I am watching a beautiful, choreographed dance with a storyline and can be quite breathtaking. I wish there were some way to depict what I see in my mind. Perhaps this is visual hyperphantasia, though I also 'see' colors associated to numbers and letters.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like synesthesia and visual hyperphantasia are combining for you, as you are a synesthete, so the shapes and the lights dancing along with the music could be part of your synesthesia – timbre-colour/shape perhaps – while the beautiful choreographed music video is something different, but equally breathtaking (or more!). I would say the best thing to do is just let yourself be carried along by it, enjoy it and don’t worry about putting a name to it. I used to have similar experiences to this, and in a way it was a pity that I separated it all out so much into what was synesthesia and what was other experiences that I kind of lost all the part with the landscapes and characters. I’ve since discovered more nuances which I love equally, but I think if you have these experiences and are able to combine them, then make the most of it and enjoy it!
DeleteAs an artist/activist, I have painted perhaps 3000 portraits over many years time of “disappeared” people, victims of state terrorism. On the losaparecidos.com website you can find about 1000 of these. I work from photos online, digital images sent to me by relatives, etc… and usually these are black and white photos, often in quite bad shape. In any case, I paint my response and have strong sensations specific to the person I am viewing (the photo of the person). Once I was told this is face color synesthesia that causes me to respond this way but I do not know if that is documented as. possible with photos. I also get color sensations if, for instance, giving my partner a massage, that clue me in immediately to what part of their body is hurting, black for the most intense area, into violets, blues… then reds…still sore, etc. White is painless. Any thoughts? Briancarlsonartist@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteWhat absolutely beautiful portraits! It’s incredible how you’ve brought them to life, your colours seem to make them 3-dimensional as compared to the photographs. I'm sure you’ve helped their relatives find peace with having them take their place on your site.
DeleteSo I understand you choose the colour for the background (and sometimes the face itself) according to the colour sensation you perceive as you look at the photo, which might come from their personality, mood or emotion in the photograph perhaps, or you just get a strong feeling of colour without knowing why? Yes, that would certainly be considered synesthesia. Although it’s better known when perceiving actual people in real life, it can occur with people shown in photos and videos too, it just depends on the synesthete really. I think the photographic images have a strong emotional component, so maybe even your colour reaction could even be a product of the specific emotion they make you feel?
The colour sensations on giving a massage would also be considered synesthesia too, I think you could consider it a kind of pain-colour synesthesia but with other people’s pain rather than your own, this being much more uncommon than colours experienced for the synesthete’s own pain, which is a relatively frequent type of synesthesia.
You could check out these pages:
https://www.thesynesthesiatree.com/2021/03/person-colour-synesthesia.html
https://www.thesynesthesiatree.com/2021/03/pain-colour-and-pain-shape-synesthesia.html
and perhaps have a look at this one too:
https://www.thesynesthesiatree.com/2021/03/personality-colour-synesthesia.html
and
https://www.thesynesthesiatree.com/2021/03/emotion-colour-and-emotion-shape.html
I’ve included you on my list of linked Synesthete Artists if that’s OK with you:
https://www.thesynesthesiatree.com/2021/04/artists-with-synesthesia.html
Hi, I have suspected I have a type of audio-visual synaesthesia for a while, because certain songs, certain types of music, etc, create a really strong sense of movement within a 3D space, some have a much stronger sense of that than others. Some create a sense of rising upwards, like in a slow elevator but on a bigger scale. Some have parts within it that create beautiful patterns of movement like when you write letters with a sparkler stick on fireworks nights. Some music does not have any movement/spacial aspect as all and feel "flat" or two dimensional like a flat image with no distinctive colours (sounds can have distinctive colours too). I've discovered that I like a vocalist's voice if they have a bright colour and their voice has certain shapes it can make in my mind.
ReplyDeleteI was reading the part above where it describes "music videos" and I wondered if it was related to that, but I think my experience is different. I do often make music videos in my mind but often they are more similar to the sound visualiser type of image that windows media player used to have, where music creates shapes and colours, and also directional movement in a 3D space. But those images can inspire actual music videos. Like one song called "Firedancer" by Poets of the Fall created very strong senses of movement, including a soaring arc, the feeling of flying in a loop like a rollercoaster, an explosion of energy and light, all kinds of things.
This might seem odd, but a black metal band called Dimmu Borgir has a few songs which trigger this effect in me, notably "I Am Sovereign" created a sense of travelling slowly upwards, then forwards through an infinite open space. "Sorgenskammer Del II" creates a sense of undulating figure 8s. One of their old vocalists, ICS Vortex, has an amazing voice which creates so much colour and shape when he sings.
Sorry for rambling, I just never really got to talk about this before and it's cool to know it's a recognised thing! :)