Centerspread
COLORFUL MIN MI NDS ND DS: STUDENTS PULL INSPIRATION FROM For sophomore Melanie Schwartz, the beauty in a piece of music is not limited to the progression of chords and melodies: each note also evokes the perception of a different color. Schwartz has synesthesia, a relatively rare neurological condition in which one sense is accompanied by another involuntary sensation. The most common forms of synesthesia are grapheme synesthesia — the association of letters and numbers with certain colors — and chromesthesia — the association of color with certain sounds. Schwartz, junior Mike Pacca and sophomore Dylan Reis all have chromesthesia. Reis realized he had synesthesia after he began playing the bass. His condition is most noticeable when he is fully immersed in his instrument. Synesthesia “is definitely more prevalent when I’m playing. For me, each different chromatic note on my instrument is a different color. The note ‘C’ for me is red, and the note ‘C sharp’ is orange. It just goes on like that for each chromatic note,” Reis said. As a guitarist in the Main Line School of Rock, Pacca first discovered his synesthesia when he was around seven years old. “My mother told me I had it for my whole life and I didn’t really realize it myself. As I got older, it became more and more evident to me,” Pacca said.
Story and photos by Mary Mei Design by Ian Ong and Michael Zhang
SY S YN Y NE N EST TH H HE ESI SIIA SA A
Schwartz, who is a member of the marching band and a participant in musical theater, discovered her synesthesia in a more unconventional manner. When she started taking some medication, she found that her thoughts became “more vivid” and that she had a heightened ability for visualization and imagery. Despite sharing some sensations, those with synesthesia have very individualized sensations. Schwartz describes hers as the “pairing of something semi-concrete with something very abstract.” Though some individuals with chromesthesia experience a projection of color in their vision (much like the projection of a movie screen), Schwartz and Pacca internally visualize a color in their “mind’s eye.” The abstract nature of synesthesia makes it difficult for those who have it to verbally express their sensations; Pacca does not actively think about his perceptions when they occur. He simply knows that each note is different and that he sees them as different colors. “It’s hard to put into words, but if someone plays a note, I don’t see an actual color. I see a note as if it were a color,” Pacca said. The concept of one sense stimulating another may sound familiar. Almost everyone, to some extent, experiences some kind of sensory interaction, including the interactions between smell and
taste. In his class, psychology teacher Michael Palmatier and his students discuss what constitutes synesthesia and what doesn’t. “Some of us share our feelings on what we think is synesthesia. I see colors for days of the week in my head, or decades of the year. I wouldn’t say that’s synesthesia because it’s so minimal. It could just be a little bit of it that we all have,” Palmatier said. Historically categorized as “aberrant” behavior, today synesthesia is treated as a gift or hidden talent (like its complement, perfect pitch). Pacca and Schwartz believe that synesthesia is helpful to their musical interests. “Having synesthesia is definitely sensational,” Schwartz said. “I love listening to songs and (my synesthesia) helps me try to come up with what exactly the songs have behind them and how the sounds the artists are using contribute to the piece.” Although Pacca acknowledges that synesthesia is a key factor in his artistic development, he believes it is not without certain consequences. “Synesthesia has pros and cons. I can easily tell if a song sounds correct or incorrect, and it’s easy to tell when music is going right or wrong. But the con is that I rely on my ear too much instead of actually learning the mechanics of what I am doing,” Pacca said.
Acknowledging that synesthesia has helped his ear in music, Reis believes the condition alone does not drastically affect his skills as a musician. “I don’t really think anyone is more musically gifted over anyone else,” Reis said. “I think it’s just takes practice and that’s how you get good at music. Synesthesia is helpful because early on it gave me a really good ear, but I feel that everyone can train themselves to have a good ear like that. I don’t think it makes me musically superior to anyone — it’s just helped me in the beginning.”
There are
1%
of the population has grapheme-color synesthesia
14 The Spoke
3x
more women with synesthesia than men
Duke Ellington, Richard Feynman, Billy Joel, Franz Liszt, Marilyn Monroe, Pharrell Williams, Stevie Wonder and Kanye West all reportedly have had at least one form of synesthesia.
Statistics from the National Center for Biotechnology Information and Wikipedia.