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Taste the Music

Boing Boing [1]points up something called “Synaesthesia”, which Dictionary.com defines [2]as being:

  • A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color.
  • A sensation felt in one part of the body as a result of stimulus applied to another, as in referred pain.
  • The description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another

  • I suppose one could say that the Chinese technique of Accupuncture, depends on this.
    But the key here is he first definition. The article speaks of Elizabeth Sulston, a recorder player who can actually taste tone intervals in the music she plays:

    As she began to learn music more formally, she found that when hearing particular tone intervals she experienced a characteristic taste on her tongue. For example, a minor third tasted salty to her, whereas a minor sixth tasted like cream. She started to use the tastes to help her recognize different chords.

    Interesting. In my radio years, I worked heavily in audio processing for broadcast, and studied psycho-acoustics, and touched on this topic of Synaesthesia at the time. But, so much of it was undefined the teachers didn’t …couldn’t …spend a great deal of time teaching it.

    I suspect that our bodies give us connection with a lot of what could best be termed as subliminal information… stuff way down in the noise level that our consious mind can’t pick up, usually.  I wonder if this isn’t part of what makes the concert going experience so interesting, as an example.iding in a car, in a train. Riding a horse. Sittng in your office, using your computer.  Your MP3 player. All these things, (and of course more) have a ‘feel’ about them that is more than the tactile senses are telling us… things we can’t identify, and therefore can’t logically state exists.

    Makes one wonder what else the ‘logical’ world is missing.

    Update: Fixed broken link.