Did you know that colour and sound hold influence over one another? Colour can increase our perception of loudness, just as sound can increase our perception of colour intensity.

Some people actually see colour when they hear sounds. This joining of the senses is known as ‘synaesthesia’. There are many different types of synaesthesia; it occurs when one sensory or cognitive pathway causes involuntary actions in another. Sound to colour synaesthesia is known as ‘chromesthesia’.

The way in which individuals with chromesthesia see colour varies – some find the colours float in front of them while others only see it in their ‘mind’s eye’.

Some people only see colour for spoken words (adding a whole new meaning to the term ‘colourful language’). Interestingly, some report that vowels are more intensely coloured while others find consonants have greater intensity. Some people experience chromesthesia solely with music.

‘Lexical-gustatory’ synaesthesia refers to people who experience a flow of taste across their tongue when they hear or read certain words. It’s one of the rarest forms of synaesthesia. Incredibly, not only can they detect flavour but they can also feel temperature, texture and where it is located on the tongue.

‘Syntheses’ are often creative; Eddie Van Halen, Geoffrey Rush, Stevie Wonder, Vincent Van Gogh, Billy Joel and Marilyn Monroe are all reported syntheses. Singer-song writer  Tori Amos is quoted as saying, “I’ve never seen a duplicate song structure…similar chord progressions follow similar light patterns, but try to imagine the best kaleidoscope ever.” Just imagine!

If you’d like to know more, this website houses a myriad of information relating to synaesthesia: http://www.synesthesiatest.org/.

Take the test to see if your senses cross paths!