Do musical keys have colors?
Hi Visitor
Some composers (most famously Franz Listz, but the list is long) maintain that musical keys have colors. Colors like "D minor is blue and G# major is red".
Recently some YouTubers have made a great deal about all that, claiming that connecting colors and musical keys helps you make more emotional music.
So, on this note, have you ever heard of something called Synesthesia?
- If listening to music makes you see colours in your brain (actual colors), then you probably have it.
- If what I just said sounds insane, you probably don’t.
While it may sounds crazy, it’s an actual thing and, surprisingly around 4-5% of people have it. Including yours truly (*)
People with Synesthesia (simplifying a lot) experience sensory stimulations on senses different than the one originally stimulated. That is they can "see the color of sound", or "taste the color", or "touch the shape of a mathematical equation".
But the most important question for us, of course, is: how can you give yourself synesthesia?
Simple: (**) hit yourself in the head with a hammer. If instead of synesthesia, you get brain damage, hit yourself again. Keep repeating this process until the head trauma makes you see pretty colours instead of causing you to wake up in the emergency room. It’ll work eventually, I promise. (No it won't. Don't try that!)
So that covers how you can give yourself Synesthesia, but will it make you a better musician?
That's probably a good question to have the answer to before you hospitalize yourself!
Check out the link below, and I’ll explain Synesthesia further, and tell you once and for all if it will make you a better musician.
Watch the video here: https://musictheoryforguitar.com/synesthesia-color-sound-music.html
(*) To be precise I do not have pitch-color synesthesia (which is the most common one), but I have half a dozen other types (there are around 80 types of Synesthesia)
(**) My lawyer insists I write: "Disclaimer: none of this is medical advice, or indeed any advice at all. I am not recommending any of the procedures described in this email. The content of this email is to be considered comedy and poorly written comedy, at that and should not be taken seriously.Self-inflicted blunt trauma to the head can be dangerous even if deserved. Proceed at your own risk. Don't shoot me, I'm only the guitar player."
Enjoy!
Tommaso Zillio
Music Theory Education Expert
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