I have synesthesia, and a lot of folks ask me what different songs sound like. I decided to do a visual for y’all! The “loud” part was just me trying to make the title interesting.
Synesthesia is when you experience a sense through a different sense, like when you look at the word fox but taste a peach.
It is extremely rare that I smell something. It happens, but not often. I am mostly going to be focusing on the visual experience, as that’s the easiest to describe/show others.
It’s like trying to explain the flavor of bacon. It can be done, but it’s difficult, and not as accurate as tasting bacon for yourself. There are things that my brain does that is not easy to translate into a visual or verbal description. But I did my best!
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You also might not recognize some of these songs. Most of them are well-known, but one is a choir piece that is unlikely to be known by anyone who wasn’t in choir at some point in their life. Others are soundtracks to movies/video games that you might not have seen/played.
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ANYWAY…
“Faith” by George Michael Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORJKRYao4x8
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This isn’t an *entirely* accurate representation of it, but it’s basically a lilac background with tiny violet leaves/flowers scattering across it.
“Jump In The Line” by Harry Belafonte” Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMXBJW1PuU8
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This song was used in the film “Beetle Juice,” but it wasn’t made FOR the film. My mother’s side of the family is Cuban-American. Harry Belafonte is American, but he had a tight relationship with Cuba and the other Caribbean islands. My mother would play this song a lot on the speakers. I have never seen Beetle Juice. The song looks like sharp lines that suddenly turn magenta every time there’s “Shake. Shake. Shake. Senora!”
“Cloudbusting” by Kate Bush Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ4DeDIh5c0
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This song looks like it makes large streaks of pastel colors across a fainted white canvas. Sometimes I taste a faint hint of cotton candy as well… it depends on how clearly I can hear the song.
“Around the World” by Daft Punk Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwDns8x3Jb4
My favorite lyrics in the song: “Around the World.” This song is repetitive in an oddly fun way. My visual experience could be equated to hot pink spray paint on the wall of your local dance spot, only the spray paint moves about like how an octopus floats about in water… if that makes any sense whatsoever.
“Magic Dance” – soundtrack from the film “Labyrinth”, sung by David Bowie Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6NqnYYmSVE
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I feel like this one represents the song kinda well! A bunch of glowing magical orbs against lilac satiny/magic-y background. I’d also be surprised if I was the only one that had this imagery.
“Nothing Better” by Postal Service Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiFLQklABUg
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These lines are sharp, and they “tick”, in the rhythm of a clock.
“Howl’s Moving Castle” – sound track for the film by Hayao Miyazaki Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwxatzcYf9Q
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This one was difficult to make, because the song changes in so many places. But the beginning looks like a lovely sky, with large ribbons of tiny red stars swirling about.
“Natural” by Imagine Dragons Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5M2WZiAy6k
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I only “see” this one – I don’t smell, feel, or taste it. This song is dark and gritty, like twisted metal laying on asphalt in an abandoned parking lot at nighttime. I like this song a lot, but it’s not a colorful one.
“Ave Maria” variation by Gustav Holst Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07CuCzGKZMI
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I was in choir for a few years. One of our pieces was Gustav Holst’s variation of Ave Maria. It’s an acapella piece for a twelve-part female chorus. It looks like the multi-colored specs inside a baltic amber stone, slowly floating about in a glass pane (almost like a lava lamp, only not as fast. It’s very slow). One of the most beautiful songs I’d ever seen.
“Sovngarde” by Jeremy Soule, soundtrack from the video game “Skyrim” Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nae1jzuqho&t=28s
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This was the hardest one to convey. It’s not entirely accurate, but it’s the closest I’m going to get. The dark brown spots are every time the heavy drum beats. There’s streaks of maroon every time the choir intensifies, but the rest is like this multicolored plasma. I’m glad I don’t feel anything with this song. It’s intense enough both audio and visually!
“My I Stand Unshaken” – soundtrack to the video game “Red Dead Redemption 2” Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTObSdocpxE
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The gameplay was a little overwhelming for me to really get into RDD2, but I loved watching Let’s Plays and following the story line. I heard this song, and I FELT it. I was in a desert, feeling the crumbling stone between my fingers, and the sun on the side of my face. The stone then merges with a cloudless sky, becoming a an unusual distortion of a real life desert.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg
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It feels and looks like the canvas texture of a pair of chuck Taylor’s, with hard black lines striking across various points.
“Take Over The World” by Your Favorite Martian Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8pmCSItNDs
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“Your Favorite Martian” was a joke band, but they produced this piece with breathtaking lyrics. It’s not my usual style (I don’t typically like pixelated songs, it makes my head hurt). But something about this song made it an exception.
“Mil Besos” – an old Spanish ballad, this version is sung by Patty Griffin Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpxDoqVR-To
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I smell spices, and can see crimson coffee grounds smeared across a wooden surface. I feel the powder between my fingers, as if I was the one that was doing it. I taste a hint of cinnamon as well…
“Puriya Dhansari” – a Hindi song, this version was from the film “Dead Man Walking” Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRdW_rbKgdE&list=LL&index=93
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This one has a longer explanation, because there is an extremely important cultural context that I need to discuss first.
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First, I want to explain the origins of this song. This is an extremely shortened explanation of the song, after an afternoon of research on if. If there are any Hindus reading this that feel like I left something out or misrepresented it, please don’t hesitate to correct me!
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Anyway, Puriya Dhansharee is a traditional Hindu song called a “raga-purvi” which in shortened terms, is a song that contains all seven notes that are significant to their religion: Shadaj, Rishabh, Gandhar, Madhyam, Pancham, Dhaivat and Nishad.
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These notes ascend and descend on the musical scale, but these notes are not sung with lyrics. It’s a series of vowels that go up and down the octaves. It is an extremely impressive, and intense song.
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Puriya Dhansharee is sung during the transition of afternoon to evening. That’s the part I know for fact. My other readings suggest it is a song that is sung to mourn loss as well. I do not know that with 100% certainly so that that with a major grain of salt.
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THIS VERSION IS NOT HOW THE SONG USUALLY SOUNDS!!!! This version of Puriya Dhansharee was used for a soundtrack in the 1996 film “Dead Man Walking.” This is the scene where the condemned is being executed by lethal injection. Because of this, there are additional sounds with the traditional song. This is a tailored version of Puriya Dhansharee, and is not how the traditional song is usually heard. The background music is not so dark and harrowing.
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I chose to show this one because of how frequently it comes to me. If you’ve seen my previous posts about “the shadows”, you know how they screech the Emergency Alert Sound at me. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they sing this at me. I hear it like a melodic cry of anguish, and I see black water – as if I’m about to swim into a river of death, and be swept away into a current that goes in their direction. . It’s a very sad, beautiful, and frightening experience both on a sensory and emotional level.
I just wanted to give a visual of my experience, and I hope you enjoyed it. Have a lovely day! 🙂
There’s a reason my text layout includes the little dots and extra paragraph breaks. If you’re interested in the reason behind this, I explained it here.
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