The Author Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 A bit of an out there question, but working on a song yesterday made me wonder how different people perceive music and if the way we perceive it affects how we work and how well we do it. Personally, I think my synaesthesia affects the way I see music. I am completely unable to read music off a score. Notes do not make sense. I see music as patterns and these patterns are in block. However individual notes are still a mystery to me. With great effort, I can read a score, and try to reassemble these blocks, but even then, I cannot bring the song I hear in my head to coincide with the song I'm working on. I cannot get the different blocks of music to fit, because hey are like legos, some are 2 by 2 blocks, others 3 by 1, and well, they just don't fit. This got me wondering: do you see music as patterns that are used to build a song like you would use legos, or do you see music as something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Shadow Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 What color are your numbers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Author Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 What color are your numbers? None, not all synaesthesia is the same. In my case, colors are sounds and sounds are color. When someone turns on a turn signal, I see it, but I also hear a clear beep. If I close my eyes when I listen to music, it's like having one of these Winamp visualisation plugins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekofrog Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Block patterns here, as well. I've found that I can easily learn a song in a matter of an hour, maybe even less, if break it apart into logical blocks -- and by logical it can be completely disjointed. Part A to part D to part H to part C before I even get to B, then I finally put it all together. When composing? Same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vivi22 Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Block patterns here, as well. I've found that I can easily learn a song in a matter of an hour, maybe even less, if break it apart into logical blocks -- and by logical it can be completely disjointed. Part A to part D to part H to part C before I even get to B, then I finally put it all together.When composing? Same thing. I was trying to figure out how I could describe how my brain organizes music, but I think you managed to do it for me. Just about everything I've ever learned or written I've done in pieces like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I see music as a super-stacked redhead. <3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Nebulous color clouds based on the key of music. Sharp minors (G, D, A, etc) are oranges and yellows, flat minors (F, Bb, Eb) are reds and deep purples. Major keys get blues, greens and yellows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Binweasel Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Sometimes I get asked, "Oh, so you compose music? When did you learn to read notes?" "I didn't." "So you play by ear, then?" "I'm actually tone-deaf." "...oh." "No, I use piano-roll for composing. It's like tapestries of lego overlapping, with different colours for the note velocities, and - " "Do you know how to play any Beetles songs on guitar?" Having learned how to play every song I know using this, I'm afraid it's taken up my brain when I think about how other music is built. I wonder what it'd be like if I hadn't gone down that path... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djpretzel Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Definitely not a visual thing for me.... more tactile. Yes, I know sound is just vibrations to begin with, so everyone can feel it to some extent, but I'm talking about equating certain timbres/textures with actual physical textures, feeling hot or cold depending on the type of music being played, etc. Perhaps that's pretty common, but if I sit and really focus on a piece, it manifests itself in my brain more as physical movement and sensation, too, as opposed to anything visual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwaltzvald Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I see music as a super-stacked redhead.<3 THIS! Also music for me tends to be much like the legos description; however in my mind rather than my sight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devyn Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I wish I was a pothead because music sounds amazing when you're stoned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSnowStorm Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I'm not that much of a visual person so I don't see a need to "view" music. However, for the sake of this topic, my personal vision of music to seeing what I wrote down on paper when I am arranging or composing music and play the notes in which I had wrote. I see what I can add to the song such as dyamincs, addcidentals, rythm, bowing, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleck Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Chords and such Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam I Am Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Nebulous color clouds based on the key of music. Sharp minors (G, D, A, etc) are oranges and yellows, flat minors (F, Bb, Eb) are reds and deep purples. Major keys get blues, greens and yellows. Ah, this is similar to how I perceive music. Different colors, but they do follow a pattern---the flatter a key gets, the cooler and deeper the colors get, and the sharper, more bright and hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Author Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 Interesting posts. Now, I have to ask, how do you bring what you see in your head out and make it happen when you work on a song? I was wondering if the perception of the music affected how you worked and how one's vision could hinder certain aspects of the music and facilitate others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkenSage Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Goog music takes comprehension for me. I like tensions and passing tones that resolve. I like jazz so much, because it makes you have to think. Alot of people don't like jazz because they can't comprehend or understand the intricacy of it. Brazilian and African Jazz are the best to me. I think music has more of a mood meter; than any visual experience. Either way, when a really good tension or riff changes back to the root; I'm always pleased. So it's a relief feeling mixed with whatever thought the song has set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgx Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 A bit of an out there question, but working on a song yesterday made me wonder how different people perceive music and if the way we perceive it affects how we work and how well we do it.Personally, I think my synaesthesia affects the way I see music. I am completely unable to read music off a score. Notes do not make sense. I see music as patterns and these patterns are in block. However individual notes are still a mystery to me. With great effort, I can read a score, and try to reassemble these blocks, but even then, I cannot bring the song I hear in my head to coincide with the song I'm working on. I cannot get the different blocks of music to fit, because hey are like legos, some are 2 by 2 blocks, others 3 by 1, and well, they just don't fit. This got me wondering: do you see music as patterns that are used to build a song like you would use legos, or do you see music as something else? I have synesthesia myself, but no offense, if you cannot figure out or get comfortable with sheet music, you could be unmotivated, impatient, or you may have some sort of other learning disability. Just like reading words on paper, reading music on paper won't come naturally until you've done it for a while and applied yourself learning it. The sheet music system is not anybody's ideal way of 'thinking' about music - it's just the ideal way folks came up with to record arrangements on a certain size paper in a convenient format for printing and reproduction. I'm sure plenty of people can visualize music in the staff view style since they are so familiar with it, but I don't think anyone's mind is pre-set to think about music in that way. The synesthesia condition is not any type of disability or impediment, and often it can offer unique advantages. When I listen to music, I imagine usually somewhat nebulous shapes and patterns intermingling in 3d space. Color is very important - usually it is timbre of instruments that influences what colors and textures I see, but the melodies and chord progressions also have an influence on the overall color of the composition (kinda like a hue/saturation adjustment layer in a photoshop project). Usually music I hear and the music I make comes with a pretty specific color pallet. When I'm making music and I have an idea, it's usually not a specific melody or chord progression I want to create to start, but a set of colors and aesthetic I want to explore in my head. I have a bit of grapheme-color synesthesia too - I just associate some vague colors with letters and numbers. It's much less interesting than the auditory type . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinewav Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I have synesthesia myself, but no offense, if you cannot figure out or get comfortable with sheet music, you could be unmotivated, impatient, or you may have some sort of other learning disability. Just like reading words on paper, reading music on paper won't come naturally until you've done it for a while and applied yourself learning it. I took piano lessons for 8 years and guitar lessons for 5 years. I worked at it quite a bit, but I still can't read sheet music or tabs without stopping and figuring out each note. It just doesn't make sense to me. On a somewhat related note, I've noticed that games can be the same way. I could play Tetris all day: something about making the different shapes fit together is stimulating and makes something click in my head. My friend just can't get a hang of Tetris though. He says his brain just can't compute all the different shapes in the amount of time it takes to get to the bottom of the screen. One day he picks up this cellphone game called "Galaxy Balls" which is somewhat similar to Dr. Mario. He's hooked on it now. I tried playing it for days, but just couldn't make much sense out of all the falling colors. I think this is probably the same deal with music. This is why some people prefer tabs, others prefer sheet music, and some prefer something like Synthesia. Personally, a horizontal piano roll (I am getting used to Synthesia though) is the only thing that ever made much sense to me, even though I've been using sheet music and guitar tabs for much, much longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Author Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesia does not equal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia Just wanted to make sure that was clear, because Sinewav's post seemed to bring the software up rather randomly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Damned Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I do like to listen to my MP3 player while I'm either falling asleep or when I'm "meditating" (sort of like a light sleep, but I'm very aware of things), and I do experience some form of sensation... not quite images or sounds, but like... feeling something that isn't either one? It's hard to explain. Not the same thing though, I think. From what I understand, the condition is completely involuntary, whereas my experience is mostly unconscious but still influential by my conscious mind. Still fun to do with the right song, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Taucer Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I see music as a super-stacked redhead.<3 OA wins this thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinewav Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesiadoes not equal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia Just wanted to make sure that was clear, because Sinewav's post seemed to bring the software up rather randomly. Yeah, I'm aware of the difference. I was just using it as an example of how different things make more sense to different people. Thanks anyway for clarifying. I could see how that would get confusing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Vagrance Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Am I alone in saying that I really don't see music as anything? mean, best thing I'll see is frequencies stacked from lo to high (like, a bass and a kick on the bottom while everything else is built on top). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evilhead Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Yeah, for me music/sound is completely unrelated to any kind of visual properties, aside from a lack of them. When I'm performing with a group in a session or solo on stage, I've had the experience several times in my life where I just kind of "black out." My vision fades completely to black, I lose awareness of my surroundings and just play the music on autopilot, without thinking at all. It's like I'm not even there in that physical place. These are usually the times when I play at my best. I've also experienced a similar effect practicing martial arts once. In zen practice it's called the state of "no mind" and I've heard other musicians talking about it. Has anyone here experienced this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 I might have experienced something similar thing a few times in Martial Arts. I stop thinking about what I'm doing and simply do it. And, as with your music, I was at my best at those moments. Fortunately, I could still see during those moments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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