Can You Actually SEE Music?
- Feb 13
- 2 min read
By Ainsley Benbow
“Seeing music” is in fact a true occurrence in which people, when exposed to certain sounds, involuntarily perceive colours, shapes or patterns alongside what they hear.
Believed to be affecting roughly 1% of the general population, chromesthesia, also known as sound-to-colour synesthesia, is a neurological phenomenon. It is likely the most common type of synaesthesia where auditory stimuli, such as musical notes or everyday sounds, can trigger various combinations of colours, shapes, or even textures that people visualise, typically presented from birth.
Known to be “experiencing a sensory crossover”, chromesthesia occurs when areas of the brain responsible for processing sound and vision are unusually interconnected. As a result, sound is not just heard, but also seen, creating a multi-sensory experience that is automatic, consistent, and unique to each individual. For example, one person’s ‘red’ could be another person’s ‘green’, however, high-pitched sounds are commonly known to produce brighter colours compared to low-pitched sounds, known to create blends of darker shades.
There are two different types of chromesthesia: associative and projective. Associative chromesthesia is the experience of seeing colours inside one's own mind. Although they technically cannot be seen, the colours are strongly associated with sounds as if something ‘feels’ like a colour without any effort. In contrast, projective chromesthesia is where people can literally see shapes and colours in front of them and in their surrounding environments.
Chromesthesia has been seen throughout history, over time gaining more and more recognition and research as scientists and composers have addressed it. One of the first recorded cases was cited in 1690, where John Locke, an English philosopher, described a blind man who claimed to experience the colour scarlet when hearing a trumpet. However, it was not until 1812 that Georg Tobias Ludwig, a German physician, published the first retrospective, more detailed and agreed-upon account of colored hearing.
Many famous artists and musicians today and in the past have used this quality to enhance their creative outlook on the world and respective processes. For example, Billie Eilish and Finneas have reported having synesthesia in which some songs, shapes and colours are interconnected. Similarly, Pharrell Williams has been known to see music as colours, telling NPR, “I know when something is in key because it either matches the same colour or it doesn’t”. Williams has been very open in sharing his life and dealings with chromesthesia, through learning “from a young age to embrace and utilise…it” (Sound of Life – Danny Damage), later even naming the album ‘Seeing Sounds’, in dedication to this phenomenon. Some other notable individuals include Lady Gaga, Billy Joel, Charli XCX, and Vincent van Gogh, whose works are unique to their life experiences and the inner workings and nature of their minds.
Chromesthesia may be rare and, for some, unknown, but it truly highlights the remarkable complexity of the human mind and the uniqueness of each individual. As for some, music is not simply heard, but seen.
“The human brain can work in wondrous and mysterious ways.” (Sound of Life – Danny Damage)
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