Hearing Music in Color: Exploring the Wonders of Synesthesia

By Caileen W.

You’ve likely heard the word “color” being used when describing a piece of music. Your teacher might’ve asked you to make a “color change” at a specific section, or you might’ve heard a peer comment on the “dark color” of a specific piece. 

For most people, the concept of colored music is an abstract way to characterize different types of sound. But for others, music truly does produce colors. But how? 

Synesthesia. 

Constructed from the prefix “syn” — meaning together — and “esthesia” — meaning sensation — the word synesthesia refers to the simultaneous experience of multiple senses. 

To be more specific, one sense is triggered by another sense’s stimulus. For example, a person with synesthesia might have a distinct taste associated with certain letters, associate sounds with sensations (ex. tickling, brushing, etc.) in different parts of the body, or in this case, associate music with colors (Carpenter 2026). 

But how does it work? 

To begin, the brain is organized in different regions that have unique functions. Although many of these functions overlap and are not fully understood, scientists have marked general areas in the brain corresponding to each of the five senses:

1. Primary Somatosensory Cortex (Parietal Lobe): processes touch, pain, pressure 

2. Primary Visual Cortex (Occipital Lobe): processes visual input and sight

3. Primary Auditory Cortex (Temporal Lobe): processes sound

4. Primary Gustatory Cortex (Insular Lobe): processes taste and flavor

5. Primary Olfactory Cortex (Temporal Lobe): processes smell 

Although sensory input is first processed in these regions, information from one cortex often combined with information from another (ScienceDirect). For example, when identifying something as a cat, you might combine visual information (pointy ears, big eyes, and whiskers) with somatosensory information (the softness of their fur or the pointiness of their claws) and auditory information (their meowing). 

This connection between sensory cortices is the basis of synesthesia. When connections between sensory cortices grow abnormally strong, people begin experiencing sensory associations like tastes in numbers and colors in sounds. 

To support this, researchers found that patients with synesthesia had increased white and gray matter volume (indicating more neurons and connections) in areas surrounding distinct sensory cortices (ScienceDirect). 

So how does this help you as a musician?

Alas, there’s no way to magically grow new neural connections between brain regions, and there’s no method to induce synesthesia. So how can you hear colors in sound even without synesthesia? And why does it matter?

Well, it’s important to remember that you still have neural connections between sensory regions even without synesthesia. Although people with synesthesia have uniquely strong connections, it’s essential to remember that for everyone, sounds are always connected with other senses. And as musicians, our job is to find a specific type of sound that best portrays the emotions and nuances of a musical passage. 

My favorite way to do this is by conjuring scenes full of sensory information. For example, for a passage in a Debussy sonata, I might think of a placid pond covered in lily pads. I might think of birds chirping in a dark forest. Once I have these strong images in my head, I experiment with different technical adjustments — bow speed, weight, and vibrato — to produce a sound that most accurately portrays my mental image. 

Though this process can feel awkward and difficult at first, it will drastically improve the quality of your playing. All our senses are connected, and learning from people with synesthesia can give us valuable insights into adding more depth and color to our music. 

CITATIONS

1. Carpenter, S. (2026). Everyday fantasia: The world of synesthesia. https://www.apa.org/monitor/mar01/synesthesia

2. ‌Clinic, C. (2023, May 18). Synesthesia: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms, Types & Treatment. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/24995-synesthesia

3. ‌Sensory Cortex - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. (n.d.-b). https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/sensory-cortex