Is pefect pitch really perceived like color?

[H K]

I have decent relative pitch but know perfect pitch exists, and have heard it described that it's like colors - E is one color, G another etc. So yesterday singer is writing down lyrics in her notebook, adding chords, and doing stuff with highlighter markers. I joke that Willow's song from the Wicker Man soundtrack will be green because willows are green, but she's like, no, there's only a little E minor in it and E minor is green.

Huh. I don't know if she has perfect pitch, technically, but she sure does have great pitch and don't remember her ever missing a note, just sometimes going "wait, no, I should sing that whole thing an octave higher".

Those with perfect pitch or who have worked with people in perfect pitch, is the pitch-color association being that strong and literal common?

Two different things here.

Assigning a color to a note, can be either synesthesia, which is directly percieving them that way, or seeing them, or it can be more of a feeling.
You know how you'd describe a sad/rainy day as "blue", there are, to me, notes that "feel blue". I dont visually see the colors tho, it's more like, the thought of the color appears when the note is heard. Seeing it in my mind kinda, not actually seeing it.
There might be some neurological interplay going on tho, but not as much as for someone with visual synesthesia.

This has nothing to do with my pitch tho. By which you mean "ear training" kinda, right? The ability to name a note when heard?
I cant even do that. I can play it or hum it, but I cant tell u the name of the note. But I can probably tell u the feeling/color of it tho.


Idk, it's all very interesting. I think it's very different for people, even among those who have synesthesia, so theres no 1 thing.
I do think it's all based on neurological interplay tho, so things like brushing with the "wrong hand" and things like that might make one more susceptible to it. But we all kinda train our hands that way as musicians, so could bea thing every musician develops eventually..

hmmmm

 

[Killing Floor]

Some people have a very good perception of pitch. That’s cool.

Some people like to tell you about their perfect pitch. That’s annoying.

 

[Scott Lynch]

I have perfect pitch, and I wouldn’t say that I associate different pitches with different colors. I pretty much can always pick out what pitches I’m hearing (even random ambient noises like electronic buzzes with a discernible pitch center), identify keys that songs are in, etc.

Mapping music to color sounds more like synesthesia to me. It is not the same as perfect pitch. Some people have one or the other, and the exceptionally rare individual has both.

 

[neddyrow]

I associate notes with colors....not sure if it is synesthesia or just my autism. I definitely do not have perfect pitch.

Associating colors with notes does help me learn songs faster and figure out songs on the fly easier. When I know the key, I know the color pattern associated with it and can use those notes when following along and not just making random guesses.

 

[H K]

I associate notes with colors....not sure if it is synesthesia or just my autism. I definitely do not have perfect pitch.

Associating colors with notes does help me learn songs faster and figure out songs on the fly easier. When I know the key, I know the color pattern associated with it and can use those notes when following along and not just making random guesses.

Ok ok ok ok, let me ask, does this look familiar?

 

[pklima]

Haaaaa. Never thought about that!

 

[Cal03]

I have a form of perfect pitch, though not to the extent of being fixated on a specific tuning standard. I do associate colors with tonalities, but I don't think it's true synesthesia, more of learned associations that I've picked up over the years.

 

[smtp4me]

I have decent relative pitch but know perfect pitch exists, and have heard it described that it's like colors - E is one color, G another etc. So yesterday singer is writing down lyrics in her notebook, adding chords, and doing stuff with highlighter markers. I joke that Willow's song from the Wicker Man soundtrack will be green because willows are green, but she's like, no, there's only a little E minor in it and E minor is green.

Huh. I don't know if she has perfect pitch, technically, but she sure does have great pitch and don't remember her ever missing a note, just sometimes going "wait, no, I should sing that whole thing an octave higher".

Those with perfect pitch or who have worked with people in perfect pitch, is the pitch-color association being that strong and literal common?

I've never heard of a direct association between specific notes/chords/scales and colors. I believe it is more about how the brain processes notes in a person with perfect pitch. Meaning, just as they see the color blue and immediately know it is blue without comparing it to other colors, they recognize notes without comparing to others - they don't need relative pitch to help them.

 

[BassAgent]

I know one person with bona fide perfect pitch. He is completely blind and he makes his living by tuning pianos. A tuning wrench and his ears is all he needs.

And a piano, I'd imagine.

So I'd say it's more accurate and specific than color. I never met anyone who could mix paint accurately without a reference.

Well with synesthaesia it can be a multiple of sensory experiences: color and taste are the most common.

 

[Heiwa]

I don't know, but this thread makes me envious.

 

[monsterthompson]

It’s very possible.
In the book musicophilia, the psychologist author discusses this and other ‘conditions’ associated with music. Well worth a read

I really wanted to like that book but I couldn’t get through it.

It does have several descriptions of how varied the perception of sound can be from person to person, both what is heard from the external world and what is imagined internally.

 

[smurfco]

if i have a song stuck in my head and i go to check if i am "hearing" it in the right key, i'd say four out of five times i'm right. sometimes i am a half step flat though.

 

[sawzalot]

I have synesthesia that assists me into something like perfect pitch. The synesthesia definitely crosses color and sound, but also texture. So D is sort of a white pearly shiny color, F is flat black, C# is a shiny black, F# is a blue-steel shiny deep blue/black, C is like brick in both color and texture, etc. When I hear chords, I hear/see all the colors/textures in the chord, up to a certain degree of complexity where it gets too much to sort out. I can learn most cover songs in pretty much one listen, primarily because I can apply multiple senses to the problem of what notes to play and what the chord structure is. I don't necessarily have the ability to sing a particular pitch on demand, though I'm usually pretty close. I definitely can compose things in my head without any instrument at all and go play it right away. I've found as I get older some of the pitches are slipping, and sometimes I'll wind up a half step off--I've heard that's not uncommon, but I find that listening/playing more keeps it in "tune".

 

[pklima]

I don't know, but this thread makes me envious.

Naaah. Sure, this signer has great pitch, but it's not a magic bullet that will make you great. It simplifies some things, that's all. I have a much much easier time memorizing lyrics or spitting out a large number of syllables in a short time.

I have synesthesia that assists me into something like perfect pitch. The synesthesia definitely crosses color and sound, but also texture. So D is sort of a white pearly shiny color, F is flat black, C# is a shiny black, F# is a blue-steel shiny deep blue/black, C is like brick in both color and texture, etc. When I hear chords, I hear/see all the colors/textures in the chord, up to a certain degree of complexity where it gets too much to sort out. I can learn most cover songs in pretty much one listen, primarily because I can apply multiple senses to the problem of what notes to play and what the chord structure is. I don't necessarily have the ability to sing a particular pitch on demand, though I'm usually pretty close. I definitely can compose things in my head without any instrument at all and go play it right away. I've found as I get older some of the pitches are slipping, and sometimes I'll wind up a half step off--I've heard that's not uncommon, but I find that listening/playing more keeps it in "tune".

Now that is very interesting, and exactly the sort of thing I was wondering about - how it feels from the "inside" for people who perceive pitch in a totally different way than I do.

 

[neddyrow]

To name a few for me:

A = Red
Am = Maroon
B = Royal Blue
Bm/Bb = Navy Blue
C = Light Blue
D = Dark Grey
E = White
F = Yellow
F# = Orange/Yellow
G = Light Grey

So it helps when I am told the key, I just think of the colors that go along with it. I.E. - Key of C - light blue/yellow/grey/maroon

 

[moon-bass]

The human mind is absolutely fascinating. It's becoming clear to science that we all perceive and experience the world around us in different ways - and we all think and process things "internally" very differently as well. There are a lot of great studies on this.

I don't have perfect pitch, but I do have very good relative pitch and pitch "recall" - if that is a thing. Meaning - If I hear a song in my head, it's almost always in the correct pitch from the album, and I can ID a few reference notes to determine the overall song structure - not coincidentally, I can tell you if a song is in E, A, D, or G, or something else (and I can figure the key of the song and notes out from there using relative pitch), and I can also tell if the band is tuned a half step down or not (this was helpful back in my hair metal days). I can't tell you if the song overall is a little sharp or flat tho, so it's not perfect pitch, but I can listen to a song, listen to a reference song in my head, and be able to figure out the notes.

Also, if I am familiar with the song, I can tell you if a band is playing it in a different key than the recording. I'll recall the original song recording as a reference in my head and use relative pitch to determine the key that the band is playing it in. So not perfect pitch at all, just really good memory for some pitches. It's been proven very useful over the years!

Interestingly enough, I never got any association with sound/color - I have aphantasia, which is the inability to visualize anything in my mind - i don't have a "mind's eye." In other words, my mind inside is completely black - when I close my eyes, all I see are (literally) the back of my eye lids - I can't see anything visual in my imagination. So that means I can't conjure up colors in my mind and I definitely can't associate notes with colors.

Reading this, I'm wondering if I would be able to associate a note with the "thought" of a color - if that makes sense ..

 

[monsterthompson]

The human mind is absolutely fascinating. It's becoming clear to science that we all perceive and experience the world around us in different ways - and we all think and process things "internally" very differently as well. There are a lot of great studies on this.

There’s a professor and author named Donald Hoffman who has some thought provoking theories on perception and reality. I’ve only heard him interviewed and read summaries of his work, so I should really read what he’s actually written. Still, his Wikipedia page is worth a glance if this type of thing is up your alley.

 

[moon-bass]

There’s a professor and author named Donald Hoffman who has some thought provoking theories on perception and reality. I’ve only heard him interviewed and read summaries of his work, so I should really read what he’s actually written. Still, his Wikipedia page is worth a glance if this type of thing is up your alley.

Thanks! I love this stuff, I'll take a look!

 

[J Wilson]

I have very good relative pitch, but by no means perfect pitch, and a lot of minor chords always suggest colors to me, but strangely, NEVER major chords.

One of my piano teachers (a Julliard grad, a brilliant woman who could play so well it would scare you), had perfect pitch, and as you can imagine, a LOT of pianos are never completely in tune. In their home studio, they had a pair of six foot Steinways, and the room had its own central separate from the house with humidity control, and they were seen to 3 times a year by a first-rate piano tuner who would touch up the very few spots that might develop. A piano that was way off would give her bad headaches.

 

[MrAB4003]

I have decent relative pitch but know perfect pitch exists, and have heard it described that it's like colors - E is one color, G another etc. So yesterday singer is writing down lyrics in her notebook, adding chords, and doing stuff with highlighter markers. I joke that Willow's song from the Wicker Man soundtrack will be green because willows are green, but she's like, no, there's only a little E minor in it and E minor is green.

Huh. I don't know if she has perfect pitch, technically, but she sure does have great pitch and don't remember her ever missing a note, just sometimes going "wait, no, I should sing that whole thing an octave higher".

Those with perfect pitch or who have worked with people in perfect pitch, is the pitch-color association being that strong and literal common?

I am so glad I found this thread because I have perfect pitch!

For me, each of the 12 notes has its own separate "bucket". The octave of the note doesn't matter, only the pitch does. If I hear a note, my brain automatically assigns it to its corresponding bucket. For example, when I lock my car doors, my brain automatically knows the note from my car's horn is a Bb. That note gets assigned to the Bb bucket.

Comparing it to seeing color is not the best way to explain it. There are certain colors that are mixtures of other colors (i.e. brown = red + green) that can be seen my most people. That is not the case with the 12 notes unless you're going into micro-tonalities.

If I hear that a note is not on pitch or is micro-tonal, my relative pitch will kick in. My relative pitch tells me how sharp or flat a note is and it's gotten better over the years. I can usually tell without a reference how sharp or flat a note is down to the nearest 1/4 of semitone (25 cents). From there, I need technology or another reference to help me, but it's really nitpicking at that point. Even still, I know what note it's supposed to be, so it's still assigned to the correct bucket in my brain. For example, Anthrax's version of "Got the Time" is in Bb, but it's 25 cents sharp. While I love that song, I get disappointed that it's sharp when I listen to it.

Some people have a very good perception of pitch. That’s cool.

Some people like to tell you about their perfect pitch. That’s annoying.

Well, I must be the most annoying guy on this thread!