Synesthesia for Bass Practice

[BassMom88]

I know that it can't be learned, but that something really close can be earned. I also knew a few folks with PP who did not view it necessarily as a gift, also, so I never thought of it as a must-have to be a musician. One girl I knew had a terrible time playing in the orchestra because the strobe tuner they had was off a bit, and the band director just didn't even try to fix it, so she was miserable every time they played a song, and also she could not make herself tune out of tune, so it seemed to be more a great big PITA to her than anything else.

And maybe PP is more than one thing. I can't say.

I've also heard people say that PP was problematic for them at times. I wonder if something like eidetic memory has a downside? The show "Unforgettable" is about highly superior autobiographical memory and that seems to have it's pros and cons as portrayed in the show. So far there's been been no downside with synesthesia for my kid, she can't imagine life without it.

 

[INTP]

Fergie, your story is fascinating. It is an example of how we may have a simple model for how the brain and body are working, but when damage happens, it points out that it doesn't work quite like we thought. Oliver Sachs writes about this kind of thing a lot, for anyone who is interested.

It reminds me of how the brain alters its mapping to overcome a deficiency. Apparently, blind people show activity in the visual cortex when they "read" braille.

I don't have any dramatic events, but I have noticed that I have a visual map or image of my hands on the instrument when I play. It's really necessary to have it when you're reading music or charts because your eyes can't watch the sheet and the fingers at the same time. It's hard to explain, but I notice that when I feel my position on the instrument, I can "see" it, even though I'm not actually looking at my hands. I feel the frets under the strings, where the strings hit the fingers, the contour of the neck as it changes from nut to bridge, etc. I don't expect to be able to measure this any time soon, but I suspect that if I were to have a scan while I played, it would show activity in my visual cortex while I play, even if my eyes were closed.

Also, this is probably due to my having played box patterns with the left hand, but when I hear an interval, I can often "see" it on the fretboard. If I hear an ascending minor third, for example, I can see one or two fingerings for it, before I play. I will usually see the interval before I can verbalize it.

 

[JimmyM]

I've also heard people say that PP was problematic for them at times.

I've heard that about some PP possessors, like it gives them headaches and brainfreeze to hear out-of-tuneness and all that, but I never got it personally. Out of tuneness grates on my nerves a little bit, but not so bad...doesn't prevent me from listening to the White Stripes or anything

 

[thekyle55]

I don't have perfect pitch, but I can tune a bass or guitar to within about a half step of standard, and I'm pretty much always the song learner in bands. I'm also the one looking around for the person that's messing up. I attribute it to having a good (not perfect) ear from both genetics and thousands upon thousands of hours learning songs by ear, repeating over and over and over.

I always did homework with the TV on, and in my early days, I would sit and practice scales with a movie playing. I didn't think about it, it's just what I did and how I did best. If I could have a TV on at work, I would get a lot more done every day. It isn't a distraction, it's noise to fill up the empty spaces. Music doesn't work the same way, I'm always listening to and analyzing the song instead of letting it wash over me.

 

[Fergie Fulton]

Fergie, your story is fascinating. It is an example of how we may have a simple model for how the brain and body are working, but when damage happens, it points out that it doesn't work quite like we thought. Oliver Sachs writes about this kind of thing a lot, for anyone who is interested.

It reminds me of how the brain alters its mapping to overcome a deficiency. Apparently, blind people show activity in the visual cortex when they "read" braille.

I don't have any dramatic events, but I have noticed that I have a visual map or image of my hands on the instrument when I play. It's really necessary to have it when you're reading music or charts because your eyes can't watch the sheet and the fingers at the same time. It's hard to explain, but I notice that when I feel my position on the instrument, I can "see" it, even though I'm not actually looking at my hands. I feel the frets under the strings, where the strings hit the fingers, the contour of the neck as it changes from nut to bridge, etc. I don't expect to be able to measure this any time soon, but I suspect that if I were to have a scan while I played, it would show activity in my visual cortex while I play, even if my eyes were closed.

Also, this is probably due to my having played box patterns with the left hand, but when I hear an interval, I can often "see" it on the fretboard. If I hear an ascending minor third, for example, I can see one or two fingerings for it, before I play. I will usually see the interval before I can verbalize it.

I am on the mend, but you have it in a nutshell as brain mapping.
The key is if the nerves can function correctly past the damage, so it may be a physical impossibility to fully recover.
Because my neck got broke a C 7 the nerve pathway is obstructed by the breakage, the bone thickening of the repair is not a perfect alignment means the nerve gets trapped within this point.
Also being so close to my spinal cord the advice was going in with surgery was not worth the risk of losing what i had gained back from muscular paralysis, of the spinal cord got damages the consequences could be worse.
All nerve conduction velocity tests show that from inside the injury pathway to the fingers the nerves and muscles work great (in fact i was told i have the muscle tone and reactions of a person half my age).
But from outside the injury the reactions are reduced when they have to cross the injury. All tests were done yearly and were quite a mixture including EMG, motor, sensory and a single F-wave.

So i just continue to be patient, work on the right areas and see what happens, so far so good, back playing full time and all that involves keeps my mind of things. Frustration can be my enemy, so i guard against against it by continually getting out my comfort zone musicaly then set the challage of technique to get me back in by learning from scratch....so i never really try and compare what i could do with what i can now do, i make use of the abilities i have now and try and develop them.