I don't think just Aspies have synesthesia, as there are many NTs who exhibit synestetic traits. I have Aspergers and Synethesia though. I'm a very visual person and tend to see sound as pictures (difficult to describe) and also feel things as different physical sensations. I happen to be a musician and thought this was how everyone experienced music! Then I found out differently and was very surprised.
Here's something from a blog I posted a while ago about my Synesthesia:
I’ve read that one of the things about synesthesia is people don’t usually notice that they have it because they feel like everyone experiences things that way. It’s only when they investigate things do they realize that there is something different about their experiences.
Most of us have heard about the more common forms of synesthesia, like seeing colours in relationship to numbers, or tasting words, etc. It’s only through investigation that I discovered how I perceive music (and the world in general) may be a synesthetic experience. I just assumed all people had the same experiences. For as long as I can remember I’ve been a square peg in a round hole sort of person. Traditional education usually mystified me and was a rather painful experience. The same can be said for music, as I apparently experience it in a very different way than most people.
For one, I’m a highly visual person and alway have visual experiences to match other sensory input, like sound. I see pictures not just in my mind, but in the space around me (I’m also a very spacially aware person). Imagine if everything you think about is in front of you like a 3D heads up display in a car or fighter jet. It’s very difficult to explain, but I will endeavor to put it into words. I remember a few years ago trying to explain things in an interview and not being able to find the write words—how do you describe pictures that are very personal and have their own sort of codification?
Another aspect of music are the notes themselves. I see/feel standard quarter notes, 8ths, 16ths, etc. as being square, whereas triplets always are round to me. In composing music (or performing it), I experience the music as different shapes. So my criteria for composition is often moving between shapes as much as pitches/notes. I also see patterns in the groups of notes (triangles, squares, hexagons, circles, etc.) and often memorize music by the shapes it makes, even more than the actual notes. When I improvise, I often look for shapes of rhythm instead of thinking about notes. In fact, part of the reason I set up my Gongs/Metals/Percussion like I do is because of these musical shapes I experience.
23 Oct 2011, 9:09 pm
