Synesthesia!

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It's OK.

If there are any sections that you do not feel are too personal I remain interested in learning what I can, whenever you feel like it.

Again, nothing I said was ever intended to be personal against you...I have a lot of respect.

Thank you.

Wouldn't these talents create wonderful new line-ups on Law & Order?

I'm really curious to know what colours you see in Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4. Please?

I see things in "shades", good things automatically have a "brightness" to them and things I don't like are "dark". Sometimes it's a little weird, like when I'm pressing arrow keys in a game and suddenly one of them goes "dark" and I don't like to touch that key anymore because it doesn't feel correct. Not too sure if this is synesthesia because it isn't really colours, just brightness and darkness.

I also tend to personify things. My laptop's a cranky little thing, my calculator is a nerd, my ipod charger is sort of crazy, my ipod is usually a well mannered fellow who occasionally goes nuts. Black ink pens are calm and good, blue ink pens are too bright to handle, red ink pens are angry and might actually bite, purple pens are fun and happy.

I have days when everybody looks ugly, hideous, threatening. That usually goes along with illness or food poisoning.

I have other days when everybody is gorgeous like an angel - I don't know how to trigger that one.

18th century music doesn't affect me much. Only 19th century and Impressionism usually. Pure Classical music comes in many shades and I can't assign one spectrum of colours to Beethoven. But the quieter piano parts are pastel - greyish/bluish or no colour, just an impression of light hues. Minors are more likely to be yellowish. Hushed strings a darker brown. Part 2 is quite yellow and merry in the beginning. Garish hues like bright purple or green are rare in Beethoven; it is more dark I think, or pale blue-grey.

My favourite sort of music is blue-grey, which is what Enya can bring.

What sort of music affects you?

Apparently I do. But it's very mild. I associate days of the week with certain colours. The same goes for most letters of the alphabet. But this is mostly to do with the fact that I learned them in those colours in school, and the aesthetic just stuck. I also imagine music as streams of colour. It's not specific (like A sharp is yellow or anything), but when I'm listening to a song the notes make me think of certain colours at random. Usually a certain song will show up as mostly one colour, so I'll think X is a very orange song. Though I've noticed this is usually influenced by the themes in the music video or on the CD cover.
When it comes to sharp or unpleasant sounds, I usually feel them as thumpings or scratchings in my head. On the contrary nice sounds feel gentle.

I can see it now.
The police ask us to help produce identity sketches of the perpetrators.
AuntBlabby's is a quarter to six and mine is a pile of wet dog hair.

You're welcome. BTW...I sent you something pretty I saw on the road today. No pics, but a description. Wish you could've seen it with me--or maybe you have already, who knows?

Aha! It's not just me!

I think it's possible since the sections of the visual cortex that process color versus those that process brightness and shape aren't quite the same.

I perceive music and sounds in greyscale. Might sound dull, but it's absolutely beautiful. It's just a different aesthetic that relies on light, pattern, contrast, and movement, one I imagine might be shared by people who have no color vision.

Yeah, I grew up in the Appalachians. I do miss it and am considering applying to teach there when I graduate.

You're very fortunate indeed. I just get to see it on trips, but I never really get to stop because I'm on business. Sometime I think I'd just like to stop and take it all in.

Now, back on the subject of synesthesia, I wanted to ask a question of Winterleaves. When you get that greyscale sense, does it have a shape to it or is it just a sense of intensity of light?