The Color of Music

Music Note ColorOur friend Arri said to my son, “Jakey, what’s your favorite color?”

He paused a few seconds and I expected him to say yellow.  He identifies most things as yellow to begin with even when they’re not. It’s one of the first words he learned, but I actually think he’s being contrary in a developmentally appropriate way.

Instead he said, “Music.”

The mind of a toddler is complex.  Just think about all the ways that is a great answer!

Music and color do go together and each holds great sway over our emotions.  Colors are sometimes used in music notation and composers modeled work after feelings derived from great works of art.  Opera, ballet, theatre: each uses lighting and set design to match colors to the music.

In a study at Cal Berkeley, scientists recorded the colors people associated with various classical music pieces.  Even with a palette of 37 colors to choose from, there were high levels of similarity between colors chosen by a wide range of participants in the U.S. and Mexico.

Since reading this article I’ve been trying to picture the colors I associate most with the music I hear.  Cool study and you can read the original research here.

Jakey saw his first laser light show yesterday at OMSI.  Great example of color gelling perfectly with music to rock your mind and body in a desired way.

A lot of fireworks shows now incorporate music scores, as well.  You can bet the big, booming classical music finish is going to have a lot of reds and other striking colors.

People with synesthesia might hear a sound and picture a specific color or think the sound looks a certain color.  The condition is broader and can involve the linking of any two or more senses.  For a treat, you can watch this beautiful short video.

And since we’re well down this rabbit hole now, I’ll suggest one more video, with credit to Maria Popova at Brain Pickings for pointing me to it. This is animation by Esteban Diácono to music by Ólafur Arnalds.

It is stunning:

What did that boy mean when he said his favorite color is music?

I’ll probably never know—and please note I am not suggesting he has synesthesia—but I like thinking he is connecting things on a deeper level.  Deeper than grown-ups, at least.

Certainly he’s young enough not to have as many mental blocks or barriers built against the free association that links concepts and experiences.

I hope his favorite color will continue to be music for a while longer.