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List of people with synesthesia

(Redirected from Famous synesthetes)
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

This is a list of notable people who have claimed to have the neurological condition synesthesia. Following that, there is a list of people who are often wrongly believed to have had synesthesia because they used it as a device in their art, poetry or music (referred to as pseudo-synesthetes).

Estimates of prevalence of synesthesia have ranged widely, from 1 in 4 to 1 in 25,000 – 100,000. However, most studies have relied on synesthetes reporting themselves, introducing self-referral bias.[1]

Media outlets including Pitchfork have critically noted the considerable numbers of musical artists from the 2010s onwards claiming to be synesthetes, observing that "without literally testing every person who comes out in the press as a synesthete, it’s exceedingly difficult to tell who has it and who is lying through their teeth for cultural cachet" and that claims of experiencing synesthesia can be employed "as an express route to creative genius".[2]

Synesthetes

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Name Type Lifespan Country Profession Notes Source
Richard Feynman grapheme-colour 1918-1988 United States Physicist "When I see equations, I see the letters in colors. I don't know why. I see vague pictures of Bessel functions with light-tan j's, slightly violet-bluish n's, and dark brown x's flying around." [3]
Frank Iero Chromesthesia b. 1981 United States Singer-songwriter, guitarist [4]
Tilden Daken Multiple 1876-1935 United States Artist Painted to orchestral music. [5][6]
Syd Barrett Multiple 1946-2006 United Kingdom Singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist
Vladimir Nabokov Grapheme-Color 1899-1977 Russia/United States/Switzerland Novelist, poet [7]
Alessia Cara Multiple b. 1996 Canada Singer-songwriter [8][9]
Beyoncé Chromesthesia b. 1981 United States Singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, actress [10][11][12][13]
Charli XCX Chromesthesia b. 1992 United Kingdom Singer-songwriter [14]
Jennifer Cook O'Toole Multiple b. 1975 United States Author [15]
Marilyn Monroe Taste to colour 1926-1962 United States Actress [16][17][18]
Jack Coulter Chromesthesia b. 1994 United Kingdom Artist [19][20]
Marina Diamandis Multiple b. 1985 United Kingdom Singer-songwriter [21][22]
Patricia Lynne Duffy Unspecified b. 1952 United States Author Wrote Blue Cats and Chartreuse Kittens, the first book by a synesthete about synesthesia.

Co-founded the American Synesthesia Association.

[23]
Mary J. Blige Sound to colour b. 1971 United States Singer-songwriter, actress [24]
Billie Eilish Multiple b. 2001 United States Singer-songwriter [25]
Kanye West Multiple b. 1977 United States Rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, fashion designer [26][27]
Nikola Tesla Chromesthesia 1856–1943 Austria/United States Inventor [28]
Eves Karydas Chromesthesia b. 1994 Australia Singer-songwriter [29][30]
Duke Ellington Chromesthesia 1899–1974 United States Composer, pianist, bandleader [31]
David Hockney Chromesthesia b. 1937 United Kingdom Artist, stage designer, photographer [32]
Greg Jarvis Sound to shape b. 1944 Canada Musician Founded the Canadian Synesthesia Association. [33][34][35]
Ramin Djawadi Chromesthesia b. 1974 Germany Score composer [36]
Billy Joel Multiple b. 1949 United States Singer-songwriter, composer, pianist [37][38]
Bloem de Ligny Multiple b. 1978 Netherlands Singer [39]
Franz Liszt Sound to color 1811–1886 Hungary Composer, pianist [40][41][37]
Lorde Sound to color b. 1996 New Zealand Singer-songwriter [42][43]
Adi Meyerson Unspecified b. 1991 United States Composer, Double Bassist [44][45]
Olivia Rodrigo Sound to colour b. 2003 United States Singer-songwriter [46][47][48]
Tori Amos Sound to color b. 1963 United States Singer-songwriter [49]
Ida Maria Sound to color b. 1984 Norway Singer-songwriter [50][51]
Marian McPartland Sound to color 1918–2013 United Kingdom/United States Jazz pianist [52]
Bea Miller Sound to color b. 1999 United States Singer-songwriter, actress [53]
Stephanie Morgenstern Multiple b. 1965 Canada Actress, filmmaker [54]
Finneas O'Connell Multiple b. 1997 United States Musician, record producer, actor [26]
Frank Ocean Sound to color b. 1987 United States Singer-songwriter, producer, artist Released Channel Orange in 2012, an album themed around his own synesthesia [55]
Adil Omar Multiple b. 1991 Pakistan Singer-songwriter, record producer [56]
Andy Partridge Multiple b. 1953 United Kingdom Singer-songwriter, musician [57][58]
Itzhak Perlman Sound to shape b. 1945 Israel/United States Violinist, conductor, music teacher [38]
Jon Poole Sound to color b. 1969 United Kingdom Musician [59]
Osmo Tapio Räihälä Shape to sound b. 1964 Finland Composer [60]
Maggie Rogers Sound to color b. 1994 United States Singer-songwriter, record producer [61]
Jean Sibelius Unspecified 1865–1957 Finland Composer, violinist [37]
Holly Smale Emotions to color b. 1981 United Kingdom Writer [62]
Carol Steen Multiple b. 1943 United States Artist Co-founded the American Synesthesia Association. [63][64]
Daniel Tammet Unspecified b. 1979 United Kingdom Author [65]
Brendon Urie Multiple b. 1987 United States Singer [66]
Sabrina Vlaškalić Multiple 1989–2019 Serbia Classical guitarist [67]
Solomon Shereshevsky Fivefold 1886-1958 Russian Empire/Soviet Union Journalist, mnemonist [68][69]
Richard Wagner Sound to color 1813–1883 Germany Composer, theatre director, conductor [38]
Pharrell Williams Sound to color b. 1973 United States Singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer, fashion designer [38][37]
Richard David James Unspecified b. 1971 Ireland Musician, record player, composer, remixer, DJ [70][38]
Hans Zimmer Chromesthesia b. 1957 Germany Composer, music producer [71]
Olivier Messiaen Chromesthesia 1896-1979 France Composer, pianist, organist [72][73]

[74]

Awsten Knight Sound to color b. 1992 United States Singer-songwriter, producer [75]
Nyokabi Kariûki Chromesthesia b. 1998 Kenya Composer, sound artist [76]
J57 (rapper) Sound to color b. 1983 United States Musician

Pseudo-synesthetes

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References

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  1. ^ Simner, Julia; Hubbard, Edward M., eds. (2013). "A brief history of synesthesia research". Oxford Handbook of Synesthesia. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 13–17. ISBN 978-0-19-960332-9. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  2. ^ "What the Hell is Synesthesia and Why Does Every Musician Seem to Have It?". Pitchfork. 31 January 2014.
  3. ^ "Colourful language: U of T psychologists discover enhanced language learning in synesthetes". University of Toronto News. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  4. ^ "FRANK IERO // Get Yourself Out of Your Comfort Zone at All Times!". 27 May 2019.
  5. ^ ""Tilden Dakin Says He Can Paint Music."". Los Angeles Times. December 16, 1923.
  6. ^ ""Music Can Be Interpreted in Oils, Says Artist."". Ohio Chronicle Telegram. December 17, 1923.
  7. ^ Hupé, Jean-Michel (2020). "An Introduction to Synesthesia via Vladimir Nabokov". The Five Senses in Nabokov's Works. Springer International Publishing. pp. 241–254. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-45406-7_15. ISBN 978-3-030-45405-0. S2CID 226758119.
  8. ^ "Alessia Cara Discusses Having Synesthesia". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19.
  9. ^ "Alessia Cara talks about her synaesthesia". PopBuzz. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  10. ^ Webb, Katherine (June 23, 2018). "The Craziest things you didn't know about Beyoncé".
  11. ^ Kosowan, Gene (January 14, 2020). "These 10 Musicians & Artists Who Claim To Have Synesthesia".
  12. ^ "I see music, says Beyoncé as she releases new album and 17 videos". December 13, 2013.
  13. ^ "Does Synesthesia Make You More Creative? | Studio 360". WNYC.
  14. ^ Savage, Mark (12 December 2013). "BBC News - Charli XCX: Pop, punk and synaesthesia". BBC News.
  15. ^ Cook O'Toole, Jennifer (4 December 2018). Autism in Heels: The Untold Story of a Female Life on the Spectrum. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781510732858.
  16. ^ "Marilyn: A Proto-Synaesthete? « ES Updates". September 2017.
  17. ^ "I Have Something in Common with Marilyn Monroe—and You Might, Too". The New Yorker. 31 August 2017.
  18. ^ "How to know if you have synesthesia". 25 January 2018.
  19. ^ "Synesthesia artist Jack Coulter creates 'musical painting' of Glastonbury". Independent.co.uk. 20 June 2016.
  20. ^ McNamara, Brittney (13 September 2017). "This Is What It's Like to Be Able to HEAR Color". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  21. ^ "Trust Your Gut: An Interview With Marina and the Diamonds". Rookie. 25 February 2015.
  22. ^ Lancaster, Brodie (2015-02-24). "Rookie » Trust Your Gut: An Interview With Marina and the Diamonds". www.rookiemag.com. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  23. ^ Duffy, Patricia Lynne (2011-04-01). Blue Cats and Chartreuse Kittens: How Synesthetes Color Their Worlds. Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 9781429928274.
  24. ^ "Meet the Famous Musicians with Synaesthesia, A Condition That Means You Hear Colours". NME. 27 October 2015.
  25. ^ Strick, Katie (2020-01-28). "Synaesthesia: a superpower I share with Billie Eilish". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  26. ^ a b "What the Hell Is Synesthesia and Why Does Every Musician Seem to Have It?". www.pitchfork.com. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  27. ^ Sblendorio, Peter (19 May 2016). "SEE/HEAR IT: Kanye West sounds off on his synesthesia, the ability to see sounds, in latest rant on 'Ellen'". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  28. ^ "Nikola Tesla, A Trailblazer in Science". Futurism.
  29. ^ "Eves Karydas | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  30. ^ "Interview: Eves Karydas (AUS) talks VANFEST, synaesthesia and working on her new album". The AU Review. 2019-04-07. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  31. ^ "Synesthesia Digital Library | Famous Synesthetes : Duke Ellington". sdl.granthazard.com. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  32. ^ see Cytowic, Richard E. 2002. Synaesthesia: a Union of the Senses. Second edition. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
  33. ^ Everett-Green, Robert (Dec 3, 2010). "For Musician With Synaethesia, The Cello Can Sound Too Fury. Or Too Red". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  34. ^ "Life with synesthesia: Toronto man who can see sounds shares his story". Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine January 28th 2015, Metro – Toronto Edition.
  35. ^ "For musician with synesthesia, the cello can sound too furry. Or too red". Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  36. ^ Renfro, Kim (July 7, 2016). "Meet the musical genius behind the 'Game of Thrones' soundtrack who watches each season before anyone else". Business Insider. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  37. ^ a b c d MITCHELL, KEVIN J. (2018). Innate: How the Wiring of Our Brains Shapes Who We Are. Princeton University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctvc77m71. ISBN 978-0-691-17388-7. JSTOR j.ctvc77m71. S2CID 240016216.
  38. ^ a b c d e Seaberg, Maureen. Tasting the Universe.
  39. ^ @bloomdewilde (26 July 2019). "I have this thing called synaesthesia, which means all my senses are delightfully intertwined. Colours numbers soun…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  40. ^ Cytowic, Richard E. (2009). Wednesday is indigo blue : discovering the brain of synesthesia. Eagleman, David. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-262-25483-0. OCLC 317116544.
  41. ^ Liu, Annie (Yen-Ling) (2013). "Listening as Gazing: Synaesthesia and the Double Apotheosis in Franz Liszt's "Hunnenschlacht"". Studia Musicologica. 54 (4): 379–388. doi:10.1556/SMus.54.2013.4.4. ISSN 1788-6244. JSTOR 43289733.
  42. ^ "Lorde Talks Curly Hair, Synesthesia & Wanting to be a Comedian in Tumblr Chat". Music Times. 2015-10-17. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  43. ^ "Lorde explains exactly how synaesthesia works". NZ Herald. 12 May 2017.
  44. ^ "Adi Meyerson on taking inspiration from avant garde artist Yayoi Kusama and processing synesthesia through bass". Guitar World. December 10, 2021. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  45. ^ "Rising Star: Bassist Adi Meyerson". New Jersey Jazz Society. October 31, 2022. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  46. ^ "Olivia Rodrigo Says She Has 'Baby Synesthesia,' Which Makes Her 'See Colors' when She Hears Music".
  47. ^ "Olivia Rodrigo reveals she has 'minor synesthesia'". Independent.co.uk. 13 May 2022.
  48. ^ "Olivia Rodrigo, 19, reveals secret health battle affecting her brain". 13 May 2022.
  49. ^ "9 Famous Artists Who Have Synesthesia and How It Affected Them". 26 October 2019.
  50. ^ "Ida Maria". The List. 2008-05-22. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  51. ^ "Ida Maria: Seeing Red". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  52. ^ Hasson, Claire. A Discussion Of Marian McPartland's Style Archived 2009-07-23 at the Wayback Machine in Marian McPartland: Jazz Pianist: An Overview of a Career
  53. ^ Kelley, Caitlin (2017-10-10). "Takeover Tuesday: Bea Miller Paints Things 'Yellow' With Upbeat EP-Inspired Playlist". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  54. ^ see Raskin, Richard. 2003. An interview with Stephanie Morgenstern and Mark Ellis on Remembrance. P.O.V., A Danish Journal of Film Studies; number 15 (March): 170-184.
  55. ^ Sytsma, Alan; restaurants, food editor at New York Magazine who has been covering; Since 2006, The Way We Eat (10 July 2012). "On Frank Ocean, Channel Orange, and Taste Synesthesia". Grub Street. {{cite web}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  56. ^ "Why we need to talk about Adil Omar". 21 July 2018.
  57. ^ Montagna, John (10 February 2018). "A Prediction: "This Is Pop" Will Pull in New Fans for XTC". Culture Sonar. Retrieved 10 October 2020. We learn about [...] [Partridge's] own synesthesia.
  58. ^ Sheppard, Amanda (22 May 2019). "Q: WHAT DO YOU CALL THAT NOISE? A: XTC!". Please Kill Me. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  59. ^ Looker, Charlie (17 September 2023). "Last Things Live Stream with Kavus Torabi". YouTube. Event occurs at 2:15:33.
  60. ^ http://www.sikorski.de/media/files/1/13/27/10031/sikorski_magazin_4_2015.pdf Archived 2017-01-18 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL PDF]
  61. ^ "Pharrell Williams Masterclass with Students at NYU Clive Davis Institute". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19.
  62. ^ Smale, Holly [@HolSmale] (June 6, 2021). "Finally, the way we process emotions can vary. I have synaesthesia, so I often read emotions as colours. Trying to work out what "dark purple" means can take time. In short, "autistics can't read emotions" is overly simplistic and unhelpful. We can. Just not like you" (Tweet). Retrieved June 6, 2021 – via Twitter.
  63. ^ Steen, C. (2001). "Visions Shared: A Firsthand Look into Synesthesia and Art" (PDF). Leonardo. 34 (3). MIT Press: 203–208. doi:10.1162/002409401750286949. S2CID 57570552.
  64. ^ "American Synesthesia Association Official website". American Synesthesia Association. November 19, 2010. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
  65. ^ Tammet, Daniel. 2006. "Born on a Blue Day." London: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.
  66. ^ Spanos, Brittany (2016-01-15). "Panic! at the Disco: Band Is 'Outlet for Nonchalant Chaos'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  67. ^ "Sabrina Vlaskalic's Early Struggles Give Way to New Confidence". classicalguitarmagazine.com. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  68. ^ du Plessis,First=Susan (December 19, 2014). "Solomon Shereshevsky, the Unforgettable - Edublox Online Tutor | Development, Reading, Writing, and Math Solutions".
  69. ^ MacDonald, First=Matthew (October 8, 2019). "Memory Lessons from a Man Who Couldn't Forget".
  70. ^ "Synesthesia Digital Library | Famous Synesthetes : Richard D. James/Aphex Twin". sdl.granthazard.com. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  71. ^ "Interview: 'Man of Steel' Composer Hans Zimmer on Hearing Colors | FirstShowing.net". June 13, 2013.
  72. ^ Messiaen, Oliviertitle=Traité de rythme, de couleur, et d'ornithologie. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).
  73. ^ Bernard, Jonathan W. (1986). "Messiaen's Synaesthesia: The Correspondence between Color and Sound Structure in His Music.". Vol. 4. pp. 41–68. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  74. ^ Fink, Monika (2003). ""Farb-Klänge und Klang-Farben im Werk von Olivier Messiaen"". Music in Art: International Journal for Music Iconography. 28 (1–2): 163–172. ISSN 1522-7464.
  75. ^ "Punk Pop's New Phenomenon: Awsten Knight of Waterparks". www.vmagazine.com. 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  76. ^ "CHROMESTHESIA EP". www.spotify.com. 2022-11-22. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  77. ^ a b Dann, Kevin T. 1998. Bright Colors Falsely Seen: Synaesthesia and the Search for Transcendental Knowledge. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
  78. ^ B. M. Galeyev and I. L. Vanechkina (August 2001). "Was Scriabin a Synesthete?". Leonardo; Vol. 34, Issue 4, pp. 357 - 362.
  79. ^ Scriabin, Alexander. 1995(1911). "Poem of Ecstasy" and "Prometheus: Poem of Fire". New York: Dover.
  80. ^ "About Vowels by Arthur Rimbaud". The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation.
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