Synesthesia and creativity

It has been hypothesized that we are all born with infant synesthesia, with cross-modal processing, all our senses working together, observing information from different sensory angles, synchronized to a moment, which gives enormous creativity and imagination at a young age; but which gets dominated by logic in later stages of life. To make playing easy, the mind has to work first. The Method of Loci is a mnemonic device introduced in ancient Roman and Greek rhetorical treatises. It is a method of memory enhancement that uses visualization to organize and recall information. Instead of struggling with notes, finding the bridge between sound, the visual image, and character and the touch and feel of musical texture under your fingers opens the way to the true enjoyment of music.

Recent scientific research proved that for successful learning the memory should be engaged through 2-3 different senses, as an example of synesthesia’s cross-modal links, making sound visual and tactile. As Zoe Cormier (Neuroscience, BBC Focus, issue 286 October 2015) explains:

‘Purring cats relax us and explosions shock us. But music can do something even more extraordinary: exhilarate us…listening to music can stimulate ancient parts of the brain involved in reward and pleasure. But more importantly, a complex sequence of events result in the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine by a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. Once flushed into the bloodstream, dopamine can make tingle us from the top of our heads to the tips of our toes. What’s more, music also triggers the release of other neurotransmitters such as endorphins, serotonin and vasopressin. Music is an auditory chemical cocktail.’

Dr. Amanda Tilot, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, the Netherlands reviewed: ‘Svetlana uses her cross-sensory perceptions in her teaching, adapting her impressions to help her students learn to perform complex pieces.’ (Science in School, The European journal for science teachers, 2016)