I just listened to the thread on his radio interview. In it Prince refers to sounds being colours and he is a painter. He also referred to colour in partyman as being red is bass and green is high.

Im wondering about how he translates sound into colour. I have heard of this before, I dont know the technical name but i know some people see words in colour and it is an actual biological fact. I know some peeps also see colour when they hear sounds. Also music affects the electrical activity of the brain which is why some colleges play claasical music during maths lessons etc

Im thinking there may be an actual reason to his choice of purple rather than the usual speculation of jimmy hendrix influences etc

Does anyone know anything more about this phenomenon or know of any other of Princes references to this either in his music or interviews?

Interesting I Would Like To Hear More

syble said:

The usual speculation includes purple being commonly associated with both royalty and sexuality as well.

I'm not sure bout tha other stuff but I FEEl music. When I first heard Prince, I didn't hear his music and cannot remember the song.

God made me unique and peculiar. It feels nice to see in a way that is foreign and unknown to others. It has been a long, tedious process in understanding myself. I thought everybody and eveyone recieved and processed information like I do.

I have a talent known mostly to the blind and deaf. Seeing and hearing without using my eyes or ears. I think it's cool.

I see rainbows in my eyes...lol So color is a part of my life, I am not sure about your exact question in reference to Prince and color. I hope this helps...

www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html

extract from colourslovers.com

Sound → color synesthesia

In sound → color synesthesia, individuals experience colors in response to tones or other aspects of sounds. Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues break this type of synesthesia into two categories, which they call “narrow band” and “broad band” sound → color synesthesia. In narrow band sound → color synesthesia (often called music → color synesthesia), musical stimuli (e.g., timbre or key) will elicit specific color experiences, such that a particular note will always elicit red, or harps will always elicit the experience of seeing a golden color. In broadband sound → color synesthesia, on the other hand, a variety of environmental sounds, like an alarm clock or a door closing, may also elicit visual experiences.

Color changes in response to different aspects of sound stimuli may involve more than just the hue of the color. Any dimension of color experience (see HSL color space) can vary. Brightness (the amount of white in a color; as brightness is removed from red, for example, it fades into a brown and finally to black), saturation (the intensity of the color; fire engine red and medium blue are highly saturated, while grays, white, and black are all unsaturated), and hue may all be affected to varying degrees. Additionally, music → color synesthetes, unlike grapheme → color synesthetes, often report that the colors move, or stream into and out of their field of view.



I think this maybe what you experience Takieaa, if you see rainbows.

This is what I was talking about with Prince, I was wondering if he experiences this or has simply read about it.

Then why in 1986 did he say 'banana yellow' was his new favorite color? did he ever really pick the color Purple or did that just arise from the movie?

Dayclear said:

good question.

Im more interested in him saying red is bass and green is high. That is really what prompted the thread.

I think you are right about the purple thing, probably just another marketing ploy.

Well there is white noise and pink noise so it stands to reason there will be other colours - frequencies !!! wonder which one corelates to purple

http://www.sciam.com/arti...sh-2003-05

This is weird
[Edited 9/15/08 6:06am]

Dayclear said:

I think its very interesting, thats what I was talking about that synth stuff and i dont mean his machine!

Oh lord, that's another strange thing I didn't know about him

LittleNicci said:

I hadnt thought of that. of course, we talk about white noise. Its only been discovered recently that some people see colour when they hear sound, I wonder where the term white noise comes from, and why white.

prince especially would use sound as color....he expresses himself in non-verbal wasys....color being visual...is easy for him to connect the two together...prince is a very intelligent man and he expresses what he feels and knows true in his heart...green is high..very high. that's why it is my favorite color....mzsexybabay

Dayclear said:

I think it is because he was filming UTCM, and that color helped him come up with a hilarious comedy.

Dayclear said:

Thank you Dayclear. Very interrsting article! I remember reading in Per Nilsen's first book that Tyka, Prince's sister, commented that Prince would talk about "orange snow", and that anyone overhearing their conversation would think that both of them were high.

Takieaa said:

Thank you Takieaa for sharing your experience. You don't have to close your eyes to perceive musical notes as colors? I have to close my eyes, and then, focus on what some would call the "third eye" in order to begin seeing colors. Also, I cannot do it unless I have done some deep breathing and relaxation exercises.

"Sitting on the floor of an all white room, feeling like the color blue." That is just one line where Prince used a color to refer to an emotion, and I don't believe that with that line Prince means doldrum sad.

Sounds producing color is fascinating to me, and I know that frequency has something to do with images.

The way that sound affects a water molecule is also a very romantic science, as we are made of 97 percent water.

I understand a little of color used as healing therapy that coincide with your energy centers.

In a spiritual, alternate reality...we are a string of everchanging colored energy. Our Aura's.

I still think it's weird.

syble said:

that line there.. reminds me of the inside sleeve of the 1999 album .. where he's naked on the bed with a paint brush and colors.. I would have posted the pic, but can't find it..

syble said:

I understand what he means I play keyboard and when you write and compose a song, you're painting a georgous portrait.. and you add 'life' to it with how you're writing and the song is colorful ..

syble said:

How cute... . .. . u tried to figure me out... . .. .

No. Honey, it is not that complicated. My eye lashes are thick and long and when I look in the direction of light... . .. . I simply see rainbows. I usually don't share the wonderful simplicity of the gifts GOD blesses me with but remembering history and the fear of some races. It's easier to explain it then let people waste their time on a false hypothesis. There are other instances when I am blessed with rainbows where there is no sunlight. Those moments, I simply smile and thank Him for reaching me with His rainbow (promise) when I was in darkness.

Such a remarkable mind you have.

With Prince and color and his relationship with it through music, I have not studied nor do I have a desire to. I will simply ask him.

gyro34 said:

Y u thank me n didn't LISTEN to wut i said? i didn't say anything bout closing/openin. O, I get it , u just want 2 talk 2 me, huh...?

Thanx 4 the how 2 on that other but as I mentioned b4, I like my part. I FEEL MUSIC!!! I think my gift is cooler then seeing it in colour (thats just me tho)...

Takieaa said:

Hey Syble

I heard that light also has a sound. When reflected this light changes color so it would probably change in pitch too. Scientifically there may be a study available that proves each color has its own sound and maybe this is what Prince is referring to in the recorded thingy you listened to where he was talking about what you said previously.

Good luck with your 'quest' seek=find.

syble said:

fascinating thread, fascinating guy. makes ya wonder why they call it white noise and where certain sayings come from like feeling blue, seeing red, green with envey ect, ect. corilating colors to emotion.

Tame said:

Tame
Speaking of Aura's I read that when purple is seen in an aura, that it's the psychic part of a being, insight & power to communicate
Green is the giving and loving of a person and might also indicate someone who is a little withdrawn.

Takieaa said:

Well, yeah, I just wanted to talk to you, Takieaa. I thank you becuase I am in awe of the gift that God has blessed you with. I am also curious. Since, I've never experienced the seeing of colors/rainbow when I listen to music, I thought that maybe it required closing your eyes and that you had left out that detail.

Flowers2 said:

A lot of musicians see notes and chords and compositional elements as colors. I thought I was odd for being that way, until I went to college and heard someone in the music program describing tonalities as colors.

NouveauDance said:

In Victorian England it was also a colour of mourning, which may play into Prince's choice as well given his occasionally morbid sense.