Speaker A

On it, and I want to work on stuff, then I can really kind of hone into it.

Speaker A

You know what I mean?

Speaker A

I don't know.

Speaker A

Like, you guys play music, right?

Speaker B

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker A

So, like, have you ever, like, thought of what you were about to play on your instrument?

Speaker A

Instead of just playing the notes, like you have that pre thought of, like, what you're about to play?

Speaker B

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker C

Okay.

Speaker A

And you play better because of that.

Speaker A

It's kind of like that, right.

Speaker A

Like, if I'm just listening to it, it's like, yeah, I'm still playing, but it's not as confident almost.

Speaker A

So it's just kind of like I'm thinking behind instead of ahead.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker A

It's one of those kind of things.

Speaker A

I, I, it takes a while for it to, like, kind of sync up a little bit.

Speaker C

Do you forget, or do you always remember the colors of the music that you've played?

Speaker A

It changes a little bit.

Speaker C

Okay.

Speaker A

Like, more in, like, I guess, vividness, I'd almost say.

Speaker A

But, like, minor thirds and major thirds are pretty much always, like, blues and purples to, like, reds and yellows.

Speaker A

Pretty much always.

Speaker A

And then when you get, like, chords as, like, major third, minor third, then you get the cross colors, right.

Speaker A

You get the greens and the oranges and stuff.

Speaker D

It's probably like, if you eat a meal a bunch of times, eventually kind of the flavor profile changes for you.

Speaker D

Just from experiencing it over and over.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

You hate meatloaf as a kid, and then you start to like meatloaf.

Speaker D

Yeah, Right.

Speaker C

Got it.

Speaker B

Does.

Speaker B

Does it change based on, say, if you smoked weed or did mushrooms or got drunk, would the synesthesia kick in or it, that doesn't really matter.

Speaker B

It has no effect.

Speaker B

Like, would it be crazier if you were high in trying to play an instrument?

Speaker C

That's a good question, because I did read that some people do feel an increased sense when they're drunk or stressed, tired.

Speaker E

I've only noticed, like, when I'm drunk, it's easier just for, like, everything to wash over me because I'm not really thinking, thinking about it.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker E

You know, I'm not really like, oh, what, what's that?

Speaker E

It's just more like it just hits you and you can't really stop it, so.

Speaker E

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker D

I'm not a doctor, but it, it does seem like psychedelics sort of make synesthesia possible for everyone.

Speaker A

Well, yeah.

Speaker D

Right.

Speaker A

I, I kind of agree.

Speaker D

It interconnects your senses, and because shrooms.

Speaker B

You'Ll get that trip.

Speaker B

So I heard.

Speaker D

Yeah.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker E

Of Course.

Speaker D

So, yeah.

Speaker D

Your senses end up being sent to more than one location.

Speaker B

Yeah.

Speaker D

Plus the ones they're not supposed to be at.

Speaker D

Right.

Speaker D

And then you get all kinds of experiences that aren't actually their air quotes.

Speaker A

Have I played music on shrooms or acid?

Speaker A

I gotta think about that first.

Speaker A

Well, I mean, I feel like if you change, if you use any substance, you're going to change your perception a little bit.

Speaker A

Right?

Speaker A

Like, have either.

Speaker A

Has anyone done psychedelics?

Speaker A

Like, here in the room?

Speaker A

It's okay.

Speaker B

Yes.

Speaker A

The safe space.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

Okay.

Speaker B

I've done mushrooms.

Speaker A

Okay.

Speaker A

So, I mean, you feel kind of swampy when you do shrooms.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker A

You kind of feel like you're melding into the earth and you feel everything breathe.

Speaker B

Yeah.

Speaker A

I feel like it was more of a.

Speaker A

Like, I never went to the point of, like, hallucinating.

Speaker A

Like, I didn't get the crazy visuals.

Speaker A

Maybe, like, mosaic, like stained glass.

Speaker B

Yeah.

Speaker A

That's, like, the extent of anything, because I never wanted to do it hardcore.

Speaker A

I'd say it was sharper, like, but just in general, that's with everything I was doing.

Speaker A

Like, it felt like I could walk straighter.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

It felt like I could improvise better.

Speaker A

But I wouldn't say it changed the colors.

Speaker A

I would maybe say it just wires your brain differently for a minute, for 10 hours.

Speaker A

I mean.

Speaker C

Is there anything that decreases it?

Speaker A

Stress.

Speaker C

Stress.

Speaker C

Okay.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker C

Same with you, Bridget.

Speaker E

Yeah.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

Like, 100%.

Speaker E

Like, the first time that, like, getting into different genres decreases it.

Speaker E

Because when I'm.

Speaker E

When I first started learning, you know, jazz or, you know, more of, like, the Indian raga scales, I wasn't really thinking of the colors and the, you know, stuff that I'm seeing to help me, just because I wasn't really yet aware of how the patterns of that music goes.

Speaker E

Because you have.

Speaker E

You have the.

Speaker E

Yeah, you have different patterns in different genres of music.

Speaker E

Like, country is one thing.

Speaker E

Like, you know, whatever.

Speaker E

Blues is another.

Speaker A

But.

Speaker E

But then when I got into jazz, I was like.

Speaker E

I was just concentrating on where the music was going instead of what I was doing then.

Speaker E

Cause I was like, oh, man, they're doing so many different chords all over the place.

Speaker E

What do I even do?

Speaker E

So I was just focusing on myself, panicking, trying to get something out that sounded coherent instead of the music.

Speaker C

It didn't feel as predictable, I guess, as what you were accustomed to.

Speaker C

Right.

Speaker E

Yeah.

Speaker E

But then once, you know, now I can properly improvise.

Speaker E

I mean, not as fancy as you can, probably.

Speaker E

I wouldn't say over jazz.

Speaker A

I got A question for you.

Speaker E

Yeah.

Speaker A

You mentioned like raags and like ragas and like Hindustani music.

Speaker A

How do you feel about quarter tones?

Speaker E

Oh, man.

Speaker E

You know those messed me up for.

Speaker E

Oh.

Speaker E

Like I've been lucky enough to kind of be part of like bigger ensembles.

Speaker A

Okay.

Speaker E

So I've had kind of like more or less, kind of like one on one teaching from different people who have grown up with that music.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

Okay.

Speaker D

To those of you who are wondering, quarter tones are notes in between the notes we have in Western scales.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker E

Yeah.

Speaker D

So when you hear there can be more, more than.

Speaker D

Than 12 notes in a scale.

Speaker E

Yeah.

Speaker A

There's a number for how many possible notes there is.

Speaker A

I can't write.

Speaker A

It's like 188.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker C

It's a whole new world.

Speaker A

So.

Speaker A

Okay, so like when I was in university, like I went to U of T, U of tiers.

Speaker A

U of T.

Speaker A

There's a big push in the classical department for like atonal music.

Speaker A

So like more sciency.

Speaker A

Like literally like throwing dice.

Speaker A

And then you get like a tone row and whatever numbers correlate to this and serialism.

Speaker A

Anyways, it's like all very crunchy stuff.

Speaker A

Like, I liked that more because I was synesthetic.

Speaker A

Like all of my colleagues looked at me like a bloody weirdo because they're like, what do you want to listen to this nonsense?

Speaker A

Like, because it's all.

Speaker A

It's really crunchy.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker E

Like we're talking actually.

Speaker A

Exactly.

Speaker A

But I kind of loved it because like you get all of these weird intervals like back to back that you would never hear in like conventional music.

Speaker A

And it gave me something to like eat.

Speaker A

Like, as a musician.

Speaker A

Like, do you like that kind of music?

Speaker A

A little bit.

Speaker A

Just cuz you're.

Speaker E

I love it like the different.

Speaker E

Like the piano is just some way.

Speaker E

Because it's more like high pitch in a lot of.

Speaker E

So it's like just crazy runs.

Speaker E

But then the tabla are more like water droplet.

Speaker E

Like.

Speaker A

Okay.

Speaker E

So it's just.

Speaker E

It's just so like.

Speaker E

It's such a contrast.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

Okay.

Speaker E

It's like.

Speaker E

I don't.

Speaker E

It's.

Speaker E

I don't know.

Speaker E

It's just so beautiful.

Speaker A

Cool.

Speaker E

There's so many different textures and like flavors.

Speaker E

It's kind of like just.

Speaker E

I don't.

Speaker E

It's crazy.

Speaker E

And I've been playing Tamil as well.

Speaker E

More like Southern Indian.

Speaker A

Okay.

Speaker A

Very cool.

Speaker E

And that's hard.

Speaker E

It's crazy.

Speaker E

But like once you kind of start getting it, it's like, okay, cool.

Speaker E

I have a foot in the door.

Speaker E

Let's learn more.

Speaker E

And I've found that in Goan music, like Goa, India.

Speaker A

Okay.

Speaker E

They have so many, like, flamenco aspects because of all the travelers who came over from Spain and Portugal, so they went there.

Speaker E

So I start hearing, like, flamenco, like this beautiful orange, like, burnt orange sounds in it all of a sudden.

Speaker E

And then, like, this flamenco guitar comes in while these, like, choruses of ladies are like.

Speaker A

That'S amazing.

Speaker E

And it was just, you know, it's just so beautiful.

Speaker E

And I didn't expect it because I've never heard that before in my life.

Speaker A

Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker E

It's just like having a new sensation or like a new meal at a fancy restaurant.

Speaker E

You're like, I never would have thought to put those two flavors together.

Speaker E

But now that I'm having it, that's amazing.

Speaker A

Yeah, it's like putting, like making basil ice cream.

Speaker A

Also highly recommend.

Speaker A

But it's.

Speaker A

You think it's weird at first, and then you try and you're like, yeah, I can get with it.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker C

Yeah.

Speaker A

Wow.

Speaker B

Always comes back to food.

Speaker A

Always, Always.

Speaker C

For me, I could always.

Speaker C

I see.

Speaker C

Has nothing to do with what we're talking about.

Speaker C

I'm not a synesthete or whatever you describe yourself, but I've always seen a relationship or a correlation between food and music.

Speaker C

Just like the way the ingredients are layered.

Speaker C

Music is layered as sounds not quite there as far as, like, it might just be something that I've put together just as, like, a comparison in my mind, more than, like, a sense overlap or sensory overlap.

Speaker A

I think that's a really good comparison.

Speaker A

I mean, if we get into, like, etymology of culture, I mean, every culture has food, every culture has music, and they both evolve side by side.

Speaker A

The other one you can throw in is dance, right?

Speaker A

You're making music that no one can dance to.

Speaker A

Like, are you really making music?

Speaker A

And that's a bigger question for us.

Speaker E

It's called classical.

Speaker A

Yeah, exactly.

Speaker A

Oh, my God.

Speaker A

But you know, whoa.

Speaker C

You're gonna get in a lot of trouble.

Speaker A

I can get in a lot of trouble right now for disempower Bach.

Speaker A

But you can't dance to Bach, right?

Speaker A

Hey, I was in restaurants for 12 years before a pandemic hit.

Speaker A

I'm a young punk, but I've been doing it for a long time.

Speaker A

I love food.

Speaker A

Like, food and music.

Speaker A

I.

Speaker A

I'm with you, man.

Speaker A

Like, it's all about layering things, especially from different cuisines.

Speaker A

Like, you look at Italian cuisine, it's more or less the rule of three, right?

Speaker C

Keeping it simple.

Speaker A

You've got one ingredient, main ingredient.

Speaker A

You got your secondary, and you got something that ties it together.

Speaker A

Yeah, that's.

Speaker A

There's a lot of music written like that.

Speaker C

Very true.

Speaker A

Like, a lot.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker A

You got a chorus, you got a.

Speaker A

Like, a verse, and you got a bridge.

Speaker A

Those are three ingredients with different flavors from instruments.

Speaker C

Yeah.

Speaker A

You can read it so many different ways.

Speaker A

But, yeah, I'm with you, man.

Speaker A

Like, hey, I mean, like, you're a multi instrumentalist.

Speaker A

You must.

Speaker E

Technically, I just do violin and viola, but I'm kind of cheating right now because I have a five string violin.

Speaker E

So it's like.

Speaker E

Oh, no, it's the same thing.

Speaker E

I just.

Speaker A

I don't think it's cheating.

Speaker A

But, like, I'm sure you've picked up a guitar.

Speaker E

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Speaker A

It's kind of like.

Speaker A

Do you find it's like adding spices to your spice rack?

Speaker E

Absolutely.

Speaker A

Right?

Speaker E

Yeah.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker A

It's like you get different color tones out of it.

Speaker A

You get different timbres.

Speaker E

Yeah.

Speaker E

Actually, I.

Speaker E

I wrote just so I wouldn't, like, forget or, like, freeze.

Speaker E

I wrote things down so just so I'm not just trying to think of stuff.

Speaker E

Because for me, it's not really the intervals.

Speaker E

It's more the timbre of the instrument.

Speaker E

So, like, like violins and violin, viola, cello, bass, like, wooden instruments are very, like, orangey but green.

Speaker E

Like, they're very like.

Speaker E

Like.

Speaker E

Like, obviously, like.

Speaker A

I don't know, it's not brown, which would be what those two colors are together.

Speaker E

I know brown, but it's just like, you know.

Speaker E

But then, like, you have horns and things made of steel, and those are more like orange and sharp and not necessarily, like a rare orange, like a pure orange going on white at the top for, like, symbols.

Speaker E

But then, like, horns are just, like, orange or, like, really burnt orange, like, dark orange.

Speaker E

When, like, the trombones do like, their crazy, like.

Speaker E

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker E

Thingies.

Speaker E

It's just crazy.

Speaker E

Let's see.

Speaker E

I have, like.

Speaker E

Violin is orange, but more like yellowish.

Speaker E

Electric violin and electric instruments are kind of, like, sharper.

Speaker E

They're more like red or dark orange.

Speaker E

Viola is orange with more green.

Speaker E

Cello is green with some orange at the top notes.

Speaker E

And bass is more like, brown with purple.

Speaker E

Maroon colors.

Speaker A

You kind of got a gradient going on there.

Speaker A

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker A

Okay, that's cool.

Speaker C

And how do they all fit together?

Speaker C

Do they, like, overlap in any way?

Speaker C

Are they stacked?

Speaker B

Is it a rainbow?

Speaker C

Oh, taste the rainbow.

Speaker E

Yeah.

Speaker E

I mean, it's kind of like if I'm listening to a piece of music, I'm gonna notice, like, in my Mind just again, through growing up, reading music.

Speaker E

Like, the top notes are kind of at the top.

Speaker E

So it's kind of like the lines of the violin and the flute and everything are more at the top.

Speaker E

So I kind of see the patterns of those colors up here.

Speaker B

Yeah.

Speaker E

And then I can just kind of like focus in on the mid tones or the lower colors.

Speaker B

Okay.

Speaker E

It's kind of like when you're reading a book, you have the whole page.

Speaker E

You can focus in on one sentence.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker E

But you won't get distracted by the sentence above or below it.

Speaker B

Gotcha.

Speaker E

Because you're just reading that.

Speaker B

That one line.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker E

One line.

Speaker E

Yeah.

Speaker D

Did we last time talk about Alice in Wonderland syndrome?

Speaker E

Yeah.

Speaker D

Do you have that?

Speaker E

I.

Speaker B

Wait, what is that?

Speaker A

What is that?

Speaker D

If I'm remembering this, you have it, right?

Speaker E

Sometimes.

Speaker D

Only it's only sometimes.

Speaker D

If you had it all the time, you wouldn't be able to function.

Speaker E

Yeah, only if I'm eating kiwis.

Speaker E

And I'm.

Speaker E

I'm allergic to kiwi fruit.

Speaker E

I'm allergic.

Speaker E

I'm allergic to kiwi fruit.

Speaker E

And I only know that because it would, like, make my mouse slip, like, fuzzy and tingly and itchy.

Speaker D

That's just kiwis.

Speaker E

That's just kiwis.

Speaker A

And then gotta peel them.

Speaker E

So I never really ate them because I'm like, oh, this is a shitty fruit.

Speaker E

Gross.

Speaker E

And then one day I was at work at a bakery and we had some, like, extra fruit left over, so I just, like, ate a slice of kiwi.

Speaker E

I was like, oh, maybe let's try this fruit again.

Speaker E

I'll like it more as an adult.

Speaker E

And then I just felt my hands getting farther away from me, and it was like, boy, it was.

Speaker E

It was like, oh, man.

Speaker D

Like, so Alice in Wonderland, it's.

Speaker D

There are.

Speaker D

There are a lot of.

Speaker D

It seems like people with synesthesia, it seems to.

Speaker D

I don't know if you know this.

Speaker D

I'm not a doctor, so everything I say doesn't matter.

Speaker D

Don't.

Speaker D

Don't write in.

Speaker D

Don't call.

Speaker D

But it.

Speaker D

It's not a.

Speaker D

An extremely well studied area.

Speaker D

Right.

Speaker D

Because this, like Alice in Wonderland syndrome, which I'll explain in a second.

Speaker D

Like adhd, there are things that you experience inside.

Speaker D

Right.

Speaker D

Like we're talking about this, but there's no way for us to really demonstrate we may be lying too.

Speaker D

Right.

Speaker D

It's like it doesn't really matter.

Speaker D

So.

Speaker D

But now there seems to be more evidence that some of these conditions are connected.

Speaker D

So Alice in Wonderland syndrome is something I've had My whole life.

Speaker D

And I didn't know that nobody else has it.

Speaker D

And I don't remember how, but I found the name of the condition.

Speaker D

Like, oh, that's very appropriate.

Speaker D

So your senses change for some reason.

Speaker D

It's accompanied with migraines and panic.

Speaker D

For me, it's the best thing ever.

Speaker D

Everything.

Speaker D

I didn't even know I'm supposed to be scared of it.

Speaker D

Everything becomes super far away.

Speaker D

Like you, where you are.

Speaker A

That's not normal.

Speaker C

You have that.

Speaker A

Yeah, it's totally.

Speaker A

There you go.

Speaker D

Synesthesia.

Speaker D

But see, it's somehow connected, and we should figure out how.

Speaker D

So you're sitting there, and suddenly the TV just is, like 40ft away.

Speaker E

It just kind of like pulls focus.

Speaker E

Like your feet are so much farther away from you.

Speaker D

But it's weird because you have full control.

Speaker D

Like, I can still reach for.

Speaker D

For anything and get it.

Speaker D

It's not like, you know, you're still normal, but it's almost like.

Speaker D

Well.

Speaker D

Or not, but it's almost.

Speaker D

I don't know, it's super weird.

Speaker D

And everything becomes like your TV is just like a thumbnail size at that point, but somehow you can still see it because your eyes are still.

Speaker D

Yeah.

Speaker D

So everything just feels really right.

Speaker A

But I get the reverse sometimes, too.

Speaker A

I'll feel like I'm really sore.

Speaker D

That's just somebody hugging you.

Speaker A

No, I know, but, like, it's.

Speaker A

It's that perception of, like.

Speaker A

I always get it when I get to go to bed.

Speaker B

Huh.

Speaker A

It's a really.

Speaker D

Yeah.

Speaker D

Nighttime is usually when it happens.