♫ music ♫
My name is Kaitlyn Hova.
I'm a software engineer, neuroscientist, and a musician.
I also have synesthesia.
Synesthesia is a blending of the senses.
1 in 23 people have a form of it.
For me, when I hear, specific musical notes,
I see specific colours...
...and these colours are much brighter... at night.
♫ violin ♫
What you're seeing in front of me, is a lot like what I see
...when I hear this music.
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Each one of these coloured lights corresponds to a particular note
The colours are always the same.
♫ violin ♫
I've seen these colours my whole life.
But I didn't know that was unusual, until I was 21 years old.
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It was the final music theory course, for my music major,
that, at the end of my class, my professor mentioned
that some people can physically see sounds as colours.
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And to me... I thought... duh...
...and everyone in the classroom turned to look at me.
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We did tests, where they played notes on the piano
...and I told them what colour it was...
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...and at that point I knew that I had synesthesia.
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Synesthesia can manifest itself in so many different ways.
It can blend itself together vision, taste, smell, sound...
...it can be almost anything.
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But for me... it's always been about the colours in music.
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Synesthesia makes the music a very visual experience.
♫ violin ♫
Now, listening to a piece is sort of like watching a video.
♫ violin ♫
I can listen to it over and over again...
...and focus on different colours and patterns, each time.
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Now... if you turn to face the city... (using arrows on top left corner of video)
you can really step into my shoes, and see what I see.
♫ violin ♫
I'm not sure what I would do, if my synesthesia went away.
But, I'm sure that the world would look a lot different.
♫ violin ♫
♫ music ♫