Synesthetic Dreaming

November 22, 2005 - Back to Journal

I had a wonderful dream in which I was playing a harpsichord  (in real life I have never done this). This particular harpsichord had a series of overlapping squares of color laid across the top. Their placement over the strings didn’t interfere with my playing in the least. To the contrary, I was able to play the colors so well that by the end I had discovered I could draw out an extended vibrato perfectly. It was quite a thrill. The only surprises upon awakening were the colors themselves. They were almost primary and dark in tone while in real life the sound produced by strings – at least of a harp – always make me see pastels. In the dream, the colors included red, burgundy, rusty brown, and navy blue. I do not know what this means but I am guessing that when the sound becomes baroque, the colors must deepen. Patricia Duffy includes this dream of mine in her wonderful book Blue Cats and Chartreuse Kittens.