Sense and Intersensoriality

Intersensoriality is part of the more general problem of musical meaning: How does sound relate to something outside of the world of sound? If we distinguish the “form” of sound from its “matter,” the discussion can then be divided into two parts. First, how can sound forms (shapes, profiles) suggest other temporal forms, such as movement? The hypothesis developed here is that sensorimotor experience is generalized to furnish a base, in successive layers, for identifying suggested movements that are more and more abstract. Secondly, how can a sound be said to be “hot” or “cold,” “dark” or “clear”? Metaphors concerning the matter of sound deal with a common level of synesthesia; a few stages of the historical study of this phenomenon are recalled here.