James Tobin <[log in to unmask]> writes:

>I am surprised that no one seems to have commented in this in terms of
>synesthesia, which reportedly affects between 1 in 500 and 1 in 25,000,
>as a neurological phenomenon, according to Jorg Jewanski in the New Grove
>II, who adds that "true synaesthesia meets at least four of the following
>five criteria: it must be involuntary but elicited, projected, durable
>and discrete, memorable, emotional ...  Broader uses of the term may
>include more "voluntary" associations.

As far as I am concerned it is a form of memory function.  A neurology
doctor (I forgot his name, I will check sources on demand) studied a
Russian which he named "S" who had a phoenomenal memory function.  He
was studied over a period of over 10 years, and seemingly he remembered
everything he noticed.  The doctor could for example ask him "When we met
the 23th August 8 years ago, which color had my socks?" And S told him the
color.  he checked with what he had written down to remeber it, and it was
right.  S did mistakes, but rarely.  As a part of the study S was asked to
describe how he remembered different things, and he rememebred with tieing
attributed to the things he should remember.  Therefore he could remember
also long complicated mathematical calcules, which he logically understood
nothing of.  As a short example: If he should remember the number
combination of 012375, he made a visual story of it like this: "In a round
pond (0), there was a pole sticking up (1), and beside it swam a swan (2),
over it flew a bird (3), which landed in a tree (7) where it sat five
ravens (5)."

This procedure can many do (and learn/develop) in princip, but what was
special seems to be that S like an automatic procedure could find out such
stories very quickly.  The stories were also more detailed and colourful
then I described in my example, without ever being more prosaic then
absolutely necessary.  It would still be an amaizing ammount of information
to remeber, but that was in principle his strategy.  (Memorization is also
much a matter of what you have the focus of your interest on).  S had
mediocre IQ (99 if I remeber correctly) so this was a matter of a special
memory-function solely.

I am not aware of any musician had this.  The only one I can possibly
think of as exception is Modest Mussorgsky.  His musical memory seems to
be without limitations.  In 1879 - before he was completely alcoholized -
he went to Germany (I think Koenigsberg and Berlin) some weeks to hear all
the Ring operas (not all at the same place).  When he came back someone
asked him "Well how did Woutans scene in "Die Walkuere" sound then?"
and Mussorgskij immideately sat down at the piano and played the last
15 minutes of the Walkuere - from memory after having heard it once in
orchestral version, never looking in the score.  He could do the same with
any part he was asked for.  That must dammit have been much more than an
extraordinary memory.  (Of course there is always the possibility that
Mussorgsky faked it and played something else, but then he should at least
have some credit for fooling around so well:) - Joke besides, My source is
Sjostakovitj on this, so there are reasons to believe it true, I think.

Mats Norrman
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