THE COLOR PALETTE OF MUSIC BY MIAH BOHLEN

The moment I realized I was creative was when I began to hear music as colors. I’ve been playing the piano since I was five years old, and at some point in middle school, I realized that I was not only hearing the music I was playing, but also seeing it playing out in vivid colors. 

Blue was for the sad, melancholy, heartfelt passages. But not just any blue - pale blue. Royal blue was reserved for other passages - those with bold chords, intense volume, a majestic presence. 

Green, on the other hand, was for flowing passages - those that sounded almost as though you could be taking a stroll through the forest as the sunlight was just barely beginning to peek through the tops of the trees. Each color, and each shade of each color, had its own unique mood, dynamic level, rhythm, pace, presence. 

I can’t explain how I could be hearing colors or seeing sound. It’s not a conscious decision I make, assigning colors to passages of music. It’s just what I hear, see, and feel as the music plays along. I have no clue if this is unique to me or if we all do it. But I like to think it’s my own personal form of creativity.