Crossmodal correspondences between chemosensory stimuli and musical notes

Abstract

We report a series of experiments investigating crossmodal correspondences between various food-related stimuli (water-based solutions, milk-based flavoured solutions, crisps, chocolate and odours) and sounds varying in pitch and played by four different types of musical instruments. Participants tasted or smelled stimuli before matching them to a musical note. Our results demonstrate that participants preferentially match certain stimuli to specific pitches and instrument types. Through participants’ ratings of the stimuli along a number of dimensions (e.g., pleasantness, complexity, familiarity or sweetness), we explore the psychological dimensions involved in these crossmodal correspondences, using principal components analysis (PCA). While pleasantness seems to play an important role in the choice of instrument associated with chemosensory stimuli, the pitch seems to also depend on the quality of the taste (bitter, salty, sour or sweet). The level at which such crossmodal correspondences might occur, as well as the potential applications of such results, will be discussed.