Podcast 60 – Sound and Color with Ezra Sandzer-Bell

Originally published on May 11, 2009

It’s my pleasure to bring you this episode featuring a discussion with musician and researcher Ezra Sandzer-Bell. Ezra has done extensive research and writing about the origins and esoteric connections of western music. The focus of our conversation is primarily the correspondence between sound and color, as well as a system to combine the the two, named “Marcotone”.

Marcotone Correspondences

MARCOTONE from Sanskrit

Ma – to measure
R – raga (by scaling)
Co – color
Tone – pitch

Marcotone was developed and documented by Edward Maryon in the early part of the 20th century and has been used by esoteric practitioners to verify their own doctrine and develop practices to attune the mind.

With his extensive musical background and understanding of music theory, Ezra does a phenomenal job of explaining the Marcotone system, how it functions, some mathematical inconsistencies, and his own experience in using it. One of the main points to draw from the discussion is that Marcotone is a spiritual system and does produce results.

Ezra has also been hard at work with Steve Willner to produce a series of videos exploring concepts relating to music, color, and thought. These videos are a real treat and I encourage you to check them out.

I learned quite a bit from Ezra about the way sound and color can be combined and how music can affect us in a variety of ways. The amount of time and effort that Ezra has spent researching these topics is evident from his explanations and insights into what might seem mundane to the uninitiated. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as we did!

relevant links:

The Hidden Origins of Western Musick – Ezra Sandzer-Bell’s blog

Put Down Your Guitar – Ezra’s 2nd blog

“Marcotone: The Science of Tone-Color” by Edward Maryon

“Marcotone Notes – Key Concepts” by Ezra Sandzer-Bell – PDF file

“Letter, Musical Pitch, and Color in the Work of Paul Foster Case” by Alison Deadman – PDF file

“Correlation of Sound and Color” by Paul Foster Case

“Occult Fundamentals and Spiritual Unfoldment – Volume 1: The Early Writings” by Paul Foster Case

“The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages” by Paul Foster Case

Podcast 42 – The Life and Work of Dr. Paul Foster Case

Podcast 46 – Fraternity of the Hidden Light’s Steward, Dr. Paul Clark

“Vowel Sounds in the Great Pyramid” by Edward Lee