Insights on music making and autism

Making Music’s Access and Inclusion lead Alison Reeves, writes about some of the people we met at a Conversations about Music and Autism event, insights on the relationship between autism and music making and how music groups like those in the MM membership can better include autistic people.

Over the past three years, we’ve been exploring with our members how more people can have access to and be fully included in leisure-time music groups. When we asked what topics we should cover, members regularly wanted to talk about the experiences of neurodivergent people, particularly autistic people in their music groups. In 2024, we hosted a Conversations about Inclusion online event on the theme of 'Music and Autism', an hour of informal sharing of knowledge, lived experience and thoughts about these experiences. As it seems to be common for music groups to have autistic people in membership, we wanted to explore if making music in structured groups is an activity that is particularly suited to autistic people. We also discussed what it is about music groups that make them environments where autistic musicians can do well, and what else groups can do to make sure autistic people are included and valued.

In our event, we steered away from defining a 'typical autistic person' and quickly acknowledged that each person is unique, or as one attender put it 'When you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person'. If you want to know more about autism, the National Autistic Society has some helpful guidance. But our first speaker did talk about traits of autistic people that could affect their experiences playing and singing music in groups. Pamela Heaton is Emerita Professor of Psychology at Goldsmith’s University of London, and at the time was completing her book exploring autism in relation to music, now published – 'The Psychology of Music and Autism: Hearing, Feeling, Thinking, Doing'.

Pamela's explorations, which include drawing on the expertise of autistic musicians, give some insights into why it is common to find autistic people doing well in musical environments. There are studies that show that communicating through music is easier for some autistic people than other types of communication. Pamela told us about a study on emotion recognition in which autistic children scored higher when asked to identify emotions communicated through music than typically developing children, where they scored lower for emotion recognition in faces and voices.

In our event, Pamela mentioned the tendency of autistic people towards monotropism – when a person’s attention is focused more intensely on a small range of interests, rather than allocated across multiple interests (polytropism). Although people with broadly distributed attention can more easily meet the demands of the modern social world, the ability to focus intensely on one area of interest can be an advantage for musicians, who need to practice and study for long periods of time without distraction. This intense interest can also be an advantage when socialising and conversing with other musicians with the same enthusiasms, replacing the 'social chit chat' about general topics that some autistic people find difficult.

In her book, Pamela also talks about how autistic people draw on the therapeutic effects of music, and that in interviews, the majority talked about using music to regulate mood. Levels of anxiety and depression are significantly higher in autistic than in non-autistic populations so relying on music to manage this is crucial to some autistic people. She explores the 'flow' state that musicians find themselves in – 'a state in which a person’s total immersion in an activity engenders feelings of absorption, energy and enjoyment' – and that autistic people could be mistakenly observed as 'tuning out' when they are in fact deeply immersed in something that captures their interest, and brings them into a state of flow.

These are some of the factors that could explain why making music in the structured environments of music groups is so valued by autistic musicians. At our event we were also joined by Ben Lunn, a musician who started off his musical life playing in brass bands and is now a successful and awarded professional composer. Here he has written for us some of the experience he shared in the event.

'Brass banding was my route into music. Without it I simply would not be doing the work I do. There are many things that made the experience truly open and accessible to me: the community, joined by a love of music. The overall structure, which was never oppressive, but meant everyone had a clear place and contribution, as well as simple things like always meeting on a Tuesday and Thursday evening. Similarly, as this was outside the school environment, there was no emphasis on examination – I didn't pursue any music grades until I was 16 – this meant my whole time was on the love music. But it must also be stressed that the role of competing in contests meant that progression was actively encouraged, which meant I was able to challenge myself with everyone, as an equal contributor to the contest. Ultimately, I loved that I was secure enough to explore music, but also able to challenge myself to grow as a musician - these two things are basic things for musicians and artists to thrive.' - Ben Lunn

Discussion at our event turned to what aspects of music making groups are particularly suitable or helpful for autistic people. Jon Green, a member of Trianon Music Group who attended the event, has written some observations on this:

'A regular and predictable structure for rehearsals: We always start at the same time; rehearse for 75 minutes, take a 15 minute break then rehearse for 45 minutes. This allows for greater concentration and a deeper dive into pieces in the first half of the rehearsal, when people are fresher. As an autistic person who enjoys meeting people but finds unstructured socialising hard, the defined break is an ideal balance.

Attention to detail in the organisation of the group and its activities: A well-organised committee and an expectation that people will do their best (at whatever level that may be) means that, even as a leisure-time group, members are enabled and encouraged to give their best efforts. The efficient management of 'business' means that rehearsals can focus largely on enjoyment and understanding of the music.

Relationship with the Music Director (MD): The former MD, and current conductors, communicate their understanding of the pieces to be performed and provide constructive feedback which builds confidence among members.' - Jon Green

For those groups looking to improve their support for autistic people, we also talked about what to work on. Here are some more suggestions from Trianon, plus some made during the event:

Clear communication: Whether written or verbal, information should be given in a way that is clear, understandable and timely. Explicit instructions are helpful, and as much detail as possible about venues, arrangements and expectations should be provided in advance. If instructions and arrangements are given verbally, they should also be written and available elsewhere (e.g. sent in an email). For some more on Access Information and Welcome Packs see our resource on Welcoming new people.

Keep rehearsals focused: All members should be able to hear and concentrate on the conductor's direction and feedback. A professional approach, whereby members do not start talking as soon as there is a short break between pieces, helps reduce distractions for all, and especially autistic people who can find it hard to screen out superfluous noise. That attitude during the active parts of a rehearsal can be balanced by clear breaks which give an opportunity to socialise for those who want to.

Flag and help prepare for change: Routine and predictability help make many autistic people feel safe and able to focus on music making. If there are any known changes to the group’s normal activity – such as a change of MD, a venue move, or a time shift – make sure the group has lots of notice, lots of information and they can ask questions. Remember that the disruption of change can impact performance.

Create quiet spaces: At rehearsals and concerts, designate a 'quiet space' where people can have time out when they are overloaded with sensory information. Avoid the temptation to chat to people having a time out, except to briefly check on them. Read more about adjustments to concert environments in our resource.

Ask about adjustments: When a new member joins, always ask them on a membership form or similar if there are any adjustments you could make that would help them be fully included. To keep the conversation going, make sure they have a contact in the group to raise issues with – a buddy, section leader or inclusion champion. Ask all your group regularly about adjustments they might need, as people’s needs change over time. There’s more information on making reasonable adjustments in this resource.

Music societies

As well as performing groups, Making Music also has music societies and promoters in membership. At our event we were joined by Matthew Scott, a professional clarinettist and one of our Selected Artists, who is regularly employed by these volunteer promoting groups to perform concerts. Matthew is not only autistic, but also diagnosed with OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) and ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). He spoke about what little things promoters can do to support autistic musicians they employ, enabling them to give their best performance. The 'autistic brain' is unable to filter out distractions the way a neurotypical person can, but a few small and simple organisational things to reduce those distractions and anxieties goes a long way, enabling them to fully focus on their performance. Since our conversation, Matthew has helped provide some suggestions, and is committed to working with us on a full resource for promoting groups.

Give lots of information in advance: As well as practical details, provide lots of detail in advance about your performance venue and facilities. Directions to venues are great, but you could share photos of the front of the building, the performance space/stage (ideally with seating set-up) and the artists entrance (if it is not obvious). You could even do a short video tour of the auditorium, from a smartphone, which would give some sensory information about lighting and acoustics. If you are providing catering, be specific about what options are available. All information that can prepare a musician for the experience to come will reduce anxiety.

Open up a supportive conversation: Preparing an Access Rider is becoming more common (a form where artists can provide promoters with information on any access requirements), however any way of opening a discussion is good. Matthew noted that disabled musicians often don’t speak up about their needs in case they lose bookings. Remember, many disabilities are hidden and you never know when an artist might need or benefit from some help, so the responsibility lies with the concert organiser to start the conversation in a supportive way. As a general procedure when making any booking, you could simply say something like 'if you have any access requirements please let us know and we’ll do what we can to help'. That way, any artist that might need some help is at ease to speak; and you can go over details then, or leave it until a suitable time closer to the concert.

Protect rehearsal and preparation times: Give musicians space and time to rehearse and prepare for their performance. Keep auditoriums 'library quiet' during rehearsals. If your venue access time means you have to lay out chairs while they rehearse, let them know in advance and keep it as quiet and efficient as possible so they can focus. Socialising and conversation before performances can in many cases be exhausting and increase stress for an autistic performer.

The conversation about autistic musicians and the environments that enable them did not end as our event closed. We’re keeping in touch with the people we met, and have an open ear to any member who has something to share about their experience that could help other musicians and other groups. If you have a thought or comment, an idea for a resource, or would like to write an article about your own experience please contact us.