any other aspie musicians out there?

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i've been absolutely obsessed with music ever since i started playing the guitar about 4 years ago, it's my passion in life and really is the only thing i'm actually good at. i don't play guitar exclusively; if i can get my hands on it, i'll play just about any other instrument, and i've displayed some proficiency at the bass, drums, and piano, and (in a limited, deep range) singing. i've wondered ever since i was given my diagnosis whether or not my musical ability has to do with asperger's, and hopefully this discussion might lead to answers, or at least a good musical conversation =)

I started playing the violin when I was nine, I faithfully played till I was 12, when I stopped because of my AWFUL teacher. When I was 12, I started the recorder and the flute, and I have practised obsessively ever since. I also sing soprano in a choir.
I have reached a grade that would take most musicians about seven years, and I've only been playing two! I'll have a meltdown if someone tries to stop me practising :3
It's my passion and I never want to give it up.
I wish I could learn every instrument! It would be my dream to own a bass clarinet or a lyre or a piano... (I do have a keyboard, but it's got 36 keys and just isn't the same)...
I am going for an assessment for Asperger's in a couple of months time, and I was also wondering whether my talent has something to do with AS.
I wish I could learn the guitar! Tried out my friend's the other day and it didn't go well... :L And it's good to sing, too- it broaden's your musical horizons, so to speak, as does playing the piano- they're really good skills to have.
All the best

I'm learning guitar. Basically runs in my whole dad's family.

Whatshername. Crazy girl. Experiment Haywire. And gliderthingummy's a virtuoso type if I remember right.

I sing a lot (but not well), used to play various (if you can play one of the ordinary ones, with a little practice you can play most of them except the outliers) brass instruments without talent. Guitars and piano require too much coordination for me. I wouldn't ascribe too much importance to playing bass guitar and piano if you play guitar, though; most guitarists try different types (my brothers and father have a dozen between them) and just about every musician plays piano a little IME. Drums are a little more unusual, maybe. Kudos anyway.

xemmaliex: i've always wanted to play a woodwind instrument, but i have no actual musical training (i taught myself everything i know about music), so i never learned how. and when it comes to guitar, my reccomendation would be don't give up just because you don't seem to be any good at it; i've met many people who've done just that before they ever had a chance to actually develop their skill. my proficiency with guitar started with the 6-11 hours of practice a day i put into it for my first year or two of playing. if you really want to play guitar, invest some serious time in it, and see how it goes. you might suprise yourself.

guitargirl: funny, my musical ability comes from my dad as well, he's been playing guitar for about 30 years (i'm about at his level of skill; he can do better lead but i can definately outriff his ass xD), maybe the same genetics that gave us asperger's might have given us our musical ability? at any rate, how long have you been playing?

<--guitarist, focusing on multiple genres.

My life is all about music at the moment. I study music in high school, I play the bass guitar, piano and guitar, and I sing bass in the school choir.
I write songs, and I almost always have an idea for a song in my head.
My fellow music students are also really nice people who accept and respect me for who I am, and that's a positive change from my old school, where I was bullied because people thought I was gay because I was so shy and uninterested
in girls.

demonabyss10: we have that in common. what genres do you explore with your music?

loignon: kudos for having musical diversity and for studying up on music. i feel your pain on how people in your old school used to treat you; people used to think i was gay because i didn't want to lose my virginity and because i was really awkward with girls (to the point of almost avoiding contact with them), glad to see you're in a more supportive enviroment =)

what kind of music do you play/write?

I bought an expensive electric guitar about two years ago and I haven't played it yet. It sits in its bag so it isn't aging. I take it out from time to time and admire its "beautiful radiance" then quickly put it back in before the sun attacks it. Seriously though, I'm too scared to play it becuase I might get obsessed and I don't have the time at the moment.

that's a shame =/ you should play it. why let it go to waste? little known fact: playing your guitar once in a while is good for its preservation.

I play bass... I'm actually in a band that plays out but because of the stereotypes associated with bassplayers no one bothers me much about just hanging out on stage with out acting crazy like the singer and guitarist. I know all the musicians think I'm weird but they don't really bug me or judge me because of it. They just blame my eccentricities on me being creative.

Well, Various forms of metal for the most part, although i usually play more progressive pieces (love messing around with time-signatures). Also have a thing for classic rock as well as melodic pieces. I also play some punk, but I stray from it because its a bit too easy. I also have a think for video game themes and such.

I need to get a proper set of fingerpicks for my acoustic though, so I can practice bluegrass some more.


as for current self-made works, working on two different instrumentals right now.

The first one is more of a thrashy, in-your-face, metal piece. All I really need to figure out for it is the solo, which I REALLY dont want to over-do. So far the piece has a sound which I would classify as a mix between Iced Earth (burnt offerings and Jack), Slayer (Spirit in black), and Children of Bodom (In Your Face). Has plenty of gallop as well as melodic sequences thrown in.

The other one I am working on is more of a grungy/stoner feel to it. VERY slow tempoed, but still has some heavy aspects to it. Cant get the sound I want though because I am lacking the FX pedals I need, and I cant afford them. Would be needing a wah as well as an overdrive (id set the amp to overdrive BUT i need the option to switch from clean to overdrive and back on the fly). I can say main influences for it would be Tool, and Alice in Chains. Hell, it would be VERY much possible that it could sound good as a pure acoustic version as well.

I'm not sure whether Asperger's contributes to it, but I remember when I was taking guitar lessons my teacher said I had an innate talent for guitar. Not really sure what makes us good musicians.

Thanks!



I'm trying to write songs in as many different genres and styles as possible, but it's mostly indie pop/rock, jazz and experimental electronic. Or just plain weird.

demonabyss10: it sounds like you really know what you're doing. for me, metal is my primary style, but i dabble in classic rock/rock, punk, acoustic, and i really, really have a thing for eastern sounding music. i've been playing for about 4 years, and have spent that time focusing more on rhythm guitar rather than lead. i've always said i'd rather write an iron man than a stairway to heaven. anyway, how long have you been playing? and do you have any of this music you've written on the internet?

loignon: sounds like you have a very upbeat style of playing. i'm the opposite; i focus a lot on more negative sounds, sometimes even dischordant sounds (intentionally, of course), i try to do more positive sounding stuff but since i'm not a very positive person, it doesn't work that well. same question as demonabyss10, how long have you been "musically active"?

I am the same way, ive always been more of a rhythm guitarist myself. As for time playing, around 8-9 years. No recording equipment, so nope, nothings online as of yet. I do have guitar-pro though, which I use to keep track of my own self-made stuff, which does allow playback of the sheet music/tablature.