Jobs in music suitable for people with Aspergers?

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LimboMan
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16 Jul 2016, 4:20 pm

Music is my special interest and always will be. I'm studying my final year of it at University (I study a Music Technology degree) and can work very fast creating many types of music and know music theory and know exactly what the notes are of certain songs and can play by ear on different instruments and many other aspects.
Its clear to me I couldn't see myself working a dead end job or one that's debilitating/not related to my skills for the rest of my life. I have never had a part time job or any job earning any income and after I leave university I will be anxious about my future.
I am wondering if there are jobs though in the music industry that would likely be suitable for someone with Aspergers, like me. My skills lie with the production of music and arrangement but it takes a lot of social skills to communicate with a musician or singer for example. And I'm just worried because although I'm on the course I've learnt the qualification doesn't really matter, its about marketing yourself to the world which I guess people with ASD find difficult like myself.


_________________
Diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome (mildly)


BirdInFlight
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17 Jul 2016, 8:45 am

I used to be on the writing and performance side of the smaller-scale end of the music industry, so the following is NOT my personal experience, merely my observations at first hand, but for what close observation is worth:

I knew studio engineers who seemed like reserved people content to just twiddle the knobs, so to speak -- obviously I can't say they were on the spectrum, but I got the impression, looking back now, that this wouldn't be a bad career for someone on the spectrum.

A studio engineer takes instruction and suggestions from the recording producer and the artists, and creates the desired effects. I wouldn't think you would have to communicate back too much, except to give technical information or advisement.

Being a member of an orchestra, if your playing proficiency and qualifications are of that nature, would also be not bad I imagine, as you are largely again taking instruction rather than having to communicate a lot of stuff back.

On the more freelance side, if you compose as well as arrange, composing music for the film industry these days would be a pretty great job for a musician and composer. With the sophisticated digital equipment there is now, composers can create the score entirely themselves or create a score for a traditional orchestra to play, and it can be a work-from-home set up.

Of course the downside is the massive financial expense of state of the art equipment, plus -- biggest hurdle of all -- getting to be a success in this field is as difficult and as much a matter of hard self-promotion and "who you know" as getting to be a successful artist more publicly. It's probably incredibly hard to break into becoming the next Danny Elfman. But it's worth putting it here as something that would be good for someone who ideally wants to work alone with music and arrangement.