A Playlist for the Sound-Sensitive

Published January 11, 2009 @ 03:28PM PT

I was looking over readers' suggestions for books and blogs (thank you; please keep any suggestions coming) and it occurred to me that, while we have a list of videos, we've no list for another medium that gets a lot of literal "play" around here: music.

Charlie's always been inclined to music. I've often figured out how he's feeling based on the song or melody he's singing (when he was younger, "Frère Jacques" meant he was getting agitated) and I've also figured out some of his less well-articulated words based on the pitch and intonation of his voice. Jim's been singing to Charlie and whistling since his earliest earliest days. Charlie can play the piano and read music (and read it better than he can read words), and I've been, slowly, teaching him to play cello (he used to have teachers for both instruments, and we're looking). We used to play CDs constantly in the car and the summer of '06 it was Jimi Hendrix; summer of '07 was the Ramones. Since Charlie's become strikingly sound-sensitive this past year and a half, we haven't been playing CDs.

Last night, Jim turned on a DVD about a very good friend who was an artist (he painted this). Our friend started playing saxophone towards the end of his life; the soundtrack on the film was mostly music, the things he'd listened to. What Jim told me was a 1950s funk/hard bop track was playing as the film opened: Charlie sung it for the rest of the evening.

I've been thinking about putting together a playlist of songs or musicians or compositions that appeal to Charlie or that seem, for lack of a better phrase or concept, "sound-sensitivity-friendly." Charlie seems to prefer jazz and blues and instrumentals including Sugarcane Harris who played jazz violin and, for awhile, John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme." Charlie has made it clear to me that the type of music I listen to (singers in an emotional vein) is not his preference, so I keep my CDs to myself. Charlie's not been interested in an iPod in the past, but maybe using noise-canceling headphones instead of those little white earbuds might be more appealing.

What would you put on a playlist of the ""sound-sensitivity-friendly," soothing/calming/pleasurable sort?

Saxophone image by TrevorParker.

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Comments (12)

Antonio Carlos Jobim! (Girl from Ipanema guy.) Soothing, soothing stuff. Bassa Nova: mildly jazzy...pleasant. Soft and cottony. Any of the music by his favorite singer, Astrud Gilberto, is also quality. Purr.

To be avoided: Maynard Ferguson. High pitched trumpet chaos. Grr.

Posted by M - on 01/11/2009 @ 04:03PM PT
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A mom out here reports that her teenage son who has autism responds well to Hawaiian "slack key" (ki ho'alu) guitar music. Compilations of slack-key should be available at larger music stores on the mainland -- in the world music section! I mean, it's not like we've been a state for half a century or anything...

Posted by Mark Romoser on 01/11/2009 @ 04:10PM PT
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Kelly leans to Hans Zimmer (movie scores - Batman Begins, Pearl Harbor, Gladiator) and his current favorite is Carmina Burana (Orff). Other than the Carmina, he's not overly fond of choral music, which is my husband's preference. He sings along with many songs on the radio and commercials on tv, although he refuses to sing in choir. He started playing french horn in band this year, and had piano lessons when he was 5 and 6.

Posted by Karin Cernik on 01/11/2009 @ 05:28PM PT
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I am partial to orca whale recordings, ocean sounds, Elton JOhn (the quieter, calmer songs for calming, the livelier one for energizing) Bach, Simon and Garfunkel (either together or seperately). Also, music that has a steady, relentless, but fairly quiet beat...good for rocking to, lol.

Posted by Jennifer Leaf on 01/11/2009 @ 05:40PM PT
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Here are some of my favorites:
1) Koln Concert by Keith Jarrett
2) The "In" Crowd by Ramsey Lewis
3) Bang Bang by Dizzy Gillespie
4) Any instrumental pieces by Leo Kottke
5) Pretty much everything by Duke Ellington or Thelonius Monk

Posted by Ellen Claire Nee on 01/12/2009 @ 03:21AM PT
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I doubt you'll get any list that's exactly alike from different people :D.

Mine would contain lots of different kinds of metal, among other things.

I also like to play my music loud (even if other people insist that it's not very loud... I guess my hearing is just a lot better than theirs :P), despite being very sensitive to loud noises.

Posted by Norah vd Stel on 01/12/2009 @ 06:33AM PT
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@Norah,
Neither Jim my husband nor I listen to metal so who knows but Charlie might like it............

Posted by Kristina Chew on 01/12/2009 @ 08:14AM PT
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My brother, Stephen, seemed to exhibit perfect pitch when he was very young (he could sing up and down the scale, imitating perfectly the musical phrases my brother played on the clarinet) and still responds very positively to classical music. I used to practice the piano in his presence - he was such an appreciative audience, rocking away! Since he likes jazz, you could also try some Baroque music like J.S. Bach, Handel, etc. (the non-choral variety). Fugues, concertos, etc. This music is active to the mind yet peaceful, and its on a constant emotional level, rather than big dramatic surges that can be overwhelming. Baroque music is not big on drums, however; its rhythm is internal, contrapuntal, complex, yet steady.

Posted by Monica Pincus on 01/12/2009 @ 08:02PM PT
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I think Jobim is a good choice. Also, there are good trumpet CDs - Mark Isham and Jeff Oster come to mind. Go check these guys out over at Amazon and see if you think he might like them. I agree about staying away from Maynard....no... Maybe if you are looking for jazz, try Count Basie or Dave Brubeck.

Before Bug discovered rock music, he liked Celtic music - Chieftans, Malcolm Dalglish & the Oolites, various singers - that sort of thing. He also liked scores from his favorite movies, or music from movies that he played in orchestra (Phantom, Star Wars, Pirates, etc.). He still likes all of that, but now would rather listen to Bon Jovi or Collective Soul. ;)

Posted by Moi Bloggg on 01/12/2009 @ 08:33PM PT
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Kai really likes new wave (or is it old wave now?). He especially likes things that have simple melodies and lots of percussion, such as Bow Wow Wow and Adam and the Ants. Lately he's been singing along with New Young Pony Club and MIA.

He has been drawn to this type of music since he was a newborn. His father and I noticed him focused on the speakers when he was just a couple of days old. It was a Bow Wow Wow album that was playing and when it ended, he cried...put it back on and we had a happy baby again.

xtiluv

Posted by kristie mckeegan on 01/15/2009 @ 11:21AM PT
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As I told Lastcrazyhorn, for me personally, the finale of the Brahms 2nd symphony is as potent an antidepressant as Prozac.

The late Beethoven piano sonatas, string quartets, and the 9th symphony are probably my musical-spiritual home turf.

Various pieces of music serve as indices into emotional memory for me -- evocative of my emotional state around the time and place in which I discovered the pieces of music. Some of these are Western classical music, some are other genres entirely.

Posted by Phil Schwarz on 01/17/2009 @ 11:29PM PT
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I have worked as a respite carer, often transporting autistic children and adults for periods of up to 45 mins and have gone through a lot of experimentation on the effects of music and auditory entertainment.

In general, post-rock seems to maintain attention, while also having a calming effect. Bands like Sigur Ros, MuM, Sky, Yes etc. have been especially successful.

With younger children, jazz, especially dixieland, and old radio shows like the goon show seem to appeal to them. I think this is because of the similarity to the cartoons that many children watch.

With teenagers and adolescents, popular, top 40's style music and the classic hits seem to be the best. By this age, many autistic people are developing their tastes and will have favorites and familiar songs.

I would stay away from overly aggressive music, not just metal, but some classical music, jazz, rap etc can be quite aggressive and either overexcite, or distress the person. Neither of which you want on a long drive.

In general, test different things and don't be afraid to go outside your comfort zone. The radio is a good place to start, just flip the stations around and see what effect it has. If you hit on something that works, go and get some cds, or download some music and make a compilation of favourites.

Posted by Alan Conradi on 01/18/2009 @ 04:15PM PT
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Author

Kristina is a Classics professor in Jersey City, New Jersey, a blogger (formerly at AutismVox), a translator (of Virgil), and an advocate every day for her son, Charlie.