You know those random moments that lead to fascinating discoveries? I had one over Christmas with my family. We were jamming to "On Melancholy Hill" by Gorillaz - my brothers and I got caught up in an impromptu session with guitars, piano, and vocals. Everything was flowing until we hit a snag: we couldn't agree on the melody.

My brother Angus and I were convinced we had it down perfectly. But Patrick, our brother who's autistic and has an incredible ear for music, kept playing and singing it differently. His version sounded great, just... different from what we were playing. After going back and forth for a while, we roped our dad into the debate. We played the song multiple times, layering our different interpretations over each other, and that's when it clicked: all the neurotypical family members heard one melody, while Patrick heard another entirely.

This got us thinking beyond just Patrick's musical talent. Could there be something deeper about how differently we perceive sound?

Diving into the science

It turns out there's some fascinating research about how autistic and neurotypical people experience music differently. We're not just talking about musical ability - there are actual differences in how the brain processes sound, remembers melodies, and responds emotionally to music.

For instance, autistic people often have an uncanny ability to detect tiny changes in pitch - way more precise than most neurotypicals. Here's a stat: they're about 500 times more likely to have perfect pitch (the rare ability to identify notes without any reference). The theories about Mozart and Beethoven being neurodivergent make a lot of sense!

But it goes beyond just pitch. Studies show autistic children have an exceptional memory for melodies, often remembering tunes and their context even after a week. Even more interestingly: many autistic people actually prefer complex or dissonant music that neurotypical listeners might find challenging. One study found autistic kids were happy to listen to complex classical pieces by composers like Schoenberg for much longer than their neurotypical peers.

When you think about it, this adds up with what we see in the music industry. Electronic music, in particular, seems to attract neurodivergent musicians - studies suggest around 58% of electronic musicians are neurodivergent.

What our community says

Curious about others' experiences, we asked our followers if they'd noticed differences in how they hear music. The responses were fascinating.

View on Threads

@restful.music on Threads shared something interesting about rhythm: "I don't hear melodies differently but I often hear the rhythm of a song "phase" so the second beat seems like the first beat. usually happens when a song has a melodic intro before the drums begin. and then when the drums start I realise the whole rhythm of the song shifts entirely by one beat 😅"

We particularly loved this insight from @themichaelwheatley: "Don’t get me started! I’m AuDHD (recently dx) and I struggled as a professional musician with how I perceived and interpreted music. I absolutely sucked at ear training exercises, singing harmonies and learning parts in cover songs. Somehow I bluffed my way through, what I was very good at was improvisation, songwriting and sound production. For about 10 years straight I held a weekly residency with a 3 piece instrumental band playing 100% made up on the spot funk fusion. Put me in a room full of professional musos (especially pro singers!) and I’m sweating bullets, while I watch their faces twitch with frustration.
Finding out I’m autistic and also adhd has helped me realise and become comfortable with the fact I’m not actually a musician. I’m certainly an artist though and my unique autistic approach did make me a bit of “hot ticket” for a while there."

What we learned

While we can't definitively say all neurodivergent people hear music one way and neurotypical people another, our Christmas jam session revealed something beautiful about music: it's incredibly personal. The same song can trigger completely different responses in different people - sometimes they're not even hearing the same melody!

And maybe that's what makes music so magical. It's endlessly open to interpretation, sparking conversations and connections we might never have otherwise.

Have you noticed anything similar in how you or your friends experience music? Drop us a comment - we'd love to hear your story!