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Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

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Jasmine Mills – Freelance Recording Engineer

 

Jasmine Mills (she/her) is a freelance recording engineer and music producer based in Los Angeles, working under her brand Jasmine Mills Audio. Since 2018, Jasmine has built her career in the LA music scene, balancing freelance projects with her role as part of the staff of freelance audio engineers at 4th Street Recording in Santa Monica, owned by Kathleen Wirt. Jasmine first connected with 4th Street as a summer intern in 2018, and like many of the engineers who came before her—including head engineer Sejo Navajas—she rose through the studio’s intern system to become a trusted member of the team.

Her path into audio wasn’t always clear-cut. While Jasmine always loved music, it wasn’t until her freshman year of college that she truly understood what recording engineers do. Wanting a career that combined her passions for both music and science, she discovered audio engineering was the perfect fit. From there, her curiosity and dedication led her to the State University of New York at Fredonia, where she earned her B.S. in Sound Recording Technology through a rigorous program modeled after the German Tönmeister education philosophy.

At SUNY Fredonia, Jasmine immersed herself in both the technical and musical aspects of the program. During her first year, she joined Sound Services, a student-run live sound club, which gave her hands-on experience and prepared her for advanced coursework and studio classes. Prior to college, Jasmine nurtured her musical background as a violinist, performing in string orchestras, pit orchestras for musicals, and NYSSMA solo festivals.

Jasmine’s love for sound started young—burning mix CDs on her Dell PC, experimenting with overdubs on her iPod, and even recording the entire soundtrack of Shrek 2 on a cassette player (by placing the recorder next to the TV). Growing up, she was inspired by everything from Across the Universe and Beatles deep-dives to Broadway musicals, the Titanic score, and the timeless catalog of Queen. These eclectic influences continue to shape her approach to music production today.

With a deep appreciation for the artistry and science of sound, Jasmine brings passion, precision, and creativity to every session. Whether she’s working on rock, classical, swing, or show tunes, her goal is always the same: to help artists bring their vision to life.

Career Start

How did you get your start?

The 4th Street Recording internship definitely laid the groundwork and allowed me to plant roots in LA in terms of building a network and learning vital information on how to lay a path in the field. Kathleen Wirt (4th Street Recording’s owner) was one of the few studio owners in Los Angeles that emailed me back and we had a very large email correspondence back and forth before I arrived for my internship. She has definitely helped me make great connections out here through workshops, events, and advocacy groups.

After the summer internship was over, I still had a semester left of college left. I didn’t want to uproot the progress I’d made in LA by leaving, I didn’t want to further incur college costs on classes they were requiring me to fill up credit hours, and Fredonia was just way too small after being in LA. So, I ended up completing that semester virtually (in Fall 2018 semester – so 2 years before virtual learning was the main thing) and my internship was retroactively contributed into credit hours and the Dean of The School of Music did something magical on his end, and I got my degree. I did have to do a research paper and one senior project.

I met Lenise Bent and Ainjel Emme at an analog tape workshop held at 4th Street Recording, which is how I ended up joining Soundgirls. Ainjel is how I learned about NAMM. Lenise is how I heard about the weekly audio lunches which is how I met many many other people. There were also the weekly SoundGirls zoom meetings we had on Sundays during the pandemic lockdown. Through Soundgirls, I met Jett Galindo, who taught me more about how mastering works and is the reason I made my website, jasminemillsaudio.com.

How did your early internships or jobs help build a foundation for where you are now?

They definitely helped in making the valuable connections and networks I have to this day. I was able to find a community of like-minded audio engineers, producers, artists, musicians, and audio techies.

What did you learn interning or on your early gigs?

I definitely learned a lot about working with various personalities and the different approaches you have to take when running a session having different people wanting things from you from all sides at once. The importance of reading people and social cues was stressed in school but couldn’t prepare me enough for how vital it was during a session. I learned about the importance of the assistant engineer (budget-permitting).

Did you have a mentor or someone that really helped you?

Oh, man. I have so many people I consider a mentor. Like an awards speech. Dave Fridmann and Bernd Gottinger from SUNY Fredonia. I still seek advice from them. LA-wise, Kathleen Wirt is a great source of info and insight about the music industry. Sejo Navajas, the head engineer at 4th Street Recording and co-owner with Kathleen, has many years of experience, and given that he knows the studio, I’m able to ask about specific setups and he’ll understand what I mean (usually). Lenise Bent and Ainjel Emme are my music production mentor gurus – we also all share a fondness for analog tape recording and vintage audio gear in general. Other people that have taught me have been Tom Hilbe, Autumn Pittman, Ross Leitner, Uri Gelman, and I know there are so many others. Just go look at my Facebook.

Career Now

What is a typical day like?

It varies as a self-employed freelancer. It’s always about finding gigs. So some days I’m typing something for an article (not as much as of late), texting/emailing/bothering people, responding to posts on Facebook on LA musician-related pages (I have Instagram, but it’s mostly for business purposes).

How do you stay organized and focused?

I don’t…just kidding. I love making lists and spreadsheets for fun. I’ve gotten better about doing it on the computer so I don’t waste a ton of paper in notebooks. Sometimes I feel like my thoughts are always on the go, not so much racing, but always moving. So, sorting my thoughts by writing it out can take my mind off of things. It may come as a shock to many people, but I’m an introvert. As much as networking at events is vital to getting work in my field, I can run out of steam unless I pace myself.

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

I love figuring out how things work – the cause and effect of everything. There’s a certain beauty in it and how concrete the science is. Maybe that’s why I’m not a composer or songwriter. Conversely, I like the infinite different ways people find to sonically express themselves. What a conundrum! I like to geek out over the history of vintage gear – especially recording consoles, tape machines, analog outboard gear, and mics.

What do you like least?

Dealing with people with personalities that are not-as-desirable. A great work environment is safe, professional, and open to fun (in the strictest scenarios, even a tiny bit of fun and humanity can go a long way). When there is a person who does or says things that impede on that ideal environment and make the workflow to a slowdown, it makes the job less fun and more like a chore. I know handling these types of things and conflict resolution is part of the job – doesn’t mean I really enjoy it.

What is your favorite day off activity? 

Crosswords, puzzle books (NOT WORD SEARCHES), phone app games (Android), watching my YouTube videos (ranges from movie commentators, film analysis, outdoor survival skills, musicals, cute animals), or looking at the TikTok (celebrity gossip, cute animals again, latest movie news, movie production trivia, news in general, history, math, science), and the Pinterest (I can keep everything private and not have to interact with people online; making the boards appeals to my love of sorting).

What are your long term goals?

I do hope to one day be a recording engineer on a scoring stage that tracks orchestral music for film/TV. I’ve managed to shoehorn my way into one scoring session at Fox, one at Hollywood Scoring LA, and I’ve interned on some sessions at Evergreen Studios.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

My young age, (the Asian Persuasion™ youthful look doesn’t help) and being female. Sometimes these have prevented older, usually male, music industry workers from taking me seriously.

How have you dealt with them?

I usually just don’t work with them any further or find a way to work around them if nothing improves. I quit one gig because they wanted to a guy that I told them was, at a prior work gig, verbally abusive to me via texts and took the time to call me an “idiot” to my face during said gig (it did make me cry – and to no one’s surprise, his berating and making me trace a cable onstage during the MIDDLE OF A SONG did not make the troubleshooting go any quicker). The hiring staff told me they can’t penalize him for something he did before they met him (which is kind of the whole point of vetting candidates for a job) and they desperately needed someone experienced (even though I knew many Soundgirls in the area who were overqualified). The place had been not paying me a lot before then. My freelance gig there required me to do two simultaneous mixes (one of them with a delay), do a Pro Tools recording during the service (it was a church), hit the cue button on the lighting console, and operate the slideshow. When a different reverend took over, additional slideshows were added during the sermon. The losses started outweighing the effort and gains for that job, and after they hired the guy even after what I had disclosed about him, I quit.

Another incident involved a white male rapper making sexist and racist remarks (not overt, but still there) towards me and waxing some not so friendly philosophical views about African Americans. I resolved to just take the money and sit in the front room during the sessions. I didn’t need to be in the control room for those sessions (I was assisting).

Advice you have for women who wish to enter the field?

Find a women’s advocacy group. There are so many that cater to different niches in audio engineering around the world. You’ll find your peeps there and be able to build a support network.

Must-have skills?

Social and people skills (being a recording engineer is basically being a therapist and tech at once). Try to get a good vocabulary around expressing emotions, music, and sound. Musicianship is not necessarily a deal breaker but the job competition includes a majority of musicians. Knowing any music sheet and chart terms goes a long way in being able to relate to musicians and keep track of where you are in the session (especially in classical or scoring).  Science, math, physics – again not a deal breaker, I know a good number of audio engineers that had limited years of schooling and are super successful. Still a plus to have. Ha! Math pun!

Favorite gear?

Nooooo! It’s like asking me what my favorite song is, and I can’t choose one for that either. I can say I love vintage mics, tape machines, and outboard gear. The tape machine I was taught to use was the 24-track Otari MTR-90 2” reel-to-reel tape machine. I’ve grown fond of the Neumann U67 tube mic from using it so much at 4th Street Recording. Outboard gear: I like the Neve 1066 preamp/EQ’s we have at 4th Street, I liked this graphic EQ I used in college (White Instruments 4400 I think). And I love the Valley People Dyna-Mite dynamics effects processor. Plugins: Fabfilter, Arturia FX, and Valhalla Vintage Verb (because I can only afford one Valhalla plugin right now).

My website has more bio info, my score engineering assistant credits, my discography, samples of my work I produced (recorded, mixed, and mastered), articles I’ve written, and my social media and contact info.

Greg McVeigh’s Just 100 Questions — Special Discount for SoundGirls Members

We’re excited to share that longtime industry professional Greg McVeigh is offering SoundGirls members a special discount on his book, Just 100 Questions.

In this thoughtful collection, Greg draws on years of experience in the live sound and music business, bringing together stories, advice, and perspectives from some of the most respected names in our field. Each chapter offers practical knowledge, candid reflections, and lessons that go beyond technical skills to address the realities of working in audio and touring.

Whether you’re a student just starting out, a working professional looking to grow your career, or simply someone who loves the craft of live sound, Just 100 Questions provides inspiration and guidance that resonates across every stage of the journey.

Exclusive for SoundGirls Members: Use the code SGRLS25 at checkout to receive your discount.

You can learn more about the book here: Just 100 Questions.

We thank Greg for supporting the SoundGirls community and for contributing such a valuable resource for current and future generations of audio professionals.

SoundGirls L-Acoustics Grants

L-Acoustics is offering four grants for courses in the L-Acoustics Education Program. The Education Team has structured the grants to relate to certain job profiles to help the recipient advance their knowledge and skills in their respective fields:

These grants focus on offering access to in-person trainings via our packaged seminars. For in-person attendance of courses, hotel accommodations are included with the grant. Grant recipients are responsible for any additional travel expenses. If the recipient is unable to attend an in-person training, the recipient will be offered online training options instead. 

Prospective candidates must be members of SoundGirls and have until November 1, 2025 to submit their application. Winners will receive notification of their award by December 1, 2025 and announcement will be made via the website and social media. Candidates can only apply for one choice of grant.

System Technician Grant

This grant consists of enrollment to the following courses in the L-Acoustics Education Program:

This grant aims to empower the trainee to learn how to mount, rig, cable, and connect a L-Acoustics system.

It also aims to give the learner knowledge of:

Completion of the courses in this grant includes 1 year access to the L-Acoustics Education Platform learning community and content for all the courses.

Apply Here

System Engineer Grant

The recipient requires prior completion or concurrent enrollment to System & Workflow, or previous completion of System Fundamentals. This grant consists of enrollment to the following courses in the L-Acoustics Education Program:

This grant aims to empower the trainee to learn how to design and calibrate a L-Acoustics system. It also aims to deepen the learner’s understanding of:

Completion of the courses in this grant includes 1 year access to the L-Acoustics Education Platform learning community and content for all the courses.

Apply Here

L-ISA Grant

The recipient requires prior completion or concurrent enrollment to System & Workflow, or previous completion of System Fundamentals. This grant invites the recipient to attend all the L-ISA-focused courses from L-Acoustics Education:

This grant empowers the trainee to design, implement, and calibrate a L-Acoustics L-ISA system. This grant also empowers the trainee to prepare, encode, and control objects in a L-ISA mix as well as create a mix in L-ISA when walking up to a L-ISA system with or without preproduction. It also aims to deepen the student’s understanding of:

Completion of the courses in this grant includes 1 year access to the L-Acoustics Education Platform learning community and content for all the courses.

Apply Here

System Expert Grant

This grant consists of enrollment to the following courses in the L-Acoustics Education Program:

This grant aims to empower the trainee to advance their understanding in system optimization as well as learning about:

Completion of the courses in this grant includes 1 year access to the L-Acoustics Education Platform learning community and content for all the courses.

Apply Here

SoundGirls and Women In Vinyl Sneak Peek

Our team is hard at work finalizing the conference platform and putting the finishing touches on an incredible lineup of programming and presenters. We absolutely can’t wait for you to experience everything we’ve been building!

Registration is Now Open

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the amazing presenters and sessions already confirmed (with more to come!):

And this is just the beginning—new sessions and presenters are being added, so check back often for updates.

Stay tuned for more announcements, and get ready for two days of inspiration, connection, and knowledge-sharing!

December 13–14, 2025
️ Online – Zoom Events

Here are some just some of the other fantastic sessions we are hosting.

We’re thrilled to announce some of the incredible presenters and sessions you’ll see at the SoundGirls & Women In Vinyl Virtual Conference

On Teching for FOH & Monitor Engineers
Brett Heet • Andrew Gilchrest • Carolyn Slothour • Trevor Waite

Mixing FOH
Jade Payne • Michelle Sabolchick • Greg Nelson • Sean Quackenbush • Beckie Campbell

Sennheiser Sessions

Spectra Presentation

RF Panel with Barry Foy & Greg Simon (Sennheiser)

AV Jobs & Careers
Omar Colon

How to Join a Union
Cricket Meyers

✨ …and more to co

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New Resource for Music Professionals

The music industry isn’t always as glamorous as it looks, and too often, the people behind the music are left without the resources they need to care for themselves and their families. That’s why MusiCares has partnered with Maven Clinic, the world’s largest digital health platform for women and families, to provide qualifying music professionals with free access to comprehensive, inclusive care.

Through MusiCares, music professionals can now tap into Maven’s 24/7 network of providers covering reproductive wellness, family planning, fertility, pregnancy, parenting, menopause, mental health, and more. Maven is designed to support everyone navigating family and personal health, from touring artists to parents working behind the scenes.

MusiCares exists as a safety net for the humans behind music, and this partnership underscores that commitment.

To learn more and apply

Laura Moeller • Live Sound • Theatre • Education

Laura Moeller (She/Her)
 Live Sound • Theatre • Education

Laura Moeller is an Audio Educator and Partnership Coordinator at Tech 25, where she combines her passions for live sound, theatre, and teaching. With over a decade of experience in audio, Laura has built a career that bridges both technical expertise and community-driven education, working full-time while also taking on freelance projects.

Laura’s love of audio began in 6th grade, when a teacher introduced her class to GarageBand. That spark grew into a career path after discovering the Commercial Music Technology program at Penn West California (formerly California University of PA). She went on to earn her B.S. in Commercial Music Technology, majoring in guitar and minoring in voice.

While at university, Laura was deeply involved in music and performance. She was a four-year member of the university choir and a two-year member of the auditioned vocal ensemble, Cal Singers. She also sang in the a cappella group Isolated Incident, competing in the ICCAs, and played guitar in the folk band Buffalo Run.

Her passion for music and sound traces back even further: Laura learned to play her mother’s electric organ before she could read, picked up the guitar at age 10, and found encouragement from community members who supported her early performances. Throughout high school, she explored choir, theatre, and even violin, though she found her home in fretted instruments and vocal performance.

Today, Laura continues to build on that foundation, working at the intersection of live production, theatre, and audio education. Her work reflects not only her technical skills but also her commitment to mentoring and creating pathways for the next generation of audio professionals.

Career Start

How did you get your start? 

College helped pave the way for opportunities, but my start came by a chance meeting. I was working a summer job in between semesters, and struck up a conversation with a customer. Came to find out that he owned his own small live sound company. I ended up interning and eventually working for his company for several years. I still freelance with them on occasion too. I also started working on the overhire list for IATSE Local 3 around the same time, and got to experience huge, professional level productions.

How did your early internships or jobs help build a foundation for where you are now?

When I was in school, I really thought that I’d end up recording/mixing/mastering. I wanted to be more on the post-production side of things. The thought of doing live sound scared me, to be honest. But meeting Mike and getting an internship doing live sound made me fall in love with it. Experiencing the excitement and sheer technical complexity around stadium shows with IATSE motivated me to learn more. It changed my path toward live event production instead.

What did you learn interning or on your early gigs? 

I learned a lot about the technical side of live sound and production. I became more familiar with terminology, safety, and the general process of a show from prep to load out. However, I think the most important lessons I learned were soft skills. How to network, how to negotiate, and how to communicate effectively. Unfortunately, I also had to learn a bit about when to move on from situations and people that weren’t there to help me succeed.

Did you have a mentor or someone that really helped you? 

Quite a few! Mike Johns of Mastertrack Productions gave me my internship and helped me get on tour with my first artist. Caitlin Jones (Freelance A1) walked me through her workflow, and inspired me to be a better engineer. Tom Fury (house sound engineer for Heinz Hall), allowed me to shadow him, and recommended me for my first job with a production company. Toby Ekmann (Former Project Manager, Tech Extraordinaire), taught me so much in just a few years of working with him. And finally, Carolyn Slothour (Freelance Audio Engineer/Educator). We met while we were in college, and formed a friendship that continues to benefit our professional development. We were co-chapterheads for SoundGirls Pittsburgh for a while. We’ve worked together for a long time, and I count her as one of my greatest allies in the industry.

By far, however, I think SoundGirls was the best mentorship I had in my early career.. I found out about the organization when I was working as a stagehand on Warped Tour with a few women on the sound crew. The rest is history. I got involved, started the chapter here in Pittsburgh, met so many inspirational people, and found a huge community that was so willing to help and support me in my early career.

Career Now

What is a typical day like? 

That’s a tough question. I don’t think I really have a typical day. Some days, I’m up at the local arena doing a load in for a major tour at 6 AM. Other days, I’m helping out with a high school musical. In a few weeks I might be at a music festival in the middle of nowhere. But this week, I’m teaching classes on audio at Tech 25, planning and coordinating partnerships, and trying to catch up on my backlog of emails.

How do you stay organized and focused? 

My life is Google Calendar. Between coordinating events and classes at Tech 25, and the myriad of other work that I’m juggling, I try to keep everything on my radar. I make lots of to-do lists, and log all of my freelancing through QuickBooks.

What do you enjoy the most about your job? 

I love the challenge and variety of each day. I’m a problem solver, so I really enjoy troubleshooting and fixing issues with audio gear, computers, networks, etc. I also love seeing the impact I make as an educator. It’s really rewarding being able to watch someone learn and progress through their career; taking on new challenges and opportunities, and being excited to share that with us.

What do you like least? 

Sometimes, the hours are unpredictable and long. Often, I’m staying on a show site until every last piece is packed up on the truck and ready to roll. Getting home at 3 AM is pretty common for me.

What is your favorite day off activity?

I love to go tent camping with my wife, and my dog. We usually find a nice trail to hike, or we just chill at our campsite all day while cooking some delicious food over the fire.

What are your long term goals? 

I’d love to own and operate my own venue someday.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

Unfortunately, in my early career I encountered pretty blatant homophobia and misogyny. Also occasional gatekeepers who would laugh and try to embarrass you when you did something wrong, instead of correcting or helping you.

How have you dealt with them? 

I realized that I needed to start valuing myself more. A job/experience wasn’t worth staying in an abusive environment. There are far more good people out there that want to watch you succeed. People who value your safety and worth; folks willing to mentor you.

Advice you have for other women who wish to enter the field?

Never stop learning. Audio is a constantly evolving landscape. It’s changing just as quickly as the other technologies around us. There are so many fantastic resources out there to learn and grow.

Also, when you’re first starting out, value yourself and treat yourself with kindness. You deserve a living wage, sleep, and time to relax. You don’t have to know everything. Truth is, no one does.

Must have skills?

Networking is your best friend. Make sure you follow up and keep in contact with friends, colleagues, and your communities. All of the work I have today, I got through a professional contact or mutual friend. Also, take time to train and care for your hearing. Invest in a good set of earplugs, and make sure you always practice your critical listening.

DiGiCo Training – U.K. SoundGirls

Join us for a hands-on training day covering the fundamentals of setting up and running a show on a DiGiCo SD or Quantum console.

Perfect for both first-time users and seasoned engineers looking to refresh their skills.

Explore the KLANG 3D Immersive In-Ear Monitoring system

Get hands-on with the Fourier transform engine

What you’ll learn:

Date: October 2, 2025 Time: 10 AM – 4 PM

Location: Business Park, Unit 5–6 Silverglade, Leatherhead Rd, Chessington KT9 2QL

Register Here 

Consistent Listening

Mixing at FOH is a subjective position. There are general expectations when it comes to mixing, such as creating a balanced mix, ensuring the audience is not uncomfortable, and making sure the vocals are intelligible. Different genres may have different expectations – for example, do you need a flatter target curve or more tilted curves with varying sub haystacks. Despite jokes about it being an easy role – there is only one mix, of course – there is one responsibility that can be challenging as you grow as a mix engineer. One of the most difficult roles as an engineer can be maintaining consistency in your mixes, especially in the context of PA du jour. Assuming that you have standardized much of your setup – we’ve been provided the same backline, same mic packages, and same control package, and you have proper gain structure, preparation, and workflow – you want to make sure that the canvas in front of you has been optimized for the best possible presentation of your mix.

Trusting your ears

It’s important to assess the state of the canvas. Listening to a PA in some capacity (virtual soundcheck, reference tracks, your voice or someone else’s) establishes that landscape and gives you direction on what needs to be processed to accomplish precision.

Some suggestions for what to listen for are below. This isn’t a rule, but these are some things that have helped me. Thousands of hours of listening and experimentation has occurred for me to reach a point where I can confidently be aware of them when I listen.

An easy starting point for when you’re in a pinch is this graphic provided by Rational Acoustics.

https://www.rationalacoustics.com/pages/the-7-bad-system-dwarves

Some of the points above also aren’t resolved with simply an EQ on the system, but can help me be aware of what I may hear during the show. If the issue is critical, I can make adjustments to the mix as needed.

Reference tracks are dependent on you and what you want to listen for. Three that I’ll come back to frequently include

The most reliable means of analysis for me, however, is multitrack recording, or virtual playback, however this is not always available.

Other notes

Smaart has been used to analyze the system, and an SE has already optimized the system, or I have confirmed it’s ready and have tuned myself. From this point on, my target curve is serving as a guide and a starting point. It is frequently accurate, but occasionally depending on the environment or the voicing of a different box, I still need to make adjustments. I guess I could boil this down to the simple fact that at the end of the day, I’m listening to what my ears are telling me and not just relying on the data to be correct. I can infer that it might be close, but so many factors can mean we need to adjust.

I’ll listen to the PA, walking everywhere I possibly can and taking into consideration what the audience is listening to, and what they’re listening for. If I can use virtual soundcheck, I prefer to use that so I can have the most accurate translation of the show. Sometimes tuning to a record doesn’t account for considerations in the mix or the live arrangement of the music. I also frequently want to take liberties with the music, and playback has helped me accomplish this. Much of this process does involve dialogue with the systems engineer, depending on whether I’m trying to continue tuning or just shaping the tone of the system. To this point, my target curve isn’t the end all, be all. It gets me and my SE in the ballpark and oftentimes lets me establish the low end and HF slope I need to accomplish a starting point for the day.

I think it’s also important to note that my target curve for one artist isn’t always appropriate for all. Genre, arrangement, and dynamics have influenced this for me in the past, but that’s a conversation for a later discussion.

My final means of achieving consistency lie in reading SPL meters. Today I’ll just point you in the direction of some fantastic reading on this subject, but later will dive into my own perspective and understanding. Later, I hope to discuss how my target curve and SPL go hand in hand to help me maintain that consistency.

Further and more scientific reading

On the Level, Katie Karch: https://www.prosoundweb.com/on-the-level-understanding-applying-spl-measurements/

Navigating Noise Sensitivity in Audio

As an autistic person, I experience various sensory differences. I can’t cope with bright, flashing lights. I’m highly sensitive to temperature changes. Certain fabrics and clothing seams/tags make my skin itch. But the biggest one is my sound sensitivity, and yet… I work with sound.

This might seem like a contradiction. Indeed, it’s something I’ve been asked about a lot. Even my own dad asked me recently how I’m able to go to concerts if I find sound that difficult to deal with. But what a lot of people don’t understand is that I’m not averse to all sounds; just unwanted sounds. To me, there is a big difference between enjoying my favourite music and having to hear the roar of a motorbike as it passes me in the street (I use this example because it is probably the sound I hate most in the world). It’s not always about the volume. Sometimes it is, but more often it’s about things like frequency, whether there are multiple sounds overlapping, or whether the sound is sudden and unexpected. My brain also has difficulty filtering out particular sounds and focusing on others. If I’m in a busy café, for instance, and the coffee machine is making noise, the radio is on and there are two or three different conversations happening in close proximity while someone is trying to talk to me, there is no way I’m going to be able to focus on what they are saying. It’s all happening at equal intensity, which can be very overwhelming.

Of course, not all autistic people experience sound in the same way. Some may be under-sensitive to it, or not particularly sensitive at all. This is just how I personally experience it.

Having this particular sensory profile isn’t a wholly negative thing, though. I fully believe it makes me a better audio engineer. As with most things, there are pros and cons.

Pros

Cons

When I first started studying sound, we were taught not to rely too heavily on the visual representations within the DAW we were using, i.e. looking at the sound wave for imperfections rather than really listening. This obviously makes sense, as you have to develop a good ear to be able to do this kind of work. However, I also have to admit to being a visual kind of editor. I will of course use my ears first and foremost, and have gotten into the habit over the years of closing my eyes when listening through something repeatedly. But I do love using the spectral frequency display in Audition, and have learnt what to look out for when I want to remove something. I do think my autistic brain is partly responsible for this, as I’m definitely drawn to patterns, especially visual ones. But I have to admit to feeling guilty about working this way, until I read an autistic person’s account of learning to use audio editing software to work on wildlife recordings they’d gathered, and realised that this seems to be a common way of doing things when you’re neurodivergent. They said they had learnt to recognise what bird calls ‘looked like’ in comparison to unwanted sounds like car horns and sirens. I realised then that we tend to get too hung up on the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ way to do these things. If we get good results in ways that work for our individual brains, that’s what’s important.

For anyone out there who has a fascination with sound, but may be wondering if their sensory profile will allow them to work with it, the answer is: absolutely. It might take a few adjustments to work in a way that’s comfortable for you and allows you to prevent overload, but it can be done, and you can be really, really good at it.

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