One of our newest recruits is Ellie Quayle… who has rapidly made a big impact on our group activities - not least introducing a musical element. Now she is encouraging members to collaborate and create their own songs! Take it away, Ellie…

The quote in the title is from Hans Christian Anderson… and really sums up the remarkable work being done around aphasia and dementia choirs which help give a voice to people affected by cognitive conditions.

And music is an extra, magical dimension that Ellie has brought into Bristol After Stroke… one that is quickly bearing fruit in some surprising ways.

So, Ellie, tell us how you came to us... and why

I joined the charity in October last year and, in between my role as a group leader, I’m also training to be a music therapist. In fact, my work here is helping to keep me afloat while I study!

But it’s also hugely interesting.

I've always loved working “hands-on” with people – I’ve done singing for the brain for people living with dementia and worked in a high school writing the music for the children with learning disabilities.  

They’ve been really nice “in-between roles” with the music therapy training, where there's a lot of emotions, a lot of talking about difficult situations. 

What I’m doing here is really relevant to my studies, which is why I applied.

And you're a trained musician, aren't you? 

So I was classically trained initially. Then, when I was 18 or 19, I kind of went away from that. I did a bit more jazz piano, and I've always loved working things out by ear. I play piano, flute. I’m currently learning guitar, and I've played saxophone in my past as well.

But I’ve always loved singing; and while I started off being classically trained, I’ve also played in a lot of bands, including a wedding band on the Isle of Man for six years. 

Music has always been a huge part of my life.

You also have your own musical act…

I do!  I write and perform comedy songs myself. Victoria Wood is my big, big hero. 

To go into music therapy, you obviously believe that music can affect our wellbeing

Yeah, massively. I think music is so integral to being a human.

It’s primal. It goes back to when we’d gather round a fire eating woolly mammoth… people would just be eating, sleeping, surviving, but also sharing stories through songs.

Later our histories, language and folklore would be passed down in songs, sea shanties and things like that. It was a huge way of communicating, of sustaining a community.

But music does other things as well – such as keeping well in yourself. It regulates your nervous system. And there's always something about vibrations…

Music also accesses a separate part in the brain, helping people to say words that would otherwise be locked in.

I've been taught by a music therapist who has been doing this for 12 years, and she’s explained how her clients have really, really improved mentally.
How did the song writing collaboration begin?

It’s an exercise I started with the Lyde Green group... and we’ve now started the process with several others.

Often people start off feeling a bit resistant, nervous, and I say, well, it's completely in your hands. This is your song. You don't have to write about stroke. It can be about any topic that you want. And from then, people feel a bit relieved. 

I go to a whiteboard and do a big mind map of ideas. Usually, they're pretty set on what they would like to write about. It's just keeping it very open at this point. No specific lyrics, just ideas, and getting everyone involved, and people are shouting out and joining in! 

Then we think about putting this into words.

I’m just facilitating the experience… because I've written songs for a long time, I know how the rhyme scheme should work or the structure should be. I provide the building blocks and they provide the content.

You really can't predict how it will go. Someone will say something, and suddenly everyone's got 1,000 ideas! 

I’m just so proud of what they’ve achieved so far. And I know how much satisfaction and pleasure people get from being part of this.

What’s the next step?

It would be lovely to bring the songs together and share them with others, and not just on social media.

So, is a concert on the cards?

Now that’s an idea…