Meet Andy Ruddy: Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist – and ellenor’s Music Therapist

Today, 34-year-old Andy – who describes himself as an “introverted rebel with a cause” – has been gigging since he was 16. He’s played pubs, weddings: and 80,000 people listen to his music on Spotify every month. 

Andy plays the guitar, the piano; he sings. But what really drives the Bradford-born musician – who learnt his trade, set to the backing track of Arctic Monkeys and Coldplay, amid the area’s vibrant local indie rock scene – is something altogether different: helping people.

As ellenor’s music therapist, Andy works primarily with children. These could be children with life-limiting illnesses, or young family members of the patients ellenor supports. For young people or adults who struggle to express themselves – and their grief verbally - Andy is quick to point out that music therapy offers a non-verbal communication channel through musical activities. I

“It is important to note that music therapy differs from counselling as it provides a framework for expression through music rather than verbal dialogue. Music is a way of communicating what words can’t achieve,” Andy says.

“You can find the key they’re singing, the pitch they’re at, then try and accompany them on that journey. They might want to play the piano; they might just want to sing loudly to release the anxious energy they’ve built up.”

A session might involve Andy asking the person what kind of music they like to listen to or play and using that knowledge as a kind of ‘buffer’ or ‘icebreaker’ to get started. Between sessions, Andy will listen to and analyse the lyrics of the songs the person enjoys, enabling him to discuss it with them at the next session. This enables a kind of common language in which the two can relate.

“You try and tap into something that’s already there,” Andy says. “Something that already resonates with them. You’re not asking, ‘Tell me what you’re going through’. You’re asking, ‘What do you think of this piece of art you know and love?’ You try to paint two pictures: the music they enjoy, and what’s going on in their life. Then, you attempt to marry the two.”

For Andy – who balances his part-time position ellenor alongside work at a school for people with social and emotional difficulties – these one-to-one sessions are only one aspect of the role. As part of ellenor’s Wellbeing Team, Andy also participates in GEMS (Grief: Every Memory is Special) days ­– which bring bereaved children together to make friends and express their grief with others facing similar circumstances – and is helping to build up ellenor’s bank of music therapy documentation.

As Andy is quick to point out, music therapy is non-verbal – so it’s not counselling. However, Andy is able to refer patients to ellenor’s counselling team, and vice versa – so the two disciplines work closely together to ensure the hospice charity is meeting the entirety of its patients’ needs.

“In music therapy, the person has to be at the centre of everything,” Andy continues. “You might have your own definition of what might help them, but you have to let them lead as much as possible; to listen to them and help them feel held in that session.”

Andy studied at Nordoff And Robbins: the UK’s largest music therapy charity. Although ellenor is no longer partnered with Nordoff And Robbins, Andy’s education there made his role with ellenor a natural fit. However, Andy was drawn to hospice care for another reason: a book. Written by Bob Heath, a music therapist with 30 years’ experience in palliative care, Songs from a Window: End-of-Life Stories from the Music Therapy Room inspired Andy with its tales of the power of love and the human spirit.

“Even if someone has a diagnosis, I still see them as a musician,” says Andy. “Yes, you provide the musical foundation – but they’re the ones who pick the lock. I’ve worked with trained musicians my whole life, but often the children I work with come up with ideas that surpass those career songwriters for creativity. My job, then, is to draw their attention to what they’ve just created; to fly on their wing.”

Since he started at ellenor five months ago, Andy has been energised by all the different professionals – from occupational therapists and counsellors to specialists in play and art therapy – in his team.

“At ellenor, I always feel that if something is beyond me, I can seek help. I feel supported, structurally – I have places to go. Plus, because you’re sharing an office with so many other amazing disciplines and people, you get these brilliant moments of crossover and collaboration, all by chance; it’s a wonderful kind of symbiosis. There are always people trying new things, here – always something going on!”

There have been challenges, of course. Andy admits that sometimes, circumstances conspire against effective music therapy: and that it’s not for everyone. But for a man who was practically born with a guitar in his hand – and one with such an intuitive, deep-seated understanding of the role music can play in understanding and unravelling trauma – it’s a role he was born for.

“Music is such a flexible art form that it creates these moments – these dynamics – where they can be the leader in the scenario they’re in. People can exist in music in a different way to how they can in their day-to-day life. For me at ellenor, trying to provide them with that opportunity – whatever stage of their life, or their condition – is such a positive thing to do.”