Charlotte - St Roses College, Stroud
Charlotte plays the Prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, using her head
Seventeen-year-old Charlotte wants a laptop and she wants it now. The reason is simple. She wants to play music when the mood takes her rather than be dependent on others to lend her the equipment. She also wants to build on her weekly sessions with Drake Music.
The teenager, whose musical tastes include Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys and Mika, chose ‘Morning’ by Edward Grieg for her first performance at the end of 2006. She played the flute piece from Peer Gynt to fellow students, friends and family at a concert at St Roses College, Stroud, after only a few months’ practice playing music with assistive technology. She is no musical beginner though. Her mother plays the piano as did Charlotte herself when she was younger and had more control over her hands.
‘If money was no object I’d like two hour-long lessons a week, a laptop with all the software I need and a fully equipped studio where I could compose and play.’
When she was first approached by Drake Music with the offer of one to one tuition she was unsure about what it could lead to. ‘But the more I worked the more I realised the endless possibilities for playing independently. And Doug Bott, my tutor, has been very patient with me, not only helping me learn the music but also showing me the full possibilities of the software.’
Now Charlotte encourages other disabled people to go for it if they are interested in making music. ‘There’s nothing you can’t learn if you have the people to support you,’ she says. ‘There is equipment out there you can use – you just have to find it.’
She admits that the first concert was scary but there is no doubt that its success has spurred her and other students on. Since the event more students have shown an interest in making music and Drake Music has stepped up its presence at the college and now provides two tutors on a weekly basis.
Meanwhile Charlotte herself is currently working on another piece, Prelude to Cello Suite number 1 in G Major by J.S. Bach. She plays using a MIDI sensor with her head as well as two switches with her thumbs. Charlotte prefers to work one to one or on her own. ‘I find a lot of noise hard to cope with,’ she explains. As for the next performance she prefers not to think about it. ‘I get nervous,’ she says. ‘I’m a perfectionist.’
Charlotte, whose other interests include mouth painting and photography, has the option of staying at St Roses College for another year but has not decided whether to do this yet. ‘The Drake Music sessions will probably come to an end when I leave here. This is quite depressing as I really, really like the sessions and I’ve got ambitions – perhaps to work as a music therapist. I’d definitely like to do something that involves music and people.’
