How do you motivate students who are not allowed in the same space as traditional students? That was a key question posed by music educators Dr. Deborah Amend and Jennifer Petry when they spoke at OHMI’s Annual Conference & Awards in March 2025. 
 
Both educators are also parents of children with adaptive musical needs and are well placed to know how to encourage such motivation. Their experience has led to two major developments: firstly, the creation of a space uniquely available to adaptive musicians – CAAMC (the Cincinnati Adaptive Arts and Music Camp); and secondly, the creation of a Music Adaptation Plan (MAP) for every child in attendance. CAAMC students attending over the last ten years have been invited to inform Deborah and Jennifer’s research on what motivates them to play music. 
 
Motivating factors for children with adaptive needs

Whilst what motivates one individual does not necessarily motivate another, musicians would often report that putting on their own concerts where they proved themselves capable was highly motivating. When a musician adapts their playing, it can often create a different and individual sound they can uniquely call their own. Seeing the results of your hard work paying off was also high on the list – not only because it meant being able to play more difficult pieces but also because the journey to becoming more accomplished was fun. Conversely, the vibe from others that it was ‘a chore’ to have to move adapted equipment on their behalf, was hugely demotivating.
 
Musicians often came back to their experiences of CAAMC being a key contributor to their own motivation levels.  It was cited as an important space where each musician could learn their own adaptations by watching others. It was also somewhere where they knew, and appreciated, being pushed – where ‘missing a limb was not an excuse!’ 
 
They also indicated that often they gave up because they did not sound good. Individual musical ability aside, the instrument itself needs to be good enough to enable the musician to progress to the highest level they might choose. Added to that, even an instrument perfectly suited to a musician at the start of their musical journey may become less suitable over time. Unlike their traditional counterparts that may have changed little over the centuries, adapted musical instruments are often new, sometimes bespoke and should continually evolve. 
 
The importance of a Music Adaptation Plan (MAP)
 
Every child, regardless of whether they play a traditional or adapted instrument, should have a music education plan. The need simply becomes even greater for adaptive students as many of their needs are bespoke, while others may be pedagogically traditional. Teachers often make the mistake in thinking that all needs are adaptation-oriented when in fact many of them are not (for example, left-hand technique development pedagogy being standard).
 
The MAP plays an important part in tracking an instrument’s (and its adaptation, or “connective equipment”) suitability over time. As a child physically grows, gets more advanced in their playing and as they adopt new genres, so too will their expectations of an instrument and it is likely to need further adaptation. 
 
It soon became apparent that how to best complete the plans was subject to interpretation by the music teachers completing them. Deborah determined to introduce a more standardised approach and set about mapping the data captured from 27 MAPs, according to:

• Background information (Dispositions, Musical Training, General Information, and Musical Skills and Strengths).
• Positioning (of the Instrument, Musician and Connection to the Instrument).
• Physical Differences (Residual and Missing Limbs, Strength, Range of Motion and Finger Independence).
• Changes to Instrument (Design and Sizing).

 
The MAP has proved useful in guiding the teacher in areas to consider for adaptive instruction while also emphasising what is traditional technique. An outcome of Deborah’s research was that once the adaptive manner of playing was created, traditional technique and instructions still assumed a larger role in the student’s education. In some cases, once the adaptation was created, everything was traditionally taught.
 
A collective approach to adaptive music-making 
 
A MAP for every child may be a key outcome of CAAMC, but the effectiveness of these plans starts with the camp’s commitment to combining the knowledge and expertise of multiple voices – student, parent, teacher, occupational therapist and engineer – to identify the best solution.  
 
The student will know what they enjoy playing. The parent will know what motivates their child and how far they can be pushed. The teacher will understand the pedagogy for the instrument, the repertoire and what an instrument is capable of. The occupational therapist will know what the child is physically capable of. The engineer will know which tools, materials and manufacturing process may present the best option. 
 
The musicians at CAAMC benefit from an instrumental lesson every day with a teacher, with an occupational therapist providing insights for the creation of any adapted devices. Engineer volunteers from May We Help (a Cincinnati organisation that provides free custom-made solutions for people with disabilities) captures requirements at the start of the week, returns with solutions mid-week, and then assesses their suitability at the end of the week once a child has had time to become familiar with and use the instrument or piece of enabling equipment. Parents are involved at every step of the way.
 
The final solutions for the year are filmed so that the student and parent are fully versed on what the instrument can achieve and how it should be positioned. This video, together with a MAP, is an important resource for a student’s music teacher back home (families travel significant distances to attend the camp so the plan gives teachers as much information as possible to give them the confidence to teach adaptive students). 
 
Creating MAPs that are informed by multiple experts gives each student, together with their teacher, the best opportunity to advance their music-making and, as Jennifer points out, their motivation only serves to “drive the map higher and higher”.
 
Further information 
CAAMC (the Cincinnati Adaptive Music Camp) 2026 will take place 19-24 July, 2026 at Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY.
 
Recordings of Jennifer and Deborah’s presentations at the OHMI Conference & Awards can be accessed at:

• ​Developing a Music Adaptation Plan (MAP) for Teaching Adaptive Musicians, Dr Deborah Amend, Northern Kentucky University and Jennifer Petry, USA
  
  

• Moving Beyond the Adaptation: Building a Sense of Self-Efficacy/Capability in the Young Adaptive Musician, Jennifer Petry, USA

March marks Brain Injury Awareness Month, a campaign to raise awareness of the impact of brain injuries caused by sports, accidents and long-term disabilities.
 
For anyone who has lost the use of a limb, it can be a challenging and upsetting time with a loss of those activities that can usually be counted upon to lift mood. For some people, this might be sport. For others, creative pastimes like playing a musical instrument. Musicians often see music as a key part of their identity. When that’s taken away, it can create a loss of confidence, and musicians with adaptive needs often report a profound sense of grief. A slow but sure return to music-making brings the emotional benefits of reducing stress hormones and increasing dopamine levels but also supports social reconnection when playing in a group.
 
Music-making brings significant benefits for a patient’s physical recovery too. It is one of very few activities that activate the whole of the brain at the same time, including the Motor cortex (for movement); Auditory cortex (hearing); Visual cortex (reading music); Cerebellum (coordination); Prefrontal cortex (planning & attention); and Limbic system (emotion).
 
The road to recovery is often, however, a long one.
 
We’ve listed some of the ways music-making can help address the challenges associated with a brain injury:
 

• Loss of control and coordination

Simple finger tapping and clapping exercises can help both with control and with rhythm. Timing can be improved by using a Metronome timing drill.
 

• Slower processing of information

Reading music or listening to the instruction of a music teacher can take longer to process so slow tempos may help, with high repetition of steady beats to support improvement of memory retention.
 

• Fatigue

Sessions of short periods of time (of no more than 20 minutes) with regular rest breaks are recommended.
 

• Lack of strength

Musical instruments that have been adapted for one-handed playing, enabling equipment such as straps, stringed instrument bow holders, or stands that will take the weight of heavier instruments such as trombones are all options for adapted playing.
 
Digital instruments are also available which require a lighter action compared to a traditional musical instrument such as the Artiphon Instrument 1 (an entry level solution that looks like the neck of a guitar but can create a variety of sounds), the LinnStrument (that can be played through any midi software); and Chapman Stick (which plays like a guitar).
 
The OHMI Instrument Hire Scheme offers over 400 different instruments and pieces of enabling equipment for musicians with adaptive needs and, for musicians who are unsure about which adapted instrument or enabling equipment might be best suited to their needs, OHMI Connect is a free online resource to help inform their decisions.
 

• Being patient but committed

"Progress may not be immediate but waiting will only allow the healing to go by" are the words of advice from Illinois saxophonist, Aiden Post who suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of a road traffic accident. One-handed clarinet player Tina Holmes-Davis in Georgia, shares the sentiment of embracing music-making as it is now, and not what it was: “My playing is not always perfect, but I can do it. My disability becomes invisible when I have the clarinet with me, and I'm simply a player in the clarinet choir like any other!”
 
Have a question about your return to music-making after a brain injury? Feel free to get in touch with the team at OHMI.

​A long-held concern here at OHMI is that the demand for adapted instruments and enabling equipment far outstrips the number of instrument makers who can apply their talents to their design and creation.
 
Our project to create a 3D-printed one-handed recorder is one of the ways in which we are trying to facilitate the move from small to large-scale manufacturing. We were delighted to secure the support of Arts Council England in our endeavours, and commissioned Peter Worrell, a master instrument maker and long-time supporter of OHMI’s work, to set about designing and creating a 3D-printed one-handed recorder.
 
The project has led to the creation of a working prototype and Peter Worrell how in this 15-part video series, designed to support others who wish to follow the process.
 
The steps are as follows:
 

1. Part 1 (Introduction): How to make and assemble the 3D-printed one-handed soprano recorder
2. Part 2 (Foundation): How to make and assemble the 3D-printed one-handed soprano recorder
3. Part 3 (What you need): How to make and assemble the 3D-printed one-handed soprano recorder
4. Part 4 (The Body): How to make and assemble the 3D-printed one-handed soprano recorder
5. Part 5 (Supports): How to make and assemble the 3D-printed one-handed soprano recorder
6. Part 6 (Tools): How to make and assemble the 3D-printed one-handed soprano recorder
7. Part 7 (Drilling): How to make and assemble the 3D-printed one-handed soprano recorder
8. Part 8 (Springs): How to make and assemble the 3D-printed one-handed soprano recorder (Part 8: Springs)
9. Part 9 (Keywork): How to make and assemble the 3D-printed one-handed soprano recorder
10. Part 10 (Assembly): How to make and assemble the 3D-printed one-handed soprano recorder
11. Part 11 (Touchpiece): How to make and assemble the 3D-printed one-handed soprano recorder
12. Part 12 (Last Key): How to make and assemble the 3D-printed one-handed soprano recorder
13. Part 13 (Padding): How to make and assemble the 3D-printed one-handed soprano recorder
14. Part 14 (The Head): How to make and assemble the 3D-printed one-handed soprano recorder
15. Part 15 (Finale): How to make and assemble the 3D-printed one-handed soprano recorder

The full video playlist is available on OHMI’s YouTube channel here: Peter Worrell’s 3D-Printed Recorder Instructions.

Teachers who are committed to inclusive music-making are being invited to attend OHMI’s one-day training course to help assess individual needs.
 
The CPD course, which will be held on Friday, 27th March 2026, is being delivered in partnership with Birmingham City University (BCU) and takes place at their City South Campus in Edgbaston.
 
The training builds on OHMI’s years of experience in finding solutions to enable musicians to play the instruments they want to play, and is designed to pass on that knowledge so that local teachers and music services can serve the children in their area.
 
Rachel Wolffsohn, OHMI’s General Manager, added, “This highly practical training aims to give music teachers an understanding of the adapted musical instruments and enabling equipment on offer so they can match to a child appropriately. We’d like to encourage music teachers across the country to take up this training so that more disabled children can participate in music-making.  Many of the team at OHMI have lived experience as music teachers so we’re well-versed in finding those creative solutions. We just need to raise awareness within schools and music hubs that we have the means to do so.”
 
Comments from previous attendees of the course:
 
“I was aware of OHMI before I undertook the training but seeing for myself and learning from them was invaluable. The training was really accessible and delivered at an appropriate pace, and the most powerful takeaway from the day was the knowledge and confidence I gained to facilitate the physical assessments.”
​Mark Lowe, Music Inclusion Manager at Inspiring Music (the Music Service for Central Bedfordshire)
  
“The training was a real eye-opener when it came to assessing both physical disability and neurodiversity needs. With the help of OHMI, we’re able to better assess needs and source appropriate solutions. It is SO important that children with additional needs are not squirrelled away to work on other activities whilst their peers get to make music!”
Andrew Hird, Partnership Manager at Lincolnshire Music Service
 
Book your place at: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/theohmitrust/1979228

Introducing Hazel Boyd

With her mechanical engineering expertise and an in-depth understanding of design for disabled people, Hazel Boyd certainly has the skills to make a difference in her role as OHMI’s Instrument Development Manager.
 
The role of Instrument Development Manager at OHMI relies on a distinct set of talents, with an understanding of adapted musical instrument design, product development and process, and the ability to engage with instrument makers, musicians and teachers alike. Add to that the bespoking often needed for each musician’s needs and there exists a complex set of requirements.
 
They are challenges that OHMI’s newest staff member, Hazel Boyd, is fully equipped to address. With a background in mechanical engineering, a PhD in the measurement of functional wrist motion and a 16-year background in working in design for disability, Hazel is arguably the perfect fit for the role. As she describes: “In my previous role at a national charity, I spent 16 years working in design for disabled people and I’m very interested in how people use things. By engaging with people and finding out what they wanted, we were able to implement a very iterative design process where subtle improvements were made at every stage whilst making sure we didn’t remove features without finding out if they were important.”
 
Hazel’s experiences have also included 18 months of work in a music shop in Bristol to learn how to repair woodwind instruments. She first learned of OHMI’s work in 2024 when she was invited along to a NAMIR (the National Association of Musical Instrument Repairers) event where OHMI’s General Manager, Rachel Wolffsohn, was presenting on OHMI’s work.
 
At the highest level, Hazel’s new role as Instrument Development Manager involves creating a long-term strategy for sustainable musical instrument development and implementation. The collection of data is critical to this process and, whilst OHMI has always gathered data, a more uniform, design-led approach will be an important step forward for the charity. It means that each instrument or piece of enabling equipment will have a product plan where any proposed changes have been fully discussed with both musicians and makers. It also means that the charity will be able to track the needs of each pupil, even if they change teachers or schools.
 
At a more detailed level, the role involves connecting with makers on particular projects. This might include investigation into how to reduce manufacturing costs such as through 3D-printing of one-handed recorders. Similarly, how to improve a piece of enabling equipment to make it suitable for more instruments, such as adapting the bracket on a trumpet stand for use with the much smaller space-restricted pocket trumpet. There is regular engagement with musicians too, such as road-testing new products like the acoustic bagpipe chanter.
 
The role can be seen as bridging the gap between capturing the requirements of the musicians and feeding that back to the makers in a way that makes sense in their creators’ world. As Hazel explains: “I’m able to produce some of the designs myself through my sketches and communicating enough of what's needed using a language that makers understand.
 
“OHMI’s work is extraordinary. I love the variety and the opportunity to work with a small and very welcoming team. I am happy to be immersed in a world that genuinely makes things better by getting more instruments to more people.”
 
“OHMI’s work is extraordinary and I am happy to be immersed in a world that genuinely makes things better by getting more instruments to more people.” 
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