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What is OHMI Music-Makers? 

As adapted musical instruments evolve, the OHMI Trust is actively collaborating with organisations to facilitate their teaching and promote their use. Our goal is to ensure that anyone, regardless of physical disability, has the opportunity to engage with music.

OHMI Music-Makers is our dedicated teaching support programme, designed to provide access to music lessons for students with physical impairments who utilise adapted musical instruments or equipment. The programme is structured into two key components:

 OHMI Music-Makers ​Individual

This programme focuses on personalised musical development through:
  • Subsidised Lessons: Weekly, individual 30-minute lessons are offered with financial support.
  • Student Instrument Choice: We aim to provide an instrument that aligns with the student's preferences as much as possible.
  • Supported Teaching: We support a local music teacher in using the adapted instrument/equipment.  We can work through partnerships with Music Services or independent providers and Make a lesson visit each year.
  • Open to All Levels: This programme welcomes both complete beginners and those looking to progress beyond introductory whole-class tuition.
If you think your child may be eligible for the OHMI Music-Maker Individual Programme, please fill in the online form: https://forms.microsoft.com/e/uJzY4YDLEd
​

 OHMI Music-Makers ​Whole Class

Our Whole Class programme is at the forefront of creating inclusive music education in schools. Following a successful 5-year pilot, it now reaches over 9 music services strategically located throughout England.
Through the innovative OHMI Reveal system, we can efficiently survey schools involved in Whole Class ensemble sessions within each region, enabling us to collect vital data and allocate tailored adapted instruments and equipment to support every student's musical journey.
The aim of the programme is to ensure:
  • Instrument and Equipment Provision: Schools receive the necessary adapted instruments and equipment to enable students with physical impairments to participate in regular Whole Class teaching lessons whilst building a stock of adapted equipment for each music service to utilise.
  • Tailored Instrument Matching: Through a pre-lesson assessment, we identify instruments or equipment that closely match those being used by their peers, promoting seamless integration.
  • Music Hub and Teacher Support: We collaborate with Music Hubs and teachers to provide the guidance and resources needed to effectively include students with physical impairments in their music classes.
This programme currently operates through funded partnerships with selected Music Services. Additionally, schools and hubs can access a wider range of instruments for hire via the Instrument hire scheme.​
If you want to see our OHMI Music-Makers Whole Class programme in action, take look at this short video:

OHMI Connect

To discover the range of adapted instruments that could support your or your child's musical journey, please visit OHMI Connect.  Our online platform will guide you through available options based on a few simple questions.

​Stories from participants in the OHMI Music-Makers programme

How the success of Music-Makers is measured

Considerable research has been made into the success of our Music Makers programmes. The findings of all our research and evaluations may be found below.

Dissemination of this work and nationwide impact is essential if truly inclusive access to music-making at the school level is to be achieved and eventually feed through to music-making in all genres.

Donate to OHMI

There are so many disabled people who are desperate to play music with their peers. We can help to make that happen – but we can only do that with the wonderful support of our funders and donors.

As our instruments have to be hand-made by experts, they can only be produced in small numbers and are therefore expensive.
Every little really does help.

Contact us

If you have a query or wish to contact us, please use the contact form available here.

You can also write to us: The OHMI Trust, ​29 Woodbourne Road, ​Harborne, Birmingham B17 8BY​

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​All content © OHMI - Enabling Music-Making for Physically Disabled People
The OHMI Trust is a registered charity (Registered in England and Wales Charity No. 1143623,  Scotland Charity No. SC052047).
​Registered office: 29 Woodbourne Road, Harborne, Birmingham, B17 8BY