Music in Motion - translating lyrics into sign language

We are a small charity supporting the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community and projects. We aim to spread the knowledge and understanding of British Sign Language and promote deaf awareness. We translate the lyrics of popular songs into sign language for our performances.

We are a mixed group of Deaf, Hard of Hearing and hearing people. We have all kinds of jobs, and some are retired. We are all volunteers, and there are no paid officials.

We started as a group in 1996, when some of us were studying for our Level II exams in BSL. We were doing a six week crash course at Birmingham Institute for the Deaf, because we were worried we might fail!!

While we were at the pub over the road from the Institute, after a lesson! we were asked to go out with Friends of the Young Deaf that Christmas to join in with their signed carols and help to raise funds for them.

We all enjoyed it so much we decided to form our own group, and at a meeting at Birmingham Deaf Club we chose the name “Music in Motion”. We all wanted to carry on with our signing, enjoy our sign singing and raise funds for the deaf community that way.

Music in Motion became a registered charity in 1998. All the funds we raise go to supporting our charitable aims, with only a few necessary expenses paid to our members. We meet every week for practice on Tuesday evenings all through the year, but we do have a short break over Christmas!

We now have a Junior Section, called the Mini-MiMs who learn sign language and signed songs. There is a special practice for them each week before the main practice starts.

Over the years we have raised about £100,000, and have sponsored lots of different things – sponsored two athletes to the Deaflympics, the coach for a trip to Disney Paris for FYD, a mobile audiology unit, cochlear implants, sign reference books for some hospital A&E departments, three Hearing Dogs, and loads more too.

We have just sponsored a Hearing Dog puppy, and named him in memory of a member of Music in Motion who sadly died suddenly. This year we are hoping to be able to pay for a hearing loop to be put into a new ‘Help for Heroes’ home.

Music in Motion goes to all kinds of events and has done lots of different performances over the years, some of these are fundraising events and some are to promote BSL and raise deaf awareness.

We go to school fete days, community fun days, appear at Disability Award Ceremonies, and perform at Retirement Homes for the residents. We go to shopping centres and large stores and sign sing to raise awareness and funds there too. Music in Motion entertain at W.I. afternoons, and go to Church Group Evening Events.

We have been on Children in Need, appeared at the Home Office for their Diversity Day, and perform regularly at the Birmingham ArtsFest.. We have been to NDCS days, and at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Deaf Awareness day…………to name but a few!!

Music in Motion joined a service for Hearing Dogs at Beverly Minster, leading a hymn and signing “You raise me up”. This was quite scary as it was “standing room only” and what a big responsibility that was!! Then we were asked to go to the Hearing Dogs service at Canterbury Cathedral, and to their Awards Ceremony in London, which were even more nerve wracking!!

The group puts on a show each year where we all get a chance to be a “star on stage”, and local Special Schools come to do a Guest Spot. We go to Llandudno every year, sign songs on the Bandstand on the Promenade, and teach BSL at a local school. The group enjoy the weekend by the sea, and manage to find some time to relax too!!

So if you are out and about and see a group of people in black and red signing to music it’s probably us - please come and say “Hello”.