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music

Adapting a Recorder for a child with one hand

Von Huene Workshop, Inc., 59-65 Boylston Street, Brookline, Massachusetts, 02445, 617-277-8690sells Aulos soprano recorders that can be adapted for an individual with a hand disability

Choosing a Musical Instrument

From Jeanne, Music Therapist:
Without seeing your child, I can only offer advice based on what I visualize here. It sounds like you are looking for a specific band/orchestra instrument for him to play so that he can participate in class. It really depends on what he likes.

Why not look into percussion? The best part of it is that there are a variety of instruments involved, and most of them are on some sort of stand so that the player can go from one to another depending on the music. With the aphasia, can he match symbols with objects non verbally? He would work on this skill in this arena regardless. I like percussion because it offers a way to express the self more than anything else I have found.

I own a number of hand drums and other percussion instruments that I use in therapy sessions all the time. It doesn't take much effort to learn to play the basics, but there is also great potential to do amazing things with the instruments with practice. It might also give him an opportunity to do something very unique-there are not many really good percussionists. There are, however, many drummers who play drum sets.

Was he right hand dominant before surgery? What are his therapeutic goals? There are also many music books for piano with the left hand. In an orchestra, he could use a keyboard to simulate sounds not present. I had a great time in a youth symphony one year being that person. I got to be a bass, a harpsichord, sound effects, and lots of other stuff. For a beginner, it might give him a feel for whether he even liked the instrument. Marimba is a percussion instrument where players are actually taught to use a number of mallets in each hand. With one hand, he could play numbers of chords. With practice, he could get quite good and maneuver well with a number of mallets in one hand.

You know, instruments can be adapted as well. Depending on your child's motivation, you (or a music therapist or engineer) could construct an apparatus to hold any instrument. Some music therapists specialize in adaptive instruments/tools to adapt instruments. AMTA (The American Association for Music Therapy) may be able to provide you with a listing of people to contact if you want to go that route. I hope this helps! The key is to get creative and find out what your child is interested in. 

Trombone and Trumpet
From Eric:
My son also is a right hemiplegia and he is seven years old. One suggestion that you might look into is the trombone in particular a Maynard Fergusen superbone. The superbone actually has valves for the player to use and the valves are played with the left hand not the right like other valve instruments. Other options might be like the trumpet using the left instead of the right to play the valves. My son had his stroke when he was 21 months old and now at age 7 the hand is mainly a helper hand. I hope this has given you some insight. 

Playing Drums
From a parent:
My daughter is taking drum lessons. She has use of her right hand, but not the left. There are rock drummers with one hand. I don't expect her to become a rock drummer, but the injury to her happened as an infant and she became delayed in many ways because of the imbalance in her body. The rhythm and patterning, I believe, will help her.

She told me after her lesson yesterday that she is now using both feet! There will have to be adjustment due to the slower response time on the left, but this was an advance for her.

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The information contained in this Children's Hemiplegia and Stroke Association (CHASA) Web site is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment, and CHASA recommends consultation with your doctor or health care professional.