WOODWIND INSTRUMENT ADAPTATIONS
Amend Music Center
South Hill Location
1305 W. 14th
Spokane WA 99204
Phone: (509) 456-0376
http://www.amendmusiccenter.com/AssistiveTechnologies.aspx
For many years AMEND MUSIC CENTER has been working on ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES. We have developed many adaptive mechanisms that have been designed to help musicians that are disabled in any manner. This includes changing fingering mechanisms, adding braces, moving existing parts, building support systems and many other physical adaptations. Our crowning achievement was brought to life by means of a Small Business Innovation and Research Grant that we were awarded by the United States Department of Education. We manufactured and developed a device that successfully takes the place of a person's disabled fingers and allows them to play a musical instrument that would normally require the use of a full set of fingers. We have named the device the AMEND MIAD (Musical Instrument Actuating Device). We have successfully completed development of MIADs for saxophones and baritones. We have plans for many other instruments and are sure that they would work to an extent at least equal to the MIADs we have already built. The following is a reprinted version of an article written for the Spokane Spokesman Review newspaper. It will give you an idea of how we believe ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES can change people's lives.
Brannen Brothers
58 Dragon Court
Woburn, MA 01801-1014
Phone: (781) 935-9522
http://www.brannenflutes.com/contactus.html
In 1994, Brannen Brothers introduced Key Extensions, a new tool which allows flutists to reconfigure keys so that they can play in more comfortable positions. These extensions are designed to fit Brannen-Cooper® flutes and normally will not fit other flutes. Key Extensions snap into the open hole keys and onto the left hand C# key. The G# extension is semi-permanently glued to the G# key and is adjustable.
Flutelab
Neveritaweg 15N
atelier N 13
1033WB Amsterdam
Netherlands
Phone: +31 -20-682 3929
http://flutelab.com/flutelab.com/
The Swan Neck headjoint turns your flute into an ergonomical flute. Your flute becomes easy to play and hold again.
The Vertical Headjoint turns your flute into a vertical flute. You can play your own flute upright.
Flutelab has made flutes for both right-and left handed playing. There are several possible ways to do this. Flutelab looks into ease of playing, mechanical stability and cost.
Saxohpones for one-handed playing: Such an adaptation requires a complete redesign of the key system, and sometimes also the tonehole layout. So we could well speak of a rebuilt of the instrument. Of course, quality of tone, accuracy of tuning are important as well as ease of playing and ergonomics of holding the instrument.
Keys are the moving parts on a woodwind instrument such as clarinet, flute and oboe. Saxophone is also a woodwind. Because keys are the way the fingers interact with the toneholes, that’s where adaptations are most visible
The UNK One-Handed Woodwind Program
http://onehandwinds.unk.edu/index.html
The mission of the UNK One-Handed Woodwind Program is to make one-handed woodwind instruments available to individuals with permanent physical disabilities. Specifically, this program uses a toggle-key system.
