I have a young lass of 12yrs old that comes to me for music sessions (I'm not a teacher I just love music and song). She suffers from chronic arthritis, badly affecting the hands. Joe Offer made mention in another thread of playing the Autoharp and this gave me the idea as it may be another instrument this lass could play.

At present she is learning to play the Bowed Psaltry (bow in each hand and psaltry mounted on a tripod) and she can manage a number of jigs and reels on a recorder. Aulos do one with 5 joints so that the holes can be positioned under the fingers making things easier.

The other night my wife and I took her to the pub we play in and she took the lead on a couple of tunes, brought the pub to a standstill, boosted her own ego no end, and had her proud parents in tears. So much so that I now want to take on a couple of more youngsters that I know with physical disabilities. So is there anyone among you talented people out there with this sort of experience that can point out any pitfalls or give me advice on suitable instruments. I want to concentrate more on melody and rythm rather than percussion so any advice really would be appreciated.



Regards



Baz.