Blog » Saxophone Troggle-Key System

Reading Time: 2 minutesJanuary 11, 2015

TROGGLE-KEY SYSTEM

By Stelling Brass & Winds and Dr. Nabb

When browsing the web curious about inventions, improvements and variations of the mechanical work of the saxophone I came across the website onehandwinds.unk.edu. I wasn’t looking for one-handed saxes (it even feels a bit uncomfortable thinking and writing about it having two hands to work with), but I was really impressed with the creativity and resourcefulness that created this system and decided to make a shot blog article about it.

You can download a PDF with more photos and specs from the onehandwinds website.

David Nabb (with right-handed Troggle-Key System) Right-handed Troggle-Key System Right-handed Troggle-Key Close-Up Joe Kay's Left-Handed Troggle-Key System

Below a video with David Nabb playing a one-handed saxophone with the Troggle-Key System. If you don’t know he’s using only one hand, you would never guess, he plays better with one hand then many do with two. You can none but enormous respect for the determination of David Nabb to “learn to play” again with just one hand.

THE TROGGLE-KEY SYSTEM & TWO-HANDED SAXOPHONES?

I am just “speculating” here, but perhaps the Troggle-Key System could be more then a solution for sax players with hand and/or finger related disabilities. Perhaps the Troggle-Key System could also improve playability of standard (two-hand) saxophones, or could be made to work controlling different button combinations? In the blog article about the 24-tone scale on saxophone Tony Hicks tells about using alternate fingerings to be able to play quarter tones. Would it not be great is the Troggle-Key System could be made to work with quarter tones?


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