The products produced by A Day's Work are created by a very gifted and highly intelligent man, N.Raymond Day. These products are special because they are the considerate, loving adaptions and tools needed to provide physically challenged people an opportunity to enjoy musical instrument playing to the fullest.

I met Ray and his wife Barb this summer, and they brought me many of their products to preview. Once he showed me the ingenuity behind what he made, I was hooked.

For instance, this instrument holder (pictured left) is terrific for wheelchair-bound people. The clamps Ray makes can be used in a variety of different ways, and he has created clamps for different angles. There are a variety of instrument holders available on his website. Ray will also do custom work.

A Day's Work also provides velcro devices for pencil holding and mallet holding, as well as a variety of mallets made at different angles and with different holders and shapes to facilitate use for people with limited mobility in their arms and hands.

Another terrific innovation is the Multi-Use VELCRO® Device (pictured right).This unit holds items vertically or horizontally, or both. The base (11" deep by 18" wide) and face (17" high by 18" wide) are covered with loop VELCRO®. The face is adjustable to varying positions by using the knobs on the slotted side braces. The slotted back brace moves the face forward or backward. A set of (12) twelve 1/2" VELCRO® adhesive hook dots are included for placing on the back of items to be attached. There are two places on the rear of the base to attach any of our base clamps. The unit is shown with our Deep Base Clamp with 2 Extenders. It can be used without a clamp if security is not necessary. An easel attachment (below) is also available.

Ray has also made adaptable instruments, including guiros, shakers, slapsticks, and cluster chimes and chime trees. He's currently developing an adaptive recorder holder to help facilitate better posture and angles for those people who have difficulty holding their heads in the right position for recorder playing.

If you teach physically challenged students in your general music class, you would really benefit from visiting Ray's website. Because students and physical limitations are very unique, if you do not see an adaptive tool that can apply to your particular situation, contact Ray about your needs. He loves experimenting and working until he gets a result.

Ray will be a presenter at the American Music Therapy Association annual Conference in Orlando, FL, November 18 at 2:30 p.m. with a session called "WHAT'S THAT?!? -- Exploring Adaptive Devices for Use in Music Therapy Situations".

Besides music education adaptive products, Ray can provide other products made from wood. Visit his website to find out more information. There is so much more I can say, but his website covers it very thoroughly. All I can say is that this is a man determined to stand by what he makes, and a man determined to find the answer to any situation that might arise.

I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with the Days and look forward to working with their products in my own teaching.