A quadriplegic man delighted a stadium of thousands last weekend by playing the national anthem on a musical device that he created to overcome his disability.
56-year-old Dave Whalen has been paralyzed from the neck down since he endured a skiing accident at age 18 – but that doesn’t stop him from making music.
As a means of kicking off the Albany Empire’s second home arena football game at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York last week, Whalen performed the “Star-Spangled Banner” on a Jamboxx instrument.
Jamboxx is a harmonica-like device that attaches to a computer and allows people with limited mobility to create music with their breath. Moving the mouthpiece left or right determines which note is played.
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Because he does not have the use of his hands, Whalen used the Jamboxx’s hands-free bracket. For his performance at the stadium, he did a trumpet-like rendition of the hallowed tune – and the crowd went wild.
In addition to making music with the Jamboxx, Whalen also uses the device for breath-controlled painting and for controlling a commercial robot that was mounted to his old wheelchair. The Scotia, New York lawyer also uses his innovative, hands-free technology to race sailboats.
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