Product Review

With its ability to project a sonorous tone over almost any musical competition, the triangle has been a staple of the percussionist's arsenal for centuries. And in all that time its design has remained essentially the same: a single steel rod bent into a triangular shape. It's played by holding it in one hand or suspending it from a stand, and striking it with a beater held in the other hand. Performing any sort of creative rhythms has always required the use of two hands. Not anymore. Thanks to the imagination of Doug Hinrichs (percussionist with the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical In The Heights) and the creative talents of the LP design team, the humble triangle has experienced a hi-tech renovation. The result is LP's unique One-Handed Triangle (LP311H). Everything about the one handed triangle is new. Instead of being suspended by a cord, the specially bent triangle bar is entirely contained within a plastic grip that's "vented" in such a way as to retain all of the bar's sustain and projection capabilities. This grip also contains a Teflon-wrapped striker "bullet" that moves in a track between the sides of the bar. The size and weight of the striker bullet has been carefully chosen to produce optimal volume and sustain from the triangle bar. The tapered shape of the OHT lets it fit comfortably in the player's hand, making it easy to create a wide variety of movements. Strategically positioned openings in the grip provide finger access to the triangle bar itself, which allows for both open and muffled triangle playing. This makes the OHT particularly applicable to Latin and Brazilian rhythms. It can even produce sustained triangle rolls.The fact that the OHT can do all of this while being held in one hand raises a tough question for the percussionist: