diff --git a/src/gui.cxx b/src/gui.cxx
index 41df9a8..f1e692e 100644
--- a/src/gui.cxx
+++ b/src/gui.cxx
@@ -881,7 +881,7 @@ int Gui::keyboardHandler(int event)
 	}
 
 	// keyboard arrows / space to special key mapping
-	if ( Fl::event_key( 32 ) &&  Fl::event_key( FL_SHIFT ) ) { //spacebar + shift
+	if ( Fl::event_key( 32 ) &&  Fl::event_state( FL_SHIFT ) ) { //spacebar + shift
 		EventGridState e( gui->specialTrack, gui->specialScene, GridLogic::STATE_EMPTY  );
 		writeToDspRingbuffer( &e );
 		return 1;