Melodica facts for kids

A Hohner Melodica

The melodica, also known as the "blow-organ" or "key-flute", is a wind instrument with a keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard is usually two or three octaves long. Melodicas are small, light, and portable. They are popular in music education, especially in Asia.

Types

Layout of a melodica keyboard with three octaves (36 keys)

Hohner Melodica Soprano: right side, keyboard and bottom views

Melodicas are classified primarily by the range of the instrument. Melodicas with different ranges have slightly different shapes.

• Soprano and alto melodicas are higher-pitched and thinner sounding than tenors. Some are designed to be played with both hands at once: the left hand plays the black keys, and the right hand plays the white keys. Others are played like the tenor melodica.
• Tenor melodicas are a lower-pitched type of melodica. The left hand holds a handle on the bottom, and the right hand plays the keyboard. Tenor melodicas can be played with two hands by inserting a tube into the mouthpiece hole and placing the melodica on a flat surface.
• Bass melodicas also exist, but are less common than other tenor, alto, and soprano.
• The Accordina, generally made of metal, uses the same mechanism as a traditional melodica. The keyboard is replaced with a button arrangement similar to a chromatic button accordion's keyboard.

Wooden melodicas

Although the majority of melodicas are made of plastic, some are made primarily of wood. The Sound Electra corporation makes the MyLodica, a wooden melodica designed "...to produce a warmer richer sound than that of its plastic relatives." The Victoria Accordion company in Castelfidardo, Italy, produces a range of wooden melodicas and accordinas that they market under the name Vibrandoneon.

Alternative names

The melodica is known by various names, often at the whim of the manufacturer. Melodion (Suzuki), Triola (Seydel), Melodika (Apollo), Melodia (Diana), Pianica (Yamaha), Melodihorn (Samick), Pianetta and Clavietta are just some of the variants. When a recording technician who did not know a melodica called it a "hooter", the band The Hooters used that as their name.

Two hands

Played horizontally, with two hands and an air tube

Played vertically, with two hands and an air tube

Melodica can be played with two hands employing an air tube. To blow air, a foot pump can also be used.

Comparison with traditional woodwind instruments

Melodicas are unusual because unlike most conventional woodwind instruments, they make use of a piano keyboard rather than a specialized fingering system using holes and/or buttons. This allows the player to use a single finger to play any one note of the instrument's range, rather than requiring several fingers to play individual notes, as is the case with most other woodwinds. The player can then play chords by using their remaining fingers to press additional keys, and thus, sound additional notes. In other words, whereas most woodwind instruments such as saxophones or clarinets are monophonic when played by trained musicians, the melodica is polyphonic. Additionally, for a beginner, a melodica can play accidentals more easily than a woodwind, which requires special fingering.

Gallery

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  A Suzuki melodion

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  Hohner alto melodica

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  Melodica being played vertically, without air tube

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  Patent drawing for accordina

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  Accordina being played

Images for kids

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  Played vertically, with two hands and an air tube

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  Wooden melodica; Suzuki Wood Melodion W-37

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  Donald Fagen with a Yamaha Pianica in 2007

See also

In Spanish: Melódica para niños