The melodica is a free-reed instrument similar to the accordion and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole, allowing air to flow through a reed. The keyboard is usually two or three octaves long. Previously used primarily to teach music fundamentals to children, the melodica was probably first used as a serious musical instrument by jazz musician Phil Moore Jr. on his Atlantic Records album Right On, 1969 (SD-1530). It is most often associated with Jamaican dub and reggae musicians in the '70s, most notably Augustus Pablo.[1]
Types of melodicas
- 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.
- 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.
- Bass melodicas (lower-pitched than the tenor type) also exist, but are less common than other types.
- The accordina uses the same mechanism, but with accordion-like buttons instead of keys.
- Italian accordion manufacturer Victoria Accordions manufactures a number of different models of vibrandoneon, which are similar to the melodica in general construction and playing technique. Victoria's vibrandoneons are made with various keyboard and button arrangements.
The Mylodica is a wood melodica manufactured by the company Sound Electra. The sound of this free reed keyboard resonates from its wood enclosure producing a sound different from the plastic melodica. Popular melodica manufacturers include Sound Electra, Angel, Hohner, Suzuki, Yamaha and Samick. It is also known by various names such as melodion (Suzuki), melodia (Diana), pianica (Yamaha), mylodica(Sound Electra), or clavietta. Melodicas are portable enough to be carried around. They have been very popular in music education, especially in Asia.
Notable players
- Damon Albarn of Blur, Gorillaz and The Good, the Bad and the Queen
- Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs while with Oasis
- Christina Bergmark of The Wannadies
- Cedric Bixler-Zavala while in At the Drive-In
- Rachel Blumberg of The Decemberists
- D.J.Booth of Dubshack
- Jenny Conlee of The Decemberists
- Ian Curtis of Joy Division
- Rick Davies of Supertramp
- Donald Fagen of Steely Dan
- Ben Folds
- Martin Gore of Depeche Mode
- Brian Haas of Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey
- Artie Barnes of Barnes & Barnes
- Albert Hammond, Jr.
- Scotty Neon
- Mark Mulcahy of Miracle Legion
- Mark Hart of Crowded House
- Dan Haseltine of Jars of Clay
- John Helliwell of Supertramp
- Kyle Hollingsworth of the String Cheese Incident
- The Hooters take their name from "the hooter," a nickname for the melodica that is present in many of their songs.
- Joe Jackson
- Stevie Jackson of Belle and Sebastian
- Jon King of Gang of Four
- Paul McCartney
- Ollie McGill of The Cat Empire
- David McWane of Big D and the Kids Table
- John Medeski of Medeski, Martin, and Wood
- John Moen of The Decemberists
- Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo was the only member of the Ohio musician's union to list his primary instrument as the melodica.
- Peter Murphy of Bauhaus
- A.C. Newman of The New Pornographers
- Isaiah "Ikey" Owens & Jeremy Michael Ward of De Facto
- Augustus Pablo
- Mike Patton
- Wesley Rigsby of Poor AJ and the Most Likely To's
- Sufjan Stevens
- Bernard Sumner of Joy Division and New Order
- Yann Tiersen
- Stevie Wonder
- Kem (singer)
- Bernie Worrell of Parliament/Funkadelic
- Jason Kallicragas of Men as Trees
- Jimmy The Robot of The Aquabats
- DJ Product of (hed) p.e.
- Jahred Shane of (hed) p.e.
- Shehan Nattar of The Heavenly Oceans
- Andrew Sisk of Share
- Shiina Ringo
- Itch Fox of The King Blues
