What is a melodeon organ?
melodeon, also spelled Melodium, also called Reed Organ, or American Organ, keyboard instrument sounded by the vibration of free reeds by wind. It was slower to respond than the harmonium but sounded more organlike and had a softer tone.
Is a harmonium an organ?
The harmonium is like a smaller-sized organ that produces sound when foot-operated bellows sends wind through a pressure-equalizing air reservoir, causing metal reeds (fixed at one end, free at the other) to vibrate.
When were melodeons invented?
The melodeon is an American invention from the first half of the 19th century. Although melodeons were very popular before and during the Civil War era, they are seldom seen today. Housed in a piano-like case, a melodeon is a small reed organ with a five or six octave keyboard.
What is a lap organ?
This is a lap pump organ made by D.B. Bartlett of Concord, New Hampshire. These particular organs are sometimes called “elbow organs” because you can rock the bellows back and forth with your elbows while you’re playing.
What is the meaning of melodeon?
Definition of melodeon : a small reed organ in which a suction bellows draws air inward through the reeds.
What is the difference between a melodeon and an accordion?
Strictly speaking, a melodeon is a single row instrument with only two basses. Accordion is the generic name for the family of bellows driven free reed instruments having chords as well as melody notes. Button key instruments are sometimes spelled accordeons to distinguish them from piano key accordions.
Are pump organs electric?
About The Pump Organ The pump organ ended up being replaced by the electric organ, but it had several decades of popularity. You can still find it being used by certain musicians, but you are not as likely to hear a harmonium in modern times. However, it is still used in Indian music and Pakistani music.
How old are pump organs?
Several million free-reed organs and melodeons were made in the US and Canada between the 1850s and the 1920s, some which were exported. During this time Estey Organ and Mason & Hamlin were popular manufacturers. Alongside the furniture-sized instruments of the west, smaller designs exist.
How old is the melodeon?
The melodeon is the forerunner of the more familiar pump organ reminiscent of an upright piano case, and was built from about the mid-1840s to the early 1870s.
What does a harmonium look like?
A harmonium, also called a “melodeon”, “reed organ” or “pump organ”, is a keyboard instrument that is a lot like an organ. It makes sound by blowing air through reeds, which are tuned to different pitches to make musical notes. This is joined to a mechanism which operates a bellows, sending air to the reeds.