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.

The instrument was invented by Hohner in the 1950s or 1960s,
although it is also claimed that it was invented by the Brooklyn musician Joseph Lederfine in order 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 1969 Atlantic Records album Right On .
It is most often associated with Jamaican dub and reggae musicians in the 1970s, most notably Augustus Pablo. Henry Slaughter (of The Imperials) played a melodica solo on " I’ll Remember You," which was recorded by Elvis Presley on June 10, 1966 and appeared on the album " Spinout." A melodica is also used in the Ben Folds Five song " Smoke" for the instrumental melody line.

Types of melodicas

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

• 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 uses a similar mechanism, but is constructed with wood.

Melodicas are portable enough to be carried around. They have been very popular in music education, especially in Asia.

Comparison with traditional woodwind instruments

Melodicas are unusual because they are handheld instruments that can be used to play a large variety of chords. This is accomplished by depressing multiple keys simultaneously.

Additionally, for a beginner, a melodica can play accidentals more easily than a woodwind, which may require extra keys or cross-fingering to reach any notes outside of its key.

These two factors give the melodica an unusual degree of flexibility and contribute to its wide usage in music education.

Notable players

• Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs while with Oasis
• Ian Curtis of Joy Division
• Rick Davies of Supertramp
• Donald Fagen of Steely Dan
• Martin Gore of Depeche Mode
• Mark Hart of Crowded House
• Joe Jackson
• Paul McCartney
• David McWane of Big D and the Kids Table
• John Medeski of Medeski Martin & Wood
• Peter Murphy of Bauhaus
• Mike Patton
• Bernard Sumner of Joy Division and New Order
• Bernie Worrell of Parliament/Funkadelic
• Augustus Pablo
• Hermeto Pascoal
• Mike Piskor of The Summer Soundtrack

References

• Kliment and Watchtel, 2007. Augustus Pablo . http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=augustus_pablo
• Missin P, 2004. A Brief History of Mouth-Blown Free Reed Instruments: Melodica Family. http://www.patmissin.com/history/melodica.html
• Phil Moore Jr., 1969. Right On, 1969. Atlantic Records (SD-1530)