Melodica

• The name Melodion also designated a historic musical instrument Melodion Dietz
• The name Melodica also referred to a historic musical instrument melodica of Riffelsen

The Melodica is a harmonica instrument.

Name

The name comes from the instrument manufacturer Hohner Melodica who spread the concept of this kind of music making and made ​​them popular. Other manufacturers marketed the same instrument with the name Melodion, Pianica or Clavietta. The term Melodica has become established as a general term for all types of this type of instrument. However, the historical musical instruments such as the Melodion of Dietz and the melodica of Riffelsen have no relationship with the modern Melodica.

Function

At a Melodica the air flow passes therethrough in one direction only, by blowing into the mouthpiece or to a place of the mouthpiece for the next air tube. The clay Kanz Ellen with the reeds are opened by keys, so that the air stream passes there and generates the respective tone. Most are, unless it is a diatonic tuned instrument for children, arranged the keys like the piano. They are often carried out as with most keyboard instruments as a piano keyboard with white and black keys. Usually Melodicas be blown with this arrangement, by a hose, so that the hands are not required to hold the instrument.

Use in popular music

• The British pop group UB40 used in her famous song " Kingston Town " a melodica.
• Augustus Pablo played the melodica in his most famous pieces, including "Java" from 1972.
• The Dutch folk-rock group bots used in several Melodicas " Zeven dagen lang".
• The American rock band The Hooters named themselves after their trademark, the Hohner Melodica.
• In the play, "What should we dream " by Frida Gold a passage with the Melodica is repeated by the chorus.
• The British pop group Depeche Mode used in the final passage of her piece " Everything Counts ", a melodica.
• The Canadian group Walk off the Earth uses a melodica in their 2012 ingested song "Summer Vibe "
• The jazz musician Don Cherry, Monty Alexander and Mikhail Efimovich Alperin use the melodica quite often and have secured their next Hermeto Pascoal a place in jazz.
• In the play " Champagne Supernova " by the British pop group Oasis from the year 1995, a melodica is used and can be seen in the accompanying video clip.
• In several pieces of Gorillaz she comes accompanying the application. '