A little off-topic - new melodica from uke republic

OldePhart

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Got my new melodica today that I ordered from Mike at UR. Gotta admit I'm pretty impressed with the sound for the price. Don't know enough about melodicas yet to know it it will stand up over time but it sounds decent and didn't cost more than some of my harps.

Haven't checked it with a tuner yet or anything but it sounds nice - much nicer than a lot of melodica clips I've heard. It also doesn't take as much air as I expected (my first melodica - I was expecting it to be more like a harp only worse). Still, any of you melodica player's know if anybody makes an underarm bellows for use with melodica (i.e. like Irish u-pipes)? Seems like a pretty natural accessory. If nobody is making them I might have to cobble something together...

John
 
Got my new melodica today that I ordered from Mike at UR. Gotta admit I'm pretty impressed with the sound for the price. Don't know enough about melodicas yet to know it it will stand up over time but it sounds decent and didn't cost more than some of my harps.

Haven't checked it with a tuner yet or anything but it sounds nice - much nicer than a lot of melodica clips I've heard. It also doesn't take as much air as I expected (my first melodica - I was expecting it to be more like a harp only worse). Still, any of you melodica player's know if anybody makes an underarm bellows for use with melodica (i.e. like Irish u-pipes)? Seems like a pretty natural accessory. If nobody is making them I might have to cobble something together...

John

Certainly. It's called an "accordion."

(Okay, it's not exactly the same thing, but the principle is very similar. A melodica is very like the treble keyboard of a small accordion, and the instruments can sound almost identical at times. I own both, but I also have a melodica player--she's Japanese and calls it a pianica--in my band. We sometimes play accordion and pianica together, but just as often, I'll play uke or pennywhistle, and she'll supply the "accordion sound." If you want a melodica with a bellows, you MIGHT consider trying the accordion. The bellows doesn't go under your arm, but it's probably less unwieldy that way. The Uilleann pipes can be quite bulky.)
 
Certainly. It's called an "accordion."

Nahh, I don't dare buy an accordian - too expensive for a good one and, besides, I've been telling accordian jokes for too many years - I'd never live it down! LOL

Seriously, I have a bad back so I don't think I'm going to be going for accordian any time soon. I had a friend in high school that had one and I recall it being quite heavy and unwieldy.
 
The drummer in my band tells a story of seeing a car on the highway with a strange funnel-like intake device on the roof. As he got closer, he could see a hose going down through the window, leading to a melodica on the dash. The driver was playing it as he was cruising down the highway. Drummer swears it's a true story...
 
Got my new melodica today that I ordered from Mike at UR. Gotta admit I'm pretty impressed with the sound for the price. Don't know enough about melodicas yet to know it it will stand up over time but it sounds decent and didn't cost more than some of my harps.

Haven't checked it with a tuner yet or anything but it sounds nice - much nicer than a lot of melodica clips I've heard. It also doesn't take as much air as I expected (my first melodica - I was expecting it to be more like a harp only worse). Still, any of you melodica player's know if anybody makes an underarm bellows for use with melodica (i.e. like Irish u-pipes)? Seems like a pretty natural accessory. If nobody is making them I might have to cobble something together...

John

Sounds like ye 'r lookin fer a set o' bagpipes Boyoh!
 
The drummer in my band tells a story of seeing a car on the highway with a strange funnel-like intake device on the roof. As he got closer, he could see a hose going down through the window, leading to a melodica on the dash. The driver was playing it as he was cruising down the highway. Drummer swears it's a true story...

Never trust drummers... Just sayin.. ;)
 
The drummer in my band tells a story of seeing a car on the highway with a strange funnel-like intake device on the roof. As he got closer, he could see a hose going down through the window, leading to a melodica on the dash. The driver was playing it as he was cruising down the highway. Drummer swears it's a true story...

It's not outside the realm of possibility. The typical melodica does come with a little hose extension. It would be easy to make a longer one and rig up a funnel attachment.

Regarding the accordion: they come in various sizes. You could try the concertina, even. Admittedly, accordions are much more expensive than melodicas, but you can get some smaller but still decent ones for a couple hundred dollars each. The 120-bass monsters are, indeed, very heavy. I carry mine around on a little cart. If I carry it without the cart, the handle bruises my hand.
 
Got my new melodica today that I ordered from Mike at UR. Gotta admit I'm pretty impressed with the sound for the price. Don't know enough about melodicas yet to know it it will stand up over time but it sounds decent and didn't cost more than some of my harps.

Haven't checked it with a tuner yet or anything but it sounds nice - much nicer than a lot of melodica clips I've heard. It also doesn't take as much air as I expected (my first melodica - I was expecting it to be more like a harp only worse). Still, any of you melodica player's know if anybody makes an underarm bellows for use with melodica (i.e. like Irish u-pipes)? Seems like a pretty natural accessory. If nobody is making them I might have to cobble something together...
John

John, don't forget the extra strength under arm antiperspirant! Perhaps a miniature air compressor with regulator. (I have a very small one installed on my "non-golfing" golf cart for the air horns that would probably work.) Honestly, I think your idea is cool. Can't wait to check it out on your YouTube page!
 
By the way OldePhart, how simple is it to play? I do not read music and have never played a keyboard.
 
By the way OldePhart, how simple is it to play? I do not read music and have never played a keyboard.

If you do play the keyboard, it's very simple to play. If you play the accordion (and therefore have experience with working a vertically oriented keyboard), it's even easier. If you play the keyboard, the accordion, AND the recorder or tin whistle, you will be playing like a pro in about ten seconds. If you DON'T play the keyboard, you'll find the learning curve will be similar to that involved with learning to play the piano, with the added problem of breathing. However, it's worth noting that in Japan (according to my Japanese friend, at least), the melodica is an extremely common beginner instrument and tends to fill the same role in schoools as the recorder or the ukulele does here. It's a good instrument to learn on, and it sounds fantastic in the hands of a pro. Very ukulele-like, actually.
 
By the way OldePhart, how simple is it to play? I do not read music and have never played a keyboard.

Well, I don't play keyboard so there's going to be a bit of a learning curve.

I did find that it's interesting because overblowing bends notes down, I was expecting it to act more like a whistle where they might jump to the next octave. Of course, I suppose it has a reedplate like a harp so it make sense that overblowing would bend the note down instead of jumping an octave.

John
 
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