A mouth organ is any
free reed aerophone with one or more air chambers fitted with a free reed.
Though it spans many traditions, it is played universally the same way by the musician placing their lips over a chamber or holes in the instrument, and blowing or sucking air to create a sound.
Many of the chambers can be played together or each individually.
The mouth organ can be found all around the world and is known by many different names and seen in many different traditions. The most notable variations include the
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...
, and Asian free reed wind instruments consisting of a number of bamboo pipes of varying lengths fixed into a wind chest; these include the
''sheng'',
''khaen'', ''
lusheng'',
''yu'',
''shō'', and ''
saenghwang''. The
melodica
The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features 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. The keyboard usua ...
, consisting of a single tube that is essentially blown through a
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Mu ...
, is another variation.
Gallery
File:Cass-muha-1880.jpg, C. A. Seydel Söhne Harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...
(1880)
File:Mouth organ (or symphonium) (c.1830, London) by Charles Wheatstone, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.jpg, Symphonium (c.1830) by Charles Wheatstone
File:M.Hohner Trumpet Call Harmonica in C.jpg, M. Hohner Trumpet Call Harmonica in C (1906)
File:Mundharmonika.jpg, Harmonica (rear) and Blues harp
The Richter-tuned harmonica, or 10-hole harmonica (in Asia) or blues harp (in America), is the most widely known type of harmonica. It is a variety of diatonic harmonica, with ten holes which offer the player 19 notes (10 holes times a draw and ...
(front)
File:16-hole chrom 10-hole diatonic.jpg, Chromatic 16-hole (over) and diatonic 10-hole (under) harmonica
File:Melodicas.jpg, Hohner Melodica
The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features 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. The keyboard usua ...
s
File:Ploong.jpg, Plung, played by the Mru people of Bangladesh and Burma
File:Sheng (Chinese mouth organ).jpg, Sheng, a Chinese mouth organ
File:Gifujyou5846.JPG, ''Sho'', a Japanese mouth organ
File:Sandakan Sabah Sompoton-01.jpg, Sompoton
Sompoton or Sumpotan, is a mouth organ made from a gourd with bamboo pipes in northern Borneo. It originated in the state of Sabah and is played by indigenous men and women in Sabah, especially by the Kadazan-Dusun and Murut.
Description
A so ...
of Sabah
Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...
, Malaysia
File:Khene.jpg, Khene
The ''khene'' (; spelled "Can" in English; Lao: ແຄນ; th, แคน, , ; km, គែន - ''Ken''; Vietnamese: ''khèn'') is a Lao mouth organ whose pipes, which are usually made of bamboo, are connected with a small, hollowed-out h ...
, used in Mainland Southeast Asia
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
File:Miao musicians.jpg, Lusheng, used in Laos, Vietnam, South China
File:Sets of free reed aerophone (free) - Soinuenea.jpg
file:Ploy.jpg, Cambodia, Ploy
A ploy is a tactic (method), strategy, or gimmick.
Ploy may also refer to:
* Ploy (board game), a board game
* ''ploy'' (film), a 2007 Thai film
*Ploy (musical instrument)
The ploy (Khmer: ព្លយខ្មែរ) is a Cambodian wind instr ...
File:Musicians playing kadedek mouth organs, Engkurai, Pak Bunau, Borneo.jpg, Keluri, used in Borneo.
File:Qeej, free reed gourd mouth organ of the Hmong people.jpg, Qeej, free reed gourd mouth organ of the Hmong people
See also
*
Gourd mouth organ
The gourd mouth organ is a free reed mouth organ played across East and Southeast Asia. It consists of a gourd wind chest with several bamboo or bronze pipes inserted on top of it, the numbers of pipes differing from region to region.Sachs, C. ( ...
References
External links
{{Authority control
Free reed aerophones