the Indian harmonium seems like an unnecesery instrument

[barkis]

The Indian harmonium seems like a unnecesery instrument to me. Its like a bad mix between a pump organ and an accordion. You can only play with one hand and the other hand just pumps the air.

Of course, it might have a unic sound and some unusual features. And if you just want to play traditional Indian music it has what you need.

But still....why not get an accordion or pump organ instead so that you can play with both hands?

The Indian harmoniums seem so well made and look really nice. And with those unusual features they have they are quite inventive. But the pump-construction is so stupid since it takes one hand away from playing.

(If you dont know what an Indian harmonium is here is a video. I dont give the link because I like the video; just so you can see what it looks like and works. )

What do you think about the Indian harmonium? Is it unnecesary?

 

[Soulsaver]

Lovely. Not bad looking instrument either.
I'm sure she'd have no trouble finding a punkawalla to pump it for her so she can use two...

 

[VintageIorio]

Now just wait a minute! As an old hippy I can imagine myself sitting on a warm summer evening on a grassy hillside. A little incense to cover the pungent smoke from those "funny" cigarettes. The drone of the harmonium and some gentle chanting.

That's one. Secondly how can any instrument in the evolution of accordions be unnecessary? It's a cool instrument. Connections between and accordion and a reed organ (which are also cool instruments and had their "day").

Third--That's Kim demonstrating the harmonium. Kim is the fine person who did the final "spot tuning" on my grandma's old Iorio. And she did a FANTASTIC job. :ch

I doubt that the instrument is still for sale but I'd surely enjoy it as a piece in my living room. It looks nicely made.

--Loren

 

[lasvegascolonel]

Yes, the lady demonstrating this is the accordionist (piano and button) who demonstrates the brands of accordions that the Liberty Bellows Store in Philadelphia sells. I suspect her store is selling this instrument too. Liberty Bellows is somewhat unique in that they do online demonstrations of different accordion brands---Hohner, Roland, Weltmeister, etc., so viewers can hear them and, hopefully for them, order their accordions. My own music dealer (where I took lessons 50 year ago) in upstate Pennsyvania went out of business a number of years ago. The Liberty Bellows owner (who started with a piano) bought the remaining accordion stock from this dealer and setup his Philadelphia business. For an interesting read on this rather unique accordion dealer, go to jumpphilly.com, then in the search window on right, type in liberty bellows. It will tell you their unique story. The regular Liberty Bellows website has some nice demos of Rolands, especially the player who demos the red FR7X Roland. The aforementioned woman also provides demos, though she is not as experienced as some of the others. Last week, someone asked me why the store was named Liberty Bellows. Well, the bellows part is obvious, but Philadelphia is, in American minds, the founding center of liberty for the country, first U.S. capital, etc. Anyway, it is a common name for businesses there as well as Boston.

 

[Matt Butcher]

I live five minutes walk from the shop Punjabi Roots which sells harmoniums among other things. And doesnt sell accordions... Within 1 mile of my house there are several accordions, but many more harmoniums, Sikhs and Muslims both play them round here for traditional and popular music. It sounds good and they seem happy with it, I doubt they are thinking as they play, I wish I could do a musette waltz after this one, but Ive only got drones.

The pump does tie up one hand and also because there is a reservoir of air to allow even flow you cant use the bellows for dynamics as accordion players would. The keyboard keys are very loose as well but there must be a reason for this.

This page
http://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/harmonium.html explains nicely: the Brits introduced hand and foot pumped harmoniums but the foot pumped ones died out because in the subcontinent at the time people didnt sit on chairs, which made it awkward. And they dont need two hands to play the music. And probably if I was to try to play the music on an accordion, the bellows changes would break up the flow of the music. I guess this is why the reservoir of air makes sense, a constant flow of air means the drones are not interrupted, similar to a bagpipes I think.

So the problem with accordions is, theyre OK if you just want to play that European music with chord changes or basslines, but for normal music with drones the left hands unnecessary, it just breaks up the flow. Only joking! (I know you can play non-European music and drones on accordions really. Does anyone remember the Azeri garmon?)

 

[Matt Butcher]

This is the kind of thing I might hear day to day round here, I think: , but with backing tracks.

 

[dunlustin]

I believe the origins of the instrument are in the Western lap organ - invented for the well-bred English lady for whom the legs "akimbo" accordion position was not considered seemly.
A bit dodgy claiming as unnecessary an instrument that has been used in India (and elsewhere) for more than a century.
And to be honest surely the accordion is the unusual one in offering melody and accompaniment - not easy on a clarinet or a violin??

 

[Glenn]

I would imagine traditional accordion manufacturing techniques would produce lovely accordions that wouldn't last long in those warm conditions.


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[Russ]

Using the argument that you can only use one hand, so why not play a two handed instrument a) many Conjunto and Tejano musicians do not play the bass on the accordion and some even remove the reed blocks for a lighter instrument. b) Keyboard players should not play the keyboard but only the organ because on the organ you can use your feet, and harmonica players should not play harmonica because they could play accordion and play lead and accompany themselves at the same time.
Also From Chandra and Davids India site given by Matt Butcher:
Although this is a European invention, it has evolved into a truly bi-cultural instrument. The keyboard is European, but it has a number of drone reeds which are particularly Indian. European models came in both hand pumped and foot pumped models. The foot pumped models disappeared in India many years ago. This is because the foot pedals required one to sit in a chair; something which is unusual for an Indian musician. Also the only advantage of the foot model was that it freed both hands so that both melody and chords could be played. Indian music has no chords, so this was no advantage. Although the hand pumped models required one hand to pump they were more portable and comfortable when played on the floor.

Not my type of music but definitely qualifies as instrument

And if you just want to play traditional Indian music it has what you need. You could also say that about the Sitar orTambora for that matter. So how can it be unnecessary?

 

[barkis]

harmonica players should not play harmonica because they could play accordion and play lead and accompany themselves at the same time.

The harmonica is different. It is really small and can be carried with great ease. An Indian harmonium is probably as heavy or heavier than an accordion. So the harmonica has an obvious advantage there over many other instruments. The harmonica doesnt stike me as unnecessary.

And if you just want to play traditional Indian music it has what you need.

You could also say that about the Sitar orTambora for that matter. So how can it be unnecessesary?[/quote]
Of course the instrument can be used, but if it had a smarter construction it could be played with both hands.

When I first saw this instrument I thought cool, I want one but then realised its kind of obvious drawback. A guy on a forum said after getting one of these that one has to have three arms to play it. And thats kind of like how I look at it.

 

[Matt Butcher]

Well, you could order one (they're not expensive by free reed standards) or design one if you wanted to - the idea of constant air flow and drones is quite tempting, and it could be a bagpipe substitute in some traditions, good for experimental and minimal music, etc. Go for it... You could probably even work the bellows with a strap round the neck.

I don't anticipate a flurry of orders for this new design from Asian players, because my perception is that they are doing fine one handed. It's not like they've never seen a piano... Next time you come to the West Midlands, probably best not to go round telling people that their instruments are stupid and not designed by smart people. I know that wasn't what you meant, obviously.

I have listened to some great you tube videos today thanks to this thread, much appreciated. If anyone can tell me why the keys are loose on the keyboards of harmoniums, I would be interested.

 

[Anyanka]

If only all people were 5'8", with blue eyes and a moustache, and a budgie. Life would be so much easier.

Barkis, is anyone forcing you to play an Indian harmonium? If so, report them to the police immediately. If not: what's the problem?

I think the little harmonium in the first YouTube video sounds quite lovely. I wouldn't want it because I was given an old full-size reed organ, i.e. foot pedals, two hands free and all that, which nobody wants these days because of the size. I can see the attraction of the smaller Indian version, especially for portability!

Surely diversity is wonderful. I love how old instruments are being rediscovered and re-invented right now; I love that there are dozens of different types of accordion - it means that there is a really good chance that there is one design that fits YOUR needs just right, even though your needs are different from those of other people...

 

[Bella]

I guess another point is that, with a little adaptation, the bellows could be operated another way, thus making the instrument accessible to someone who has the use of only one hand.