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Melodeon (organ)

 

 
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Melodeon (organ)
 
 
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A melodeon (also known as a cabinet organ or American organ) is a type of 19th century reed organ
Reed organ

A reed organ, also called parlor organ, pump organ, cabinet organ, cottage organ, is an organ that generates its sounds using free metal reed ....
 with a foot-operated vacuum
Vacuum

A vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty," but in reality, no volume of space can ever be perfectly empty....
 bellows
Bellows

A bellows is a device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location. Basically, a bellows is a deformable container which has an outlet nozzle....
, and a piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
 keyboard
Musical keyboard

A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the interval of an octave....
. It differs from the related harmonium
Harmonium

A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ or pipe organ. Sound is produced by air, supplied by foot-operated or hand-operated bellows, being blown through sets of Free reed aerophone, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion....
, which uses a pressure
Pressure

Pressure is the force per unit area applied to an object in a direction surface normal to the surface. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure....
 bellows. Melodeons were manufactured in the United states from 1846 until the Civil War era. While it was sometimes used as a substitute for the pipe organ in small churches, it was primarily used in domestic settings.

In Ireland, the word is found in the commonly used phrase "cat melodeon".






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Encyclopedia


A melodeon (also known as a cabinet organ or American organ) is a type of 19th century reed organ
Reed organ

A reed organ, also called parlor organ, pump organ, cabinet organ, cottage organ, is an organ that generates its sounds using free metal reed ....
 with a foot-operated vacuum
Vacuum

A vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty," but in reality, no volume of space can ever be perfectly empty....
 bellows
Bellows

A bellows is a device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location. Basically, a bellows is a deformable container which has an outlet nozzle....
, and a piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
 keyboard
Musical keyboard

A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the interval of an octave....
. It differs from the related harmonium
Harmonium

A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ or pipe organ. Sound is produced by air, supplied by foot-operated or hand-operated bellows, being blown through sets of Free reed aerophone, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion....
, which uses a pressure
Pressure

Pressure is the force per unit area applied to an object in a direction surface normal to the surface. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure....
 bellows. Melodeons were manufactured in the United states from 1846 until the Civil War era. While it was sometimes used as a substitute for the pipe organ in small churches, it was primarily used in domestic settings.

In Ireland, the word is found in the commonly used phrase "cat melodeon". This simply means that something is awful. For example, if it is raining, one might say that the weather is cat melodeon.

See also

  • Melodeon


Sources

  • The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments, ISBN 1858681855, p140