# Is this a real musical instrument? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-musical-instrument/391025 "2007-02-06T02:11:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-musical-instrument/391025/1 "2007-02-06T02:11:07Z")
A friend of mine described a musical instrument to me, and it sounds vaguely familiar. But neither of us can remember whether it’s real, or we possibly saw it in a cartoon, or we both had the same hallucination. The instrument is held like a clarinet, possibly having a reed. But instead of keys it has a short keyboard, like the one in an accordion. Is there such a thing? ---
**Author:** ![Fast\_n\_Bulbous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ab992/32.png) [@Fast\_n\_Bulbous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fast_n_Bulbous)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-musical-instrument/391025/2 "2007-02-06T02:18:22Z")
A [melodica](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodica) perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-musical-instrument/391025/3 "2007-02-06T02:25:27Z")
That’s close enough. I still can’t imagine where I might have seen one. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-musical-instrument/391025/4 "2007-02-06T04:00:37Z")
Ever seen Ben Folds Five/Ben Folds in concert? Ben plays one on the song “Smoke” and sometimes in other songs. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-musical-instrument/391025/5 "2007-02-06T04:30:37Z")
Melodia was a brand name of the Hohner company which became the generic name for anything like it. There was also the Pianica, the Diamonica, the Orgamonica, the Pianohorn, and the Melodion…I’m sure there were others. I have a Clavietta, which is pretty much the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-musical-instrument/391025/6 "2007-02-06T04:41:49Z")
Might be an EWI (electronic wind instrument) ---
**Author:** ![Khangol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecae2f/32.png) [@Khangol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khangol)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-musical-instrument/391025/7 "2007-02-06T05:24:58Z")
Dennis Will used to play one with The Bells (on at least one of their hits, _Stay Awhile_) in the early '70s. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-musical-instrument/391025/8 "2007-02-06T13:07:14Z")
I have one and have had it since the 70’s. Donald Fagen of Steely Dan plays one from time to time and there’s at least one picture of him (maybe an album cover even) playing one. If you’re not seeing it being played, it can sound a little like an accordion. And it does have reeds. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-musical-instrument/391025/9 "2007-02-06T16:04:20Z")
[The Hooters](http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE47E18DF48AF7F20D7863A52CC8B64F70AD650F68B0C005354D4BA3E068E027BFD48E78091EDA324EA35ADE028BB580FD3CDA257FDD6663E378FE9B61145&sql=11:aex1z8hajyv8) were big Melodica fans…maybe you saw one of their videos on VH1? ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-musical-instrument/391025/10 "2007-02-06T16:06:16Z")
[QUOTE=Running with Scissors] [The Hooters](http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE47E18DF48AF7F20D7863A52CC8B64F70AD650F68B0C005354D4BA3E068E027BFD48E78091EDA324EA35ADE028BB580FD3CDA257FDD6663E378FE9B61145&sql=11:aex1z8hajyv8) were big Melodica fans…maybe you saw one of their videos on VH1? [/QUOTE] They even claimed that their name was based on their nick-name for the melodica. Yeah, right. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-musical-instrument/391025/11 "2007-02-06T16:10:54Z")
[QUOTE=Running with Scissors] [The Hooters](http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE47E18DF48AF7F20D7863A52CC8B64F70AD650F68B0C005354D4BA3E068E027BFD48E78091EDA324EA35ADE028BB580FD3CDA257FDD6663E378FE9B61145&sql=11:aex1z8hajyv8) were big Melodica fans…maybe you saw one of their videos on VH1? [/QUOTE] [http://www.ipass.net/chasb/hooters.htm](http://www.ipass.net/chasb/hooters.htm) Damn, ya beat me to it.