Harmonium Description

A harmonium is a reed organ, which means that it produces sounds by feeding air through reeds. This gives it a different sound than a pipe organ, which produces sound with metal pipes. The instrument usually contains two foot pedals, which operate the bellows of the instrument. The bellows push air through the reeds to play the sound. The instrument is also called a pump organ due to this pumping action. Some portable harmoniums do not contain pedals; instead, musicians operate the bellows manually. The harmonium usually contains one keyboard, which creates the musical tones of the instrument. There are several variations on the instrument. Some harmoniums contain two rows of keyboards, several contain a row of pulls above the keys, some contain knee levers, and a few contain pedal keyboards to produce a variety of sounds.

Although many harmoniums contain basic wood casings, some instruments have ornate casing designs. Many people treated their instruments as decorative pieces of furniture; thus many manufacturers produced instruments with elaborate carvings and inlays. Both decorative and plain cases are usually made out of hard woods such as oak and walnut, which makes them very durable. Harmoniums range greatly in size, from small portable instruments to larger wood organs.