The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #57412   Message #903546
Posted By: CarolC
04-Mar-03 - 06:14 PM
Thread Name: Some accordion with your Pad Thai?
Subject: RE: Some accordion with your Pad Thai?
Yesterday, JtS was chatting in a guitar related on-line forum. One of the people he was chatting with is a Pakistan national living in Pakistan. They were talking about different kinds of popular instruments, and he said that the harmonium is very popular in Pakistan. The harmonium (also sometimes called a "melodeon" or "reed organ") is another of the freereed instruments. It has a keyboard, and the bellows is operated either with the foot, in the case of the pedal harmonium, or by hand, with the bellows being located at the back of the instrument. The harmonium looks like this:

Harmoniums with foot pedals

Harmoniums with bellows in the back

According to this site, it was invented by Alexandre-François Debain

And according to these sites, it also appears to be popular in Nepal and India.

Nepal News

Raison Band Co , Meerut , INDIA