neumes

Wondering if anyone has experience with a melodica?

Son the younger loves instruments (he has a 1970s drum set inherited from dad, a new cowbell, a supercool (and $$) fantom X7 keyboard, a hang drum, xylophone, and a toy accordian!) and would like a melodica for his 16th birthday.

I've looked it melodicas on the Hohner site and see that they have a soprano and alto version, 24-key and 32 key and even bigger, plus various mouthpieces. And, happily, there are some on Ebay, as I'm not willing to spring for a high-priced model even for a sweet kid.

Any other interesting instruments? (Not expensive!)

violadad

These should keep you busy Musical Instruments-Unique Unusual Odd Strange Weird Experimental Rare Wacky Musical Instruments Gallery sound clips,photos

neumes

violadad: AWESOME! My son is going to love this website, and he's going to want lots of the instruments (he has mentioned a gamelen). And there's always ingenuity and craftsmanship--he could make the Aquaggaswack--carefully strung-together pot lids, and they sound great! (too bad we live right in town...)

Thanks. This is an amazing website.

jazzzmomm

One of my kids collects instruments too. He has made his own djembes--there is a fabulous program in Ghana where he spent a month working with a master drum carver (don't know how adventurous y'all are). For Christmas this year I gave him a lyre.

BassDad

Boomwhackers - Whacky Music, Inc. Home

neumes

BassDad; We have Boomwhackers! They're hanging up in his room. He's got other odds and ends, too. I've been thinking about autoharps, too, that old standby.

jazzzmomm: A lyre. Oh my goodness. Will look at djembes--son would love to carve drums in Ghana!

Just a Dad in Oh

Just for fun...Here's one that could take up the whole back yard - all 200 tons of it....note that they no longer exist but served an interesting purpose in its day

JD

Synthmuseum.com - Magazine

neumes

That is incredible, Dad in Oh. He will love this, too. He did a big project in middle school on synthesizers (which is how we got talked into the Rowland fantom as a birthday-Christmas-birthday-Christmas present) but I doubt he's seen this.

violadad

A few more, especially for the string player. Unusual Instruments

-Allmusic-

My son has both a melodica and a djembe (two djembes, in fact). He would love more than anything to learn Ghana drum making; in fact, he plans on doing this at some point (part of a gap year plan that he has cooked up if he isn't satisfied with his academic or conservatory choices).

neumes

Allmusic--do you know what kind of melodica? number of keys and mouthpiece?

-Allmusic-

This is the one he has:

Hohner HM-36 Professional 36 Melodica and more Melodicas at GuitarCenter.com.

It also has this funky little flexible cord with mouthpiece, that you can use, instead of blowing into it directly. Must produce some different sound, but I don't play it!