Making of Harmonium - Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
A standard harmonium’s body is generally finished in Savana wood, while teak wood is preferred for high-end quality. Savana wood makes the products lightweight and assures long-lasting stability and durability. The harmonium model can be divided into eight major parts; box, bellows, keyboard, cover, stops, handles, reeds, and coupler. Here the outer wooden box of 60x30x40 cms dimensions acts as a casing for the harmonium, and it is entitled to perfectly house the innerspring responsible for pushing the inner bellows upward to pump enough air to move into the reeds chamber. This arrangement leaves the front half and the top of the box open. Above the springs, the inner bellow assembly and the keyboard assembly are placed one above the other. The inner bellow assembly consists of many holes at the top as well as the bottom part of it to control the flow of air. These holes are controlled by individual knobs, which can be seen evidently in the front area of the harmonium. On top of this assembly sits the reed board, i.e., keyboard. This reed board houses a pivot board, keys, and the reeds. Here the pivot board is a flat wooden piece that accommodates slots for each key, and reeds are small metal controls beneath that vibrate to produce sound when air rushes in. This reed’s size decides the pitch of the instrument. A collection of reeds is called reed banks. Standard harmonium consists of two reed banks that can be arranged in two ways, vertical and horizontal type. The dimensions of the board differ slightly as per the directional type of reeds. Adjacent to the key slots, small triangular wooden strips are pasted to form a board with enough reeds and slots. Once this board is ready, it is inserted into the keyboard frame.
Working Principle of Harmonium
The sound produced by a harmonium is the result of freely vibrating metal reeds. One can find at least one reed for each note in the instrument. So the mechanism of the device is such that when a key on the keyboard is pressed, the leather valve above the respective reed opens, allowing the air trapped inside to escape and the outer air to enter. This blows the reed, and thus a sound is created. By releasing the key, the leather valve and reed come back to their original place with the help of a spring, ceasing the air exchange, and thus the sound stops.
