10 Best Melodicas 2024 in the US

A melodica is a piano-based musical instrument, with a piano-like keyboard of 2-3 octaves. The user blows air into a tube past a set of vibrating reeds, and presses the keys to produce the desired notes. It's a great instrument for teaching beginners the basic elements of music. In most wind instruments, like the flute or clarinet, you can only play one note at a time. The melodica gives you the ability to play chords, just like on a piano. They can be held like an accordion, or put down on a table and played like an organ or keyboard. But there are different features and levels of quality among the different brands. Here is a guide to some of the best melodicas on the market. 

Melodicas can be classified by the number of keys that they have:

• 24-keys: A bass melodica typically has only 24 keys—it doesn't require the range of the soprano or tenor melodica.

• 32-keys: This is a simpler melodica, primarily for students and those being introduced to music.

• 37-keys: This is a melodica with a full three octaves, primarily for performances. (Each octave consists of 12 notes.)

• 44-keys: Hammond makes a 44-key melodica, adding another 7 beyond the standard 37 keys on a professional instrument.

  They can also be classified by their range:

• Soprano and Alto: These tend to be smaller models, playing the higher end of the piano scale. It's recommended to play it with one hand on each side of the melodica.

• Tenor: With the tenor melodica, the right hand plays the keyboard, while the left hand holds the keyboard, much like an accordion. You can also place the melodica on the table and play with both hands.

• Bass: These are less common, but they typically have only 24 keys, playing the lower octaves.

Based on all the consumers' reviews we've scanned, these are the top things they mentioned about their new stuff:

• Hand pump: For people who get out of breath, it might be discouraging playing the melodica, seeing that it only produces sounds when there is air going into it. But there are hand-powered air pumps (typically used to inflate mattresses and the like) that you can use together with the melodica, instead of breathing into the mouthpiece all the time.

• Number of keys: One customer said that the 32-key melodica is sufficient for most songs. Fewer keys will not allow you to play very much; more keys would be more for professional musicians.

• Long mouthpiece: The Hohner 32B Piano-Style Melodica has an S-shaped mouthpiece, that is 3-4 inches long. That is considered adequate.

• Tubing: It might be more convenient for you to attach a long tube to the mouthpiece, instead of blowing directly into the mouthpiece. A 5/8” diameter piece of surgical rubber tubing should be sufficient, and is in some ways superior to the standard melodica tubing. Remember that the tube must be cleaned out periodically as well—it is recommended to soak it in water with some bleach, and letting it air dry.

• Cleaning: Since you constantly must breathe into the melodica, a lot of condensation forms inside the blowing tube. It is recommended to remove the condensation from the instrument after each time you play. The melodica has a moisture vent which you can open. You then either blow through the mouthpiece, or shake the melodica vertically up and down to get the moisture out.

• Breathing techniques: It requires more effort to blow the air into the melodica when playing the lower notes than the upper notes (each key is attached to a reed, and the higher-pitched reeds require less air to vibrate). So it will take a while to master the proper breathing techniques to play it.

• Tuning: If the melodica gets out of tune over time, the reeds might have to be filed down in order to play the correct pitch again. It's advised to not blow too hard into the instrument, since that might cause a reed to get displaced.

Hohner—was founded in 1857, as makers of high-quality musical instruments, by Matthias Hohner. Their headquarters is in Trossingen, Germany. They make harmonicas and accordions, as well as kazoos, recorder flutes, melodicas, guitars and banjos, and more.

D'Luca—is a musical instrument manufacturer. They make guitars and guitar accessories, percussion instruments, wind and brass instruments, and more. They make a melodica that is specially designed to introduce children to music and musical instruments: xylophones, melodicas, easy-to-play guitars, and more. They are located in Ontario, California.

Yamaha—is a multinational corporation based in Hamamatsu, Japan. They were founded in 1887 as a piano and reed organ manufacturer. Besides musical instruments, they also make audio equipment and electronics, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, and more. They market a melodica by the name “pianica”, to denote its likeness to a piano keyboard.

32-key Melodica-- are makers of 32- and 37-key melodicas. Their melodica is cheaper than the Hohner model, and does not have the same sound quality, but is good for someone starting out learning how to play, or getting children interested in music.