Music
The Harmonium Gets a Makeover ...Finally!
by RADHIKA SETH
Those of you who follow Sikh and Indian music will know that the Harmonium plays a very integral part in the music of Punjab and the subcontinent - and, of course, Bollywood compositions.
The instrument per-se may not be used in the movie songs but when the movie director, music composer, singers and the hero of the movie, sit for "music sessions", they rely on this instrument for composing the melody.
Designer Amandeep Singh has given this dowdy wind instrument a fresh lease
of life, by making it look as good as any swanky Yamaha piano! It's called the Harmonix!
The harmonium may have been long forgotten in the west but it is
still the lifeline of Sikh, Punjabi and Indian music. The features like its ability to be
played in harmonic as well as melodic style, and that too without any
use of electricity, indeed made it indispensable in the Classical
and Semi-Classical genre of usic.
There were initially many types of harmoniums available. However, it was the hand pumped version that struck the right "note" with musicians as it can be played while sitting cross legged on the floor.
However, the harmonium was never designed to be played for long durations and it was never a comfortable ride for the player.
The hand stretched out working against a spring to pump air into the bellows can give pain in hand of any healthy individual.
Though the music industry is in boom, the harmonium has always taken a backstage because of its inability to cope with the modern playing durations, electronics and aesthetics.
This design is an attempt to bring back the harmonium into the music scene with ergonomic design, aesthetics and electronic plugins. Just like the sound of an acoustic guitar cannot be replaced by the electric guitar, the music from the harmonium cannot be imitated by any electronic synthesizer.
Conversation about this article
1: Gurujot Singh (Espanola, New Mexico, United States), June 08, 2010, 7:45 PM.
How does it pump? Are those handles on the sides the pump? I would like to say that the harmonium has only been part of the Sikh tradition since around the 20's. from the Guru's times until then, we used stringed instruments some of which are unique to the Sikh tradition. I'm not sure why or how the harmonium has become so pervasive in Sikhi, but it's actually of French origin. and although it is used for raag, it's is not a raag instrument. This is because you can't slide to different notes (meend) on a harmonium, and the bit about being able to do harmonies is true, but if you talk to any raag professionals, they will say you shouldn't do harmonies (simultaneous notes) in raag, that is a technique that changes music to 'light' instead of classical. I might not be the biggest fan of the harmonium, it's sound, or playing style, but it has served it's purpose and grown to be part of our modern history. And I'm glad to see that there are people out there doing things and innovating. It looks cool. It looks like something apple would sell. Good job on the sleek look, and it also looks like you could slip your legs under it a bit which is awesome for us Sikhs to sit more comfortably. Harmoniums are clunky and awkward to carry, and this looks more dynamic and compact. I would actually really like to see one of these and try it out. I wonder what innovations could be made on the Sikh stringed instruments ...
2: Amarjot Singh (Milwaukee, U.S.A.), June 09, 2010, 3:05 PM.
Gurujot, I found a write-up about Harmonix here: http://www.yankodesign.com/2010/06/02/jazzing-up-the-indian-piano/ - I don't know the details but per my father and grand-father, the harmonium was introduced during British colonization, to make music "easy":) You know, the shabad, the sound that connected and inter-connected us as one of the strongest civilization, was manipulated by changing the instruments ...
3: Surinder (Massachusetts, U.S.A.), June 09, 2010, 3:16 PM.
I wouldn't put it past the British to inject the Harmonium into Indian culture. If you can provide more details, that would be still interesting to note, and also to file for future reference. The British wanted to "control" Sikhism so that their project to exploit India and the rest of the world went on as they wanted. Injecting their ideas and people and generally attempting to hijack Sikhism is a well-understood (if not well-known) plan they had.
4: Rae-Kiran (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), June 24, 2010, 5:49 AM.
This is amazing. I'm so down with this harmonium. It's new, practical and relevant. Where can I get one?
5: Rob Holleman (Linschoten, The Netherlands), April 04, 2015, 6:12 AM.
Where can I order this new harmonium?
6: Rajen (India), August 29, 2015, 12:05 PM.
We need it.