The cheng is a Chinese musical instrument. It is comprised of a series of tubes with free reeds. Its introduction into Europe led to the development of the accordion and harmonium. Research Cheng
In music, fingering is (a) the art of dexterously applying the fingers to a musical instrument in playing, (b) The marking of the notes of a piece of music, as for the piano, organ, harmonium, concertina, etc, so as to guide the fingers in playing. Research Fingering
The harmonium is a musical instrument of relatively modern invention, producing sounds somewhat resembling those of the organ, resulting from the pressure of wind on a series of vibrating metallic reeds. By the action of bellows, to which the feet communicate a more or less rapid movement, the air is made to impinge against thin tongues of metal (here termed reeds), and to set them vibrating. These metal tongues are fitted into a slit in the top of a small box or sonorous cavity, called a wind-box, and are enabled to vibrate by being fixed only at one end. The discovery that the form of the wind-boxes determines the quality of the sound produced by the vibration of these metallic tongues contributed very much to the development of the harmonium, as it enabled the player to imitate the sound of the oboe, flute, etc.
The instrument has a keyboard like that of a piano, and when one of the keys is pressed down a valve is opened, which allows the wind from the bellows to rush through one of the wind-boxes and act on the vibrator. There are several stops, by means of which the performer can direct the stream of wind into the wind-boxes which produce a flute, clarionet, or any other sound. There is also a knee action, which either serves as an expression stop, or brings all the stops of the instrument into play at once, and what is called the percussion action, which consists in the application of a small hammer, which strikes the vibrator as soon as the key is pressed down, and thus aids the action of the wind. The better class of harmoniums usually have two or more extra rows of vibrators, which, acted upon by separate stops, add so many octaves to the compass. Research Harmonium
In music a reed is a small piece of cane or wood attached to the mouthpiece of certain instruments, and set in vibration by the breath. In the clarinet it is a single fiat reed; in the oboe and bassoon it is double, forming a compressed tube. The term reed also describes one of the thin pieces of metal, the vibration of which produce the tones of a melodeon, accordion, harmonium, or seraphine and are also attached to certain sets or registers of pipes in an organ. Research Reed
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