[David I Am]

Right, relax, its okay. You can do this. Melodica is a simple instrument, and they aren’t difficult to disassemble.

You’re going to likely need a small screwdriver and a medium screwdriver. technically ‘0.5’ ‘1’ and ‘2’ Phillips drivers will usually fit all the various screws.

Get yourself a magnet to hold screws, it’ll come in handy. My favorite is a clump of those bucky balls magnet toys.

First, remove the case screws. These may be at the end caps – such as the suzuki melodion – or they may be straight into the case in recessed holes as on many generics, the hohner, and the yamaha pianica.

Once you separate the innards from the outards, you’ll find more screws to undo.

Melodicas have a sound chamber in which there are several plates with reeds on them. You will need to open this compartment, revealing the reeds. Be gentle as you open this up, there will be a gasket around the edges (probably) to ensure there is no air leakage. You’ll be wanting to reuse this!

Inside you will find more screws holding the plates down. STOP. I can’t imagine that there will be any need to remove the sound plates from the melodica. That said, they are fastened down with screws (usually quite tightly) and have some more gasketry going on underneath. be careful.

Once its open, clean gently and mildly. You can run water over it, but don’t get excited with lots of soap or wiping – these tiny metal reeds vibrate to make your sound. If you bend them, they won’t work! Shake the most of the water off and let it dry thoroughly in your dishrack or sommat, then reverse your disassembly procedure to assemble it. Attach mouthpiece and VOILA! Pure sweet sounds of happiness!

Keep tootin, you can do this thing!

David