Tor Bekken

Hey…I jammed along with a rhythm track on my Casio SA-46 toy keyboard. Kinda cool… the melodica is a Hohner Piano 36

Comparison time….

Just got down with some Monk.

Well that’s the question…
I have a vintage 1960s Hohner 26 (the grey and white one with metal casing). It sounds great and the keys are fine. Unfortunately, it is not as airtight as it should be, and when you blow through it without pressing the keys you can hear a hissing/whistling sound (not very loud, but irritating)…clear proof of air l…[Read more]

The great jazz trumpeter Don Cherry played many other instruments, including melodica. He recorded this piece in the early 1980s, in a duo with drummer Ed Blackwell. It’s on an album named EL CORAZON. Here’s my own little solo version…

This may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but here’s some totally free way out improvisation. The melodica is a wonderfully expressive instrument, also in this kind of improvised music.

Here are two videos…the first is an improvised tune, inspired by various Norwegian folk music stylings, the other is an actual folk song from Finnskogen, Norway. Hope you enjoy… The melodica is a vintage Hohner Piano 26 that I bought from a Norwegian…[Read more]

https://youtu.be/J8lhLzwpAjo This song is much sung by the small Romani minority here in Norway, but it is probably more of an ‘international’ folk song, well known many places in the world. I try to harmonize it a bit, like I would on piano, as well as improvise a little.

Dear forum…I am a newcomer; to the forum, and to the melodica. I am a Norwegian pianist and keyboard player, working with jazz, folk and improv. Here’s some noodling on the melodica. I am working to get more used to the small keys, and will record more improv and Norwegian folk stuff in the future.