A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Æolina

by Ebenezer Prout

ÆOLINA. A small and simple 'free reed' instrument, invented about 1829 by Messrs. Wheatstone. It consisted of a few free reeds, which were fixed into a metal plate and blown by the mouth. As each reed was furnished with a separate aperture for supplying the wind, a simple melody could of course be played by moving the instrument backwards and forwards before the mouth. Its value for artistic purposes was nil; its only interest is a historical one, as being one of the earliest attempts to make practical use of the discovery of the free reed. The æolina may be regarded as the first germ of the Accordion and Concertina.

[ E. P. ]