daren banarsë
Playing & Teaching Melodica
REACTION
“Not easy to successfully perform classical music on melodica -sound, response of instrument, breath control, interpretation – I think you have shown it can be done”
F Demoretcky
melodica evolution
Having trained as a classical pianist, I always dreamed of having a small portable instrument I could take anywhere. For me that dream became the melodica!
I was struck by how accessible this ‘toy’ instrument was for anyone who wanted to learning to play music. I set up the MelodicaWorld forum and YouTube channel with free lessons on how to play. And I published a book for anyone wanting to learn how to read music. The Guardian Newspaper described me in 2023 as ‘someone who has done much to promote the melodica in the UK’.
I began experimenting with making high quality wooden melodicas to use for TV recordings. I took one of these to the 2017 Comhaltas Fleadh in Ireland, and won a silver medal.