claviola
The Claviola is a musical instrument that was designed in the 1960s by Hohner technician and designer Ernst Zacharias. The instrument was produced for a few months in the late 1990s before being discontinued. • Illustration — A claviola Similar to a melodica (which is still in production), but worn like an accordion and played like a bagpipe, the claviola has a set of piano keys on the right side that range 2½ octaves. The left side is a set of pipes that range in length depending on the corresponding pitch.
Also recorded as Key-bagpipe · Hohner claviola
claviola

Karen Green · Flickr: Josh Camp and Michael Hearst of One Ring Zero · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Field
- musical instrument
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for claviola. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
gnd · 4831783-4 · wikidata · Q5129638
In this article
Overview
In combination with the pipes, the claviola uses reeds blown from the "wrong" side compared to reeds in most Western free-reed instruments, resulting in a much mellower, less reedy tone, and pitch dependent on the pipe length. The player can use their left hand to shade or cover the pipe openings, to bend notes or add vibrato. The Hohner Claviola is best known for its use by the band One Ring Zero and the jazz/folk musician Misha Alperin (Moscow Art Trio). Other musicians who use the Hohner Claviola include John Medeski, Rob Burger, Michael Hearst, and John Spiers. The trademark "Claviola" was registered by the German piano maker F. Stichel in Leipzig in March 1904 for one type of their self-playing pianos which was made until about 1930.
Instrument worn like an accordion, with a set of piano keys on the right side and a set of pipes to the left

Michael (former harmonica technician at Hohner) is on the claviola. This band is amazing. Go buy their stuff: a href=" http: oneringzero.com/ " rel="nofollow" oneringzero.com a
Josh_Camp_and_Michael_Hearst_of_One_Ring_Zero.jpg: Karen Green derivative work: Vonvon · This file was derived from: Josh Camp and Michael Hearst of One Ring Zero.jpg
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 4831783-4, Hohner-Claviola.
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q5129638: claviola
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Claviola, revision 1336982523 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Re: claviola. harp-l.org.
- 2.Missin, Pat. CLAVIOLA.
- 3.One Ring Zero – Claviola. One Ring Zero.
- 4.Cf. Deutscher Reichsanzeiger 1904/6/20, p. 19.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 4831783-4, Hohner-Claviola.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Collectables
20,755 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- clavicytheriumTerminology
- Clavier à lumièresTerminology
- ClaviharpTerminology
- clavinetTerminology
- claviolineTerminology
- claviorganTerminology
- ClavivoxTerminology
- Claws of FurryWork
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with claviola?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.