mouth organ

Any of a family of small portable free-reed wind instruments originating in Eastern and South Asia. The compact harmonica, or European mouth organ, developed by Charles Wheatstone in 1829, has tuned metal free reeds of variable length contained in a narrow rectangular box and is played by blowing and sucking air while moving the instrument from side to side through the lips.

As the mouth harp, the mouth organ is a staple instrument in country and Western music. As a melody instrument it achieved concert status through the virtuosity of Larry Adler. All mouth organs bend in pitch in response to variation in pressure of the player's breath.