The Claviola is a musical instrument

Musical instrument

A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...

 that was designed in the 1960s by Hohner

Hohner

Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG is a company specialising in the manufacture of musical instruments. Founded in 1857 by Matthias Hohner , Hohner is identified especially with harmonicas and accordions. The Hohner company has invented and produced many different styles, and most of the...

 technician and designer Ernst Zacharias

Ernst Zacharias

Ernst Zacharias is a German musician and engineer. In the 1950s and 1960s, he invented various electro-mechanical musical instruments for the German musical instrument manufacturer Hohner, including the Cembalet, the Clavinet, the Guitaret, and the Pianet...

 (inventor of the Pianet

Pianet

thumb|Hohner Pianet TThe Pianet was a series of electric pianos built by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany from the 1960s to the 1970s. The designer of the early Pianet models was Ernst Zacharias, basing the mechanism closely on a 1920s design by Lloyd Loar...

 and Clavinet

Clavinet

A Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...

). The instrument was produced for a few months in the 1990s before being discontinued.

Similar to a melodica

Melodica

The melodica, also known as the "blow-organ" or "key-flute", is a free-reed instrument similar to the melodeon and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole,...

, but worn like an accordion

Accordion

The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....

, the claviola has a set of piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 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.

The Hohner Claviola is best known for its use by the band One Ring Zero

One Ring Zero

One Ring Zero is a modern music group led by Joshua Camp and Michael Hearst that melds many genres and sounds to create a unique type of music.-Instruments:...

 and the jazz/folk musician Misha Alperin (Moscow Art Trio). Other musicians who use the Hohner Claviola include Rob Schwimmer (Polygraph Lounge), John Medeski

John Medeski

Anthony John Medeski is an American jazz keyboards player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood...

, Rob Burger, Michael Hearst

Michael Hearst

Michael Marcus Hearst is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and writer. His musical instruments include claviola, theremin, guitar, piano, drums and bass...

, Johanna Juhola and Rachelle Garniez.

"Claviola" was also used by the German firm of Ludwig Hupfeld

Hupfeld

Notable people called Hupfeld include:*Hans-Hermann Hupfeld, a German physicist.*Herman Hupfeld, an American songwriter.*Hermann Hupfeld, a German Orientalist and Biblical commentator.*Ludwig Hupfeld, a German piano maker ....

for one type of their self-playing pianos which were mede from 1904 until about 1930.