Is it difficult to play harmonium?
If you have had any musical or piano training, the harmonium is not a difficult instrument to play. It has a keyboard and reeds and bellows. You pump the back portion of the instrument and then it pushes air through the box and as you depress a key, the air exits with that key. There are stops/knobs in the front of the harmonium that allow the air to go through.
There are a few types of harmoniums: ones that can fold into themselves and can easily be transported, as well as ones that are not best for transporting that have just a top over the keyboard portion.
The number of stops can vary by style of harmonium, and also whether or not it has a coupler. A coupler is a lever along the keyboard’s far right side that can allow more keys to accompany you as you play. For instance if you play a low “c” note, the coupler will also depress the higher “C” note leading to a fuller sound.
I have found that it’s easy to begin. If you have a harmonium I would begin with this:
(1) Learning how to keep a steady consistent sound as you pump the bellow and depress one key. Create a nāda yoga practice out of this by humming or “aaa”-ing along with the note. Listen into the sound and allow your hum or “aaa” to merge with the sound. Play around with volume level.
(2) Start with a very simple chant that requires you play three notes. You can set a drone by opening up an upper octave note.
(3) Find one chant you love, and find a teacher who can give you a simplified version of it to practice. Remember, this practice isn’t about building repertoire/a library of songs you can sing. It’s about expressing your full devotion, speaking with your open heart, and bringing all of YOU to the practice. That’s why I suggest starting with a song (or “bhajan”) you have heard that makes your heart sing or maybe you find that you can’t get it out of your head.