Mouth harp
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Jew's harp, jaw harp,
mouth harp, Ozark harp, trump or juice harp, is a lamellophone
instrument, which is in the category of plucked idiophones: it consists of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue or reed
attached to a frame. The tongue/reed is placed in the performer's mouth
and plucked with the finger to produce a note.
Characteristics
The frame is held firmly against the
performer's parted teeth or lips (depending on the type), using the jaw and
mouth as a resonator, greatly increasing the volume of the instrument. The teeth
must be parted sufficiently for the reed to vibrate freely, and the fleshy
parts of the mouth should not come into contact with the reed to prevent
damping of the vibrations. The note or tone thus produced is constant in pitch,
though by changing the shape of his or her mouth, and the amount of air
contained in it (and in some traditions closing the glottis),
the performer can cause different overtones
to sound and thus create melodies. The volume of the note (tone) can be varied by breathing
in and out.
History
This instrument is considered to be
one of the oldest musical instruments in the world;[1]
a musician apparently playing it can be seen in a Chinese drawing from the 4th
century BC.[2]
Despite its common English name, and the sometimes used Jew's trump, it
has no particular connection with the Jewish people or Judaism.
This instrument is native to Asia and used in all tribes of Turkic peoples
in Asia, among whom it is variously referred to as a temir komuz
(literally, iron komuz), agiz komuzu (literally, mouth komuz), gubuz
or doromb.
The instrument is known in many
different cultures by many different names. The common English name "Jew's
harp" may be considered controversial or potentially misleading, and is
thus avoided by some speakers. Other speakers believe the avoidance of the term
to be offensive and deliberately use the term so as not to cause offense.
Another name used to identify the instrument, especially in scholarly
literature, is the older English
trump, while guimbarde, the French word for the instrument, can
be found in unabridged dictionaries and is featured in recent revival efforts.
Since trances are facilitated by droning sounds,[3]
the Jew's harp has been associated with magic and has been a common instrument in shamanic
rituals.[4]
The temir komuz is
made of iron usually with a length of 100–200 mm and with a width of
approximately 2–7 mm. The range of the instrument varies with the size of
the instrument, but generally hovers around an octave span. The Kirgiz
people are exceptionally proficient on the temir komuz instrument and it
is quite popular among children, although some adults continue to play the
instrument. There is a National Artist of Kyrgyz Republic
who performs on the instrument, temir komuz. One time twenty Kirgiz
girls played in a temir komuz ensemble on the stage of the Bolshoi
Theater in Moscow. Temir komuz pieces was notated by Zataevich in two or
three parts. Apparently an octave drone is possible, or even an ostinato
alternating the fifth step of a scale
with an octave.[5]
There are many theories for the
origin of the name Jew's harp. According to the Oxford English
Dictionary, this name appears earliest in Walter Raleigh's Discouerie Guiana
in 1596, spelled "Iewes Harp." The "jaw" variant is
attested at least as early as 1774[6]
and 1809,[7]
the "juice" variant appeared only in the late 19th and 20th
centuries. It has also been suggested that the name derives from the French
"Jeu-trompe" meaning "toy-trumpet".[8]
Theories that the name is a
corruption of "jaws" or "jeu" are described by the Oxford
English Dictionary as
"baseless and inept"; the OED also says that, "More or less
satisfactory reasons may be conjectured: e.g. that the instrument was actually
made, sold, or imported to England by Jews, or purported to be so; or that it
was attributed to them, as a good commercial name, suggesting the trumps and
harps mentioned in the Bible."[9]
Carnatic
music
The instrument, known as morsing
in South India, is part of the rhythmic section in a Carnatic music
ensemble.[10]
Filipino
music
The bamboo jaw harp, known as kubing or kumbing is used by various
Filipino peoples throughout the Philippine archipelago, and features in various neo-folk songs by artists like Joey Ayala
and Grace Nono.
The northern Igorot
groups are the only people who produce the afiw or Jew's harp made from bronze.
Turkic
traditional music
Sindhi
music
In Sindhi
the jaw harp is called Changu (چنگُ). In Sindhi music, it can be an
accompaniment or the main instrument. One of the most famous players is Amir
Bux Ruunjho.[11]
World
music
The jaw harp is frequently to be
found in the repertoire of music played by alternative or world music
bands. Sandy Miller of the UK-based Brazilian samba/funk band Tempo Novo,
plays a Jew's harp solo in the piece Canto de Ossanha.[12]
Western
classical music
The Austrian composer Johann Albrechtsberger—chiefly known today as a teacher of Beethoven—wrote
four concerti (in F, Eb, E & D) for Jew's harp between 1769 and 1771.[13]
Sicilian
Music
The original wiki article on the subject (with images) can
be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jew's_harp
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