Jew's harp

Jew's harp
A modern Jew's harp
A metal Jew's harp (demir-khomus) from Tuva

The Jew's harp, jaw harp, mouth harp, or Ozark harp, trump and juice harp, is thought 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 Turkish people in Asia where it is variously referred to as a temir komuz, agiz komuzu or gubuz.

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 thus avoided by some speakers. Another name used to identify the instrument, especially in scholarly literature, is the older English trump, while guimbarde, derived from the French word for the instrument, can be found in unabridged dictionaries and is featured in recent revival efforts.

The instrument is a lamellophone, 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. The frame is held firmly against the performer's parted front teeth, using the jaw (thus "jaw harp") 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 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 can be varied by breathing in and out.

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]

Contents

Etymology

There are many theories for the origin of the name Jew's harp. One proposed explanation is that it is a corruption of "jaw harp", while a less likely explanation espoused by some is that its name comes from "juice harp" from the amount of saliva produced when played by inexperienced players. Both of these explanations lack historical backing, as both the "jaw" and the "juice" variants 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".[5]

The Oxford English Dictionary calls theories that the name is a corruption of "jaws" or "jeu" "baseless and inept" and goes on to say, "More or less satisfactory reasons may be conjectured: e.g. that the instrument was actually made, sold, or sent to England by Jews, or supposed to be so; or that it was attributed to them, as a good commercial name, suggesting the trumps and harps mentioned in the Bible."[6]

Use

In traditional music

The Jew's harp is an integral element in the music of Tuva. Known as the khomuz, the instrument is used to play the same overtone melodies used in the khoomei, sygyt, and kargyraa styles of overtone singing. The instrument is also a traditional part of Alpine musical styles, from Hungary to France. The earliest trouve in Europe is a bronze-harp dating 5th to 8th century.

In Norwegian traditional music

The Mouth harp (or munnharpe) is also strong in Norwegian traditional music. It is more melody based than rhythm/effects. The overtone is not only pitched with the shape of the mouth but also further back in the throat by using an opening and closing of the glottis technique. With this technique the Norwegian players can play almost all the traditional fiddle/hardanger fiddle tunes. The oldest archeological mouth harp discoveries in Norway date back to around 1200. The reason why older instruments haven't been found could be because the Norwegian Mouth harp, unlike other places around the world (except some discoveries in the Benelux countries), is made in a way that makes it possible to replace the reed if it were to be broken.

In classical music

Around 1765, Beethoven's teacher Johann Georg Albrechtsberger composed at least seven concerti for Jew's harp, mandora, and strings (three survive in a library in Budapest). They are pleasant, well written works in the galant style, interpreting melodies of contemporary Austrian folk songs.

The American composer Charles Ives's Holidays Symphony features a brief solo for Jew's harp in the first movement ('Washington's Birthday').

In Indian classical music

In Carnatic music, the instrument is often used for percussion accompaniment. This instrument is commonly known as a "moorsing" or "morsing" in India.

Satyajit Ray has used a taniyaavartanam that uses this and other percussion instruments in his movie Gopi Gayen Bhaga Bayen.

In 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. Sindhi Changu by Amir Bux Ruunjho[7]

In World Music

The Jew's 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.[8]

In Vietnamese Music

Đàn môi is the Vietnamese name of a traditional musical instrument widely used in minority ethnic groups in Vietnam. This instrument is somewhat similar to Jew's harp but there are some differences.

In popular music

The Jew's harp has been used on occasion in rock and pop music. It is also used occasionally in folk, country and bluegrass music. It is featured throughout the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Give It Away" (in the album liner notes for the latter, the instrument is referred to as a "Juice Harp").

A Jew's harp, played by Michal Wright (UK), has been used in the lullaby Twinkle Twinkle Little Star that was recorded as part of a European Union funded language education project within the Socrates programme. A video recording of the song can be heard on YouTube Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

In film music

The Jew's harp was used in the 1972 movie Snoopy Come Home. Snoopy plays this instrument. It appears in Black Cat, White Cat by Emir Kusturica (1998). It was also used extensively in the soundtrack for the 2009 movie Fantastic Mr. Fox. An example of the mouth harp being played exists in a celebration scene in the original The Wicker Man movie.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "Sicilian Item of the day : Marranzano". Siciliamo (blog). 2007-08-10. http://siciliamo.blogspot.com/2007/08/sicilian-item-of-day-marranzano.html. Retrieved 2008-02-20. 
  2. ↑ http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/newsletter/vol2num2/Harp.htm
  3. ↑ The Body of Myth: Mythology, Shamanic Trance, and the Sacred, by J. Nigro Sansanese. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=aUZBqTKTAfIC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=trances+facilitated+by+droning+sounds&source=web&ots=9Nmq0UTjH2&sig=lFKeYSDwtV_I-Tk4UfVjs2IXaCU&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result#PPA117,M1. 
  4. ↑ http://www.3worlds.co.uk/Pages/Gallery-4-Ritual.html
  5. ↑ Timbs, John (1858). Things Not Generally Known: Popular Errors Explained & Illustrated. p. 61. 
  6. ↑ "Jews' trump, Jew's-trump". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 1989. 
  7. ↑ Sindhi Changu
  8. ↑ MySpace.com - Tempo Novo - Leamington Spa, UK - Latine / Jazz / Tropicale - www.myspace.com/temponovo

Bibliography

External links