Other names | Jew's harp, jaw harp, mouth harp, Ozark harp, juice harp, murchunga, guimbarde, mungiga, vargan, trompe, isitolotolo |
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Classification | |
Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 121.22 (Heteroglot guimbarde (the lamella is attached to the frame)) |
Related instruments | |
Sound sample | |
The Jew's harp, also known as jaw harp, juice harp, or mouth harp, [nb 1] is a lamellophone instrument, consisting of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue or reed attached to a frame. Despite the colloquial name, the Jew's harp most likely originated in Siberia, specifically in or around the Altai Mountains, and is of Turkic origin. It has no relation to the Jewish people. [2]
Jew's harps may be categorized as idioglot or heteroglot (whether or not the frame and the tine are one piece); by the shape of the frame (rod or plaque); by the number of tines, and whether the tines are plucked, joint-tapped, or string-pulled.
The frame is held firmly against the performer's parted teeth or lips (depending on the type), using the mouth (plus the throat and lungs when breathing freely) 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 and possible pain. The note or tone thus produced is constant in pitch, though by changing the shape of the 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.
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, "The vibrations of the steel tongue produce a compound sound composed of a fundamental and its harmonics. By using the cavity of the mouth as a resonator, each harmonic in succession can be isolated and reinforced, giving the instrument the compass shown."
"The lower harmonics of the series cannot be obtained, owing to the limited capacity of the resonating cavity. The black notes on the stave show the scale which may be produced by using two harps, one tuned a fourth above the other. The player on the Jew's harp, in order to isolate the harmonics, frames his mouth as though intending to pronounce the various vowels." [3] See: bugle scale.
In 2018, over 20 jaw harps were discovered in Shaanxi, China, dating back about 4000 years ago. [4] The earliest depiction of somebody playing what seems to be a Jew's harp is a Chinese drawing from the 3rd century BCE. [5] Archaeological finds of surviving examples in Europe have been claimed to be almost as old, but those dates have been challenged both on the grounds of excavation techniques, and the lack of contemporary writing or pictures mentioning the instrument.
Although this instrument is used by lackeys and people of the lower class, this does not mean it is not worthy of consideration by better minds ... The trump is grasped while its extremity is placed between the teeth in order to play it and make it sound ... Now one may strike the tongue with the index finger in two ways, i.e., by lifting it or lowering it: but it is easier to strike it by raising it, which is why the extremity, C, is slightly curved, so that the finger is not injured ... Many people play this instrument. When the tongue is made to vibrate, a buzzing is heard which imitates that of bees, wasps, and flies ... [if one uses] several Jew's harps of various sizes, a curious harmony is produced.
There are many theories for the origin of the name jew's harp. The apparent reference to Jewish people is especially misleading since it "has nothing to do with the Jewish people; neither does it look like a harp in its structure and appearance". [7] In Sicilian it is translated as marranzanu or mariolu; both of which are derogatory terms for Jewish people also found in Italian [8] and Spanish. [9] In German, it is known as Maultrommel, which roughly translates as 'mouth drum'. [7] The name "Jew's Harp" first appears in 1481 in a customs account book under the name "Jue harpes". [10] The "jaw" variant is attested at least as early as 1774 [11] and 1809, [12] the "juice" variant appearing 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'. [13] The current French word for the instrument is guimbarde. English etymologist Hensleigh Wedgwood wrote in 1855 that the derivation from jeu harpe opposes the French idiom, where "if two substantives are joined together, the qualifying noun is invariably the last". [14] He refers to the jeu harpe derivation, but not to the jeu tromp derivation.
Both theories—that the name is a corruption of jaws or jeu—are described by the Oxford English Dictionary as "lacking any supporting evidence." [15] The OED says that, "more or less satisfactory reasons may be conjectured: e.g., that the instrument was actually made, sold, or imported to England by Jewish people, or purported to be so; or that it was attributed to Jewish people, suggesting the trumps and harps mentioned in the Bible, and hence considered a good commercial name." [16] Although the OED states that "the association of the instrument with Jewish people occurs, so far as is known, only in English", [15] the term jødeharpe is also used in Danish. [17]
Indian morchangs are made in many metals but mainly in brass, iron, copper and silver. Different types of construction art are used for the construction of Morchang in each metal.[ citation needed ]
Brass murchangs are manufactured [18] from ancient Indian manufacturing style brass metal casting. Brass molding is a process of shaping brass, into desired shapes using a mold. The brass is heated to a molten state and then poured or forced into the mold, where it cools and solidifies into the desired shape. Brass molding is often used to create intricate or complex shapes.
The angkuoch (Khmer: អង្គួច) is a Cambodian Jew's harp. [19] It is a folk instrument made of bamboo and carved into a long, flat shape with a hole in the center and the tongue across the hole. [20] There is also a metal variety, more round or tree-leaf shaped. [20] It may also have metal bells attached. [20] The instrument is both a wind instrument and percussion instrument. [19] [20] As a wind instrument, it is placed against the mouth, which acts as a resonator and tool to alter the sound. [20] Although mainly a folk instrument, better-made examples exist. [20] While the instrument was thought to be the invention of children herding cattle, it is sometimes used in public performance, to accompany the Mahori music in public dancing. [20]
The instrument is used as part of the rhythm section in various styles of Indian folk and classical music. Most notably the Morsing in the Carnatic music of South India, [21] or the Morchang in the folk music of Rajasthan.
In Russia, the instrument has its own brand called vargan. [22] A Jew's harp was excavated in a 9th-century burial mound in Idelbayev, Bashkortostan. [23] The Jew's harp was banned in the USSR during the regime of Joseph Stalin due to its closeness to Shamanism. [24]
In Nepal, one type of Jew's harp is named the murchunga (Nepali: मुर्चुङ्गा). [25] It is very similar to an Indian morsing or morchang in that the tongue (or twanger) extends beyond the frame, thus giving the instrument more sustain. [26]
The binayo (Nepali बिनायो बाजा) is a bamboo Jew's harp, in the Kiranti musical tradition from Malingo. It is popular in the Eastern Himalayan region of Nepal, Sikkim, Darjeeling, and Bhutan. It is a wind instrument played by blowing the air without tuning the node with fingers. The binayo is six inches long and one inch in width. [27]
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 Kyrgyz people are exceptionally proficient on the instrument and it is quite popular among children, although some adults continue to play the instrument.[ citation needed ]Temir komuz pieces were notated by Aleksandr Zataevich in two or three parts. An octave drone is possible, or even an ostinato alternating the fifth step of a scale with an octave. [28]
In Turkish, the Jew's harp is called as ağız kopuzu. [29] [30] The Jew's harp traditionally used in Turkish folk songs from Anatolia has fallen out of use with time. [31] [32] Modern renditions of Turkish folk songs with the Jew's harp have been done by artists such as Senem Diyici in the song 'Dolama Dolamayı' and Ravan Yuzkhan.
In Sindhi music, the Jew's 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. [33]
In Sicily, the Jew's harp is commonly known as marranzanu, but other names include angalarruni, calarruni, gangalarruni, ganghilarruni, mariolu, mariolu di fera, marranzana, and ngannalarruni. [34] [35]
Austrian Jew's harp music uses typical Western harmony. The UNESCO has included Austrian Jew's harp playing in its Intangible Cultural Heritage list. [36]
In Austria, the instrument is known as Maultrommel (the literal translation is 'mouth drum').
Early representations of Jew's harps have appeared in Western churches since the fourteenth century. [37]
The Austrian composer Johann Albrechtsberger—chiefly known today as a teacher of Beethoven—wrote seven concerti for Jew's harp, mandora, and orchestra between 1769 and 1771. Four of them have survived, in the keys of F major, E-flat major, E major, and D major. [38] [39] They are based on the special use of the Jew's harp in Austrian folk music.
In the experimental period at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century there were very virtuoso instrumentalists on the mouth harp. Thus, for example, Johann Heinrich Scheibler was able to mount up to ten mouth harps on a support disc. He called the instrument "Aura". Each mouth harp was tuned to different basic tones, which made even chromatic sequences possible.
— Walter Maurer, translated from German [40]
Well known performer Franz Koch (1761–1831), discovered by Frederick the Great, could play two Jew's harps at once, while the also well known performer Karl Eulenstein (1802–1890) "invented a system of playing four at once, connecting them by silken strings in such a way that he could clasp all four with the lips, and strike all the four springs at the same time". [41]
The American composer Charles Ives wrote a part for Jew's harp in the Washington's Birthday movement of A Symphony: New England Holidays. [42]
The Jew's harp has been used occasionally in rock and country music. For example:
Embouchure or lipping is the use of the lips, facial muscles, tongue, and teeth in playing a wind instrument. This includes shaping the lips to the mouthpiece of a woodwind instrument or the mouthpiece of a brass instrument. The word is of French origin and is related to the root bouche, 'mouth'. Proper embouchure allows instrumentalists to play their instrument at its full range with a full, clear tone and without strain or damage to their muscles.
The musical bow is a simple string instrument used by a number of African peoples as well as Indigenous peoples of the Americas. It consists of a flexible, usually wooden, stick 1.5 to 10 feet long, and strung end to end with a taut cord, usually metal. It can be played with the hands or a wooden stick or branch. It is uncertain if the musical bow developed from the hunting bow, though the San or Bushmen people of the Kalahari Desert do convert their hunting bows to musical use.
A lamellophone is a member of the family of musical instruments that makes its sound by a thin vibrating plate called a lamella or tongue, which is fixed at one end and has the other end free. When the musician depresses the free end of a plate with a finger or fingernail, and then allows the finger to slip off, the released plate vibrates. An instrument may have a single tongue or a series of multiple tongues.
The music of Myanmar shares many similarities with other musical styles in the region. Traditional music is melodic, having its own unique form of harmony, often composed with a 4
4 (na-yi-se), a 2
4 (wa-let-se) or a 8
16 time signature. In Burmese, music segments are combined into patterns, and then into verses, making it a multi-level hierarchical system. Various levels are manipulated to create a song. Harmony in Mahagita is known as twe-lone, which is similar to a chord in western music. For example, C is combined with F or G.
Tuva is a part of Russia, inhabited by a Turkic people. Tuvans are known abroad for khoomei (xöömej), a kind of overtone singing.
The morsing is an instrument similar to the Jew's harp, mainly used in Rajasthan, in the Carnatic music of South India, and in Sindh, Pakistan. It can be categorized under lamellophones, which is a sub-category of plucked idiophones. The instrument consists of a metal ring in the shape of a horseshoe with two parallel forks which form the frame, and a metal tongue in the middle, between the forks, fixed to the ring at one end and free to vibrate at the other. The metal tongue, also called the trigger, is bent at the free end in a plane perpendicular to the circular ring so that it can be struck and made to vibrate.
The genggong is a kind of jew's harp used in the music of Bali. It consists of a wooden frame and tongue cut from a single piece of the leaf stem of the sugar palm. The left end is held firmly against the cheek, while a string tied to the right end is jerked rhythmically to set the tongue into motion. Different harmonics are produced by pronouncing different vowel sounds.
Traditional Japanese musical instruments, known as wagakki (和楽器) in Japanese, are musical instruments used in the traditional folk music of Japan. They comprise a range of string, wind, and percussion instruments.
Traditional Vietnamese musical instruments are the musical instruments used in the traditional and classical musics of Vietnam. They comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments, used by both the Viet majority as well as the nation's ethnic minorities.
The gourd mouth organ is a free reed mouth organ played across East and Southeast Asia. It consists of a gourd wind chest with several bamboo or bronze pipes inserted on top of it, the numbers of pipes differing from region to region.
Traditional Cambodian musical instruments are the musical instruments used in the traditional and classical music of Cambodia. They comprise a wide range of wind, string, and percussion instruments, used by both the Khmer majority as well as the nation's ethnic minorities.
Kouxian is a general Chinese term for any variety of jaw harp. The jaw harp is a plucked idiophone in which the lamella is mounted in a small frame, and the player's open mouth serves as a resonance chamber.
Derived from the mouth harp of the Hmong people, Đàn môi is the Vietnamese name of a traditional musical instrument widely used in minority ethnic groups in Vietnam. An inward orientated idioglot, mouth harp somewhat similar to the metal heteroglot/compound jaw harp, the dan moi, rather than being held against the teeth while being played, like a jaw harp, is held against the lips while being played.
The lamella is...cut into the material,...such as...the brass dan moi from the Hmong people in northern Vietnam and Cambodia. ...To play...the instrument is held against the lips to connect it to the sound-box and the action of the lamella is triggered...by plucking.
The Roneat Ek or Roneat Aek is a xylophone used in the Khmer classical music of Cambodia. It is built in the shape of a curved, rectangular shaped boat. It has twenty-one thick bamboo or hard wood bars that are suspended from strings attached to the two walls. They are cut into pieces of the same width, but of different lengths and thickness. Originally these instruments were highly decorated with inlay and carvings on the sides of the sound box. Now they are simpler. The Roneat is played in the Pinpeat ensemble. In that ensemble, sits on the right of the Roneat Thung, a lower-pitched xylophone. The roneat ek is the analogous equivalent to the Thai xylophone called ranat ek, and the Burmese bamboo xylophone called "pattala".
The k'ni, also known as mim or memm in Cambodia, popularly known as a mouth violin is a mouth resonator fiddle, i.e. a fiddle-like instrument used by the Jarai people in Vietnam and Tampuan people in Cambodia.
Bamboo's natural hollow form makes it an obvious choice for many musical instruments. In South and South East Asia, traditional uses of bamboo the instrument include various types of woodwind instruments, such as flutes, and devices like xylophones and organs, which require resonating sections. In some traditional instruments bamboo is the primary material, while others combine bamboo with other materials such as wood and leather.
Roneat is the generic Khmer word for referring to several types of xylophones used in traditional Cambodian music; the pinpeat and mohaori.
This is a list of musical pieces and songs that include or feature the Jew's harp or other resonance based lamellophones. Jew's harp music is Library of Congress Subject Heading M175.J4.
The angkuoch is a Cambodian jaw harp. It is a folk instrument made of bamboo or iron.
... these bamboo Jew's harps are easy to hold and may be longer lasting due to being made of thicker material than many other similar instruments. Held against the lips, they are easy to play and offer the same full, percussive sound as the "Kubings."
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