All about the jew's harp

People who research the emergence of musical instruments gather information not just bit by bit, but often build complex chains of interconnections. Alas, there is indeed a lack of reference material in this area. For example, the jew's harp is an interesting musical instrument associated with magic and sorcery, but there is no excess of information about it either. Therefore, any historical references are considered in detail and linked to the existing material. It turns out interesting.

Jew's harp is a tool that is represented by a tongue that moves freely in the frame opening. The tongue is set in motion either by the musician's finger or by pulling the string. The instrument is held at the mouth, and the oral cavity, the nasal cavity, and even the lower respiratory tract serve as a resonator. The articulating apparatus of a person, his breathing are capable of changing the timbre of the jew's harp, enhancing the overtones in the sound spectrum.

There are a huge number of variations in the forms and types of jew's harp. It is made in various parts of the world: in Polynesia, Asia, the States, Europe, Russia. The jew's harp is known both in Africa and the Middle East. True, the colonists brought the instrument to these regions, it is not considered traditional for them. If you collect all the variations of the names of the jew's harp, there will be about 1000 of them.

To trace the history of an instrument, you need to have a sufficient number of archaeological finds.And although there are enough copies in the world's leading music collections, there is not enough historical authenticity. Lamellar jew's harps are rarely found, since the climate interferes with their preservation, and the material is not entirely successful in terms of long-term storage. But if they do find it, then these are, as a rule, tools akin to the era of Christ, and even the age of 4 thousand years.

More often they find arcuate jew's harps, however, only the arc is found - it is preserved better than the rest of the parts. But without a tongue, the instrument is practically useless, but only for playing, but as an artifact it is still important.

According to the modern conclusions of scientists, most likely, Asia is the birthplace of the jew's harp. And in Europe, the instrument ended up in the 13th century. Moreover, the jew's harp came to Europe already fully formed. But it is known for sure that this is an ancient instrument. And it spread throughout the world, probably through trade.

The construction of the jew's harp itself is simple: a fixed base in which the tongue freely vibrates. The design can be integral, or it can be composite. Let's consider the varieties of the instrument.

• Arcuate. They are made by forging from a metal rod, and a steel tongue with a hook at the end is fixed in the center of the tool. The arc version is considered a more modern type of jew's harp, yet it is made of metal. It is shaped like a lyre. The arc version must be pressed tightly to the teeth in order to achieve a loud and expressive sound. In fact, the entire cranium acts as a resonator in this case. Ancient finds are 700-900 years old, in shape they resemble a hairpin, the arc is practically not expressed in them. Such jew's harps were found, in particular, in Sweden and Japan. Probably, at first, the shape was really not so accented, the obvious formation of the arc happened later.
• Lamellar. Another name is frame. Usually it is a wooden instrument, bamboo specimens are found, as well as jew's harps made of bone. Metallic versions of the labial instrument appeared later. It looks like this: a plate, a tongue is cut in the middle. This was part of the evolution of the music chip. This instrument is classified as idiophonic, because its tongue is compared to the body. It must be pressed to the lips, and the tongue will begin to move with the help of the musician's fingers. But you can also use a thread that will move the tongue.

Let's consider several popular instrument models.

• Glazyrin's tools. His products are distinguished by loudness and sensitivity. Even though their acoustic properties are not the most outstanding (although, of course, they cannot be called bad), this is the most popular instrument in the world of jew's harps. The Phantom model is one of the most popular, the Cricket is not far behind.

• Potkin's harps. Leaders among Altai craftsmen, in terms of the quality and stability of instruments, are better not to be found in this region.

• Jew's harps of Dubrovsky. The Khabarovsk master specializes in bass jew's harps, very unusual in appearance. Their sound is low and deep, their timbre is rich, but neutral. In short, ideal for low sound lovers.

• Pyzhov's tools. The model name "Leader 85" is a balanced and accurate jew's harp with an even timbre. Good for beginners.

• Kovatsenko's tools. The product has a hard and massive steel body, the sound of the instrument is rich, long-lasting - it goes deep, rises high. Has a classic shape, suitable for different styles of play.

• Volgutov's jew's harps. The well-known model "Vedun" - excellent quality, loud sound, interesting design.

• Masko's tools. Very beautiful, one might say, design tools at affordable prices. Made of bronze and stainless steel.

• Jew's harps Kazantsev-Minakov. Altai craftsmen make instruments that resemble Potkin's works in shape and size, but differ in details - smoothly cut decks inside and polished surfaces.

Cases and covers are like a second skin, they are important both from the point of view of careful storage of the jew's harp, and from the point of view of completing its appearance. The most popular are leather models that provide tongue protection. The colors are different, but mostly natural shades. The most popular are brown, reddish brown, beige, sand. Carved cases look no less interesting: they are even more authentic than leather ones.

The playful essence of this product is demonstrated by the tongue and its features. The design with which it is long will give a lower sound. But if in a long model there is a tongue made of metal of high rigidity, it will sound higher and shorter than the soft one.

Let's list the main properties of the jew's harp sound.

• Height. Each jew's harp has its own base frequency, with which the tongue moves, it corresponds to the pitch of a low sound - the lowest for this instrument. If the frequency coincides with the frequency of a certain note, the instrument can be considered tuned.
• Timbre. The set of overtones is the voice of the instrument. Products are crackling and smooth, the former sound unusual, a significant crackling can be confusing. But playing smooth requires skill on the part of the musician.
• Stiffness of the tongue. It determines the tactile properties of the process.
• Mechanics. Mechanical properties - this is the ability to maintain the purity of sound with variable and significant impacts, with a difference in the vector of impacts on the reed.
• Sensitivity. The loudness of the sound differs even when striking the tongue of equal force, the sensitivity determines the ratio of the loudness of the sound to the efforts that are spent on receiving it.
• Volume. It is usually associated with timbre and sensitivity. If you just play at home, without an audience, the volume is not so important.

The main thing is to decide what the tool is being selected for. If just for yourself, for self-indulgence, your own interest, you can find a budget option. It will be akin to an acquaintance. If a person uses the product often and his requests for the tool grow, it will be possible to find something of a higher quality and more expensive. But immediately ordering an expensive jew's harp is not entirely correct, you still need to see how the relationship with the instrument will develop.

The second option, no less correct, is to trust the professionals. If, moreover, the pros teach how to play the jew's harp, they can also give practical advice on choosing an instrument. Moreover, he will be accurate, since they see the student's playing style, his temperament and personal characteristics, which also matter when choosing a jew's harp.

You can use tutorials, video tutorials, layouts - everything works. There is no need to force yourself to master the instrument faster: it is too meditative for such pressure. You should first get used to it, evaluate it, try to play in different states, at different times of the day.

These recommendations will also not be superfluous.

• If the jew's harp immediately seemed not the most comfortable to hold, this is not a reason to put it off and look for a new one. Almost every tool will create that first impression.Anyone will have to get used to.
• Sound isn't everything. It is not an end in itself in the sense that it does not matter what labor costs are needed to extract it. No, it is the method of sound extraction that dominates, the force of the strike is more important.
• You should not ask loved ones to evaluate how the first experience is, how the instrument sounds. Jew's harp is more for playing, not for listening. It serves not so much the audience, the audience, but the player himself.
• While playing, you should feel all sounds - both vowels and consonants. You should open / close your throat, try to move your larynx. In a word, playing the jew's harp is an excellent field for experiments and studying the abilities of your body as well.
• Attention must be paid to each movement, evaluate the result, try differently. For musicians with a choleric temperament, this, of course, will not be easy.
• If you play the jew's harp, standing in the middle of the room, the sound will be one. But if you stand to the window or with an emphasis on the wall, the sound will take on a different shape. And this is the special interest of studying the jew's harp.

What to do for the first time with a jew's harp in your hands - expert advice.

1. The rounded part of the tool can be resting on the index and middle fingers. It is secured with the thumb at the point where the tongue is attached. It is important to organize close pressing of the two product guides to the teeth. The main thing is that the tongue does not encounter obstacles when playing.
2. The instrument should be pressed against the teeth, pull back the tongue and quickly release. So you can hear the voice of the jew's harp. From it you need to try to extract as many different sounds as possible.
3. You can move your tongue, press it to the sky: now significantly, now with a light touch. The tongue can be moved from side to side, you can even try to shove it down the throat.
4. It is necessary to close the throat, imitating water in the mouth. Then play with inhalation and exhalation. After one blow to the tongue of the instrument, inhale deeply - this is how a vibrating sound can last up to a minute.
5. If you make a sound with your throat during the game, you get throat singing. Two sounds can be combined.

For those who are already interested in the jew's harp, a few more interesting facts:

• in ancient times it was used as a sacred instrument participating in rituals, and later it was also used as a device for a healing ceremony;
• Austria was the most active European country in terms of the production of lip instruments;
• the famous organ creator Friedrich Buschmann, inspired by the reed system of the jew's harp, invented the harmonica;
• they say that the ancestor of the jew's harp is an ordinary sliver, Tuvan instruments lead researchers to this idea;
• in Dinara Asanova's film "What would you choose?" the jew's harp sounds, and it is spoken of as a necessary thing;
• on old European paintings you can see that even angels play the jew's harp.

To learn how to play the jew's harp, see the next video.