Jew's harp

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Jew's harp, from an American Civil War camp near Winchester, Virginia
A modern jew's harp

The Jew's harp, jaw harp, or mouth harp is thought to be one of the oldest musical instruments in the world; a musician apparently playing it can be seen in a Chinese drawing from the 3rd century BCE [1]. It is also sometimes called a jew's trump or juice harp, among other names, and has no particular connection with Judaism.

As with the parallel example "jew's ear" for the jelly fungus Auricularia auricula-judae, the name's semitic reference is controversial and is avoided by many speakers, giving rise to various alternative terms. 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, also features in unabridged dictionaries and recent revival efforts.

The instrument is a lamellaphone, which is in the category of plucked idiophones: it consists of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue attached to a frame. This tongue is placed in the performer's mouth and plucked with the finger to produce a note. The frame is held against the performer's teeth or lips, using the jaw (thus "jaw harp") and mouth as a resonator, greatly increasing the volume of the instrument. 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 the performer can cause different overtones to sound and thus create melodies.

The instrument is known in many different cultures by at least forty different names. Since trances are facilitated by droning sounds, the Jew's harp has been associated with magic and has been a common instrument in shamanic rituals.

Etymology

There are many theories for the origin of the name Jew's harp, one being that it may derive from its popularity amongst Eurasian steppe-peoples like the Khazars, perhaps being introduced to Europe from that direction. Another explanation proposed 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 amateurs. 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".[1] The Oxford English Dictionary calls theories that the name is a corruption of "jaws" or "jeu" "baseless and inept" and goes on to speculate 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...".[2]

It is interesting to note that many names of the instrument, in English or other languages, refer to other musical instruments, cordophones, membranophones, or aerophones largely included.

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.

In classical music

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

In popular music

The Jew's harp has been used on occasion in popular music. Such uses include:

Aside from these artists, the instrument is quite prevalent in the folk metal genre, with bands such as Otyg, Folkearth, Yggdrasil, and many more including the instrument in their regular line-ups. Black Metal band Enslaved and Death Metal band Molested have also used the Jew's harp.

In film

Henry Fonda plays the instrument as the title character in John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln.

The instrument can be seen in the film The Wicker Man, at the rehearsal of Mayday celebrations, on the song "Maypole," as it has long been identified with mysticism or paganism.

The Jew's harp can also be seen in The Swedish film The Virgin Spring, directed by Ingmar Bergman.

It is featured prominently in Emir Kusturica's Black Cat, White Cat

Snoopy plays one in the animated film A Boy Named Charlie Brown.

It can also be heard as a prominent instrument in the theme song written by Ennio Morricone from the movie For a Few Dollars More, starring Clint Eastwood.

Names of specific Jew's harps around the world

  • Argentina - torompe
  • Brasil - berimboca, "harpa de boca", "berimbau de boca"
  • Chile - torompe
  • China - kǒu xiàn (口弦, lit. "mouth string")
  • Croatia - drombulja
  • Czech Republic - brumle
  • Denmark - jødeharpe (lit. "Jew harp")
  • Esperanto - buŝharpo (lit. mouth harp)
  • Estonia - parmupill (lit. "horse-fly instrument")
  • Euskal Herria (Basque country) - musugitarra (lit. "kiss guitar")
  • Finland - munniharppu
  • France - guimbarde
Corse - riberbula
  • Germany - maultrommel (lit. "mouth drum")
  • Hawaii - ʻukeke
  • Hungary - doromb
  • Iceland - gyðingaharpa (kjálkaharpa)
  • India
Assam - gogona
Karnataka - morsing
Kerala - mukhar-shanq (lit. "mouth conch")
Rajasthan - morchang
Tamil Nadu - mugar-sing
  • Indonesia
Bali - genggong
Butonese - ore-ore mbondu or ore Ngkale
Kailinese - yori
Toraja - karombi
  • Iran - zanboorak (زنبورك)
  • Ireland - trumpa; tromb (Gaelic)
  • Israel - nevel pe (נבל פה, lit. "mouth harp")
  • Italy - scacciapensieri
Sicily - marranzanu
  • Japan - koukin (口琴, lit. "mouth harp")
  • Kajkavian - brunda (lit. "the grumbling one")
  • Kazakhstan - shang-kobuz
  • Kyrgyzstan - temir-komuz (lit. "iron komuz"), ooz-komuz (lit. "mouth komuz")
  • Laos
Hmong - rab ncas (also in Vietnam, Thailand, and China)
  • Latvia - vargāns
  • Lithuania - dambrelis
  • Munanese (Indonesia) - karinta
  • Nepal - Murchunga
  • Netherlands - mondharp (lit. "mouth harp")
  • Norway - munnharpe
  • Philippines
Maguindanao - kubing
Maranao - kobing
Palawan - aroding
Tagbanua - aru-ding
Tingguian - kolibau
Yakan - kulaing
  • Poland - drumla
  • Romania - drâmbă
  • Russia - vargan
Yakutsk - kubyz
  • Scotland - tromb (Gaelic)
  • Slovakia - drumbľa
  • Serbia - drombulje (Дромбуље)
  • South Africa (Afrikaans) - trompie
  • Spain - guimbarda or birimbao
  • Sweden - mungiga
  • Switzerland (Swiss German) - "mal trommel"
  • Tuva - xomus or khomus
  • Ukraine - drymba
  • Vietnam - đàn môi
  • Wales - sturmant

References

  1. ^ Timbs, John (1858). Things Not Generally Known: Popular Errors Explained & Illustrated. p. 61.
  2. ^ "Jews' trump, Jew's-trump". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 1989.

Bibliography

  • Alekseev, Ivan, and E. I. [i.e. Egor Innokent'evich] Okoneshnikov (1988). Iskusstvo igry na iakutskom khomuse. IAkutsk: Akademiia nauk SSSR, Sibirskoe otd-nie, IAkutskii filial, In-t iazyka, lit-ry i istorii.
  • Bakx, Phons (1992). De gedachtenverdrijver: de historie van de mondharp. Hadewijch wereldmuziek. Antwerpen: Hadewijch. ISBN 9052401632.
  • Boone, Hubert, and René de Maeyer (1986). De Mondtrom. Volksmuziekinstrumenten in Belgie en in Nederland. Brussel: La Renaissance du Livre.
  • Crane, Frederick (1982). "Jew's (jaw's? jeu? jeugd? gewgaw? juice?) harp." In: Vierundzwanzigsteljahrschrift der Internationalen Maultrommelvirtuosengenossenschaft, vol. 1 (1982). With: "The Jew's Harp in Colonial America," by Brian L. Mihura.
  • Crane, Frederick (2003). A History of the Trump in Pictures: Europe and America. A special supplement to Vierundzwanzigsteljahrsschrift der Internationalen Maultrommelvirtuosengenossenschaft. Mount Pleasant, Iowa: [Frederick Crane].[2]
  • Dournon-Taurelle, Geneviève, and John Wright (1978). Les Guimbardes du Musée de l'homme. Preface by Gilbert Rouget. Published by the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle and l'Institut d'ethnologie.
  • Fox, Leonard (1984). The Jew's Harp: A Comprehensive Anthology. Selected, edited, and translated by Leonard Fox. Charleston, South Carolina: L. Fox.
  • Fox, Leonard (1988). The Jew's Harp: A Comprehensive Anthology. Selected, edited, and translated by Leonard Fox. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press; London: Associated University Presses. ISBN 0838751164.
  • Gallmann, Matthew S. (1977). The Jews Harp: A Select List of References With Library of Congress Call Numbers. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, Archive of Folk Song.
  • Gotovtsev, Innokenty. New Technologies for Yakut Khomus. Yakutsk.[3]
  • Kolltveit, Gjermund (2006). Jew's Harps in European Archaeology. BAR International series, 1500. Oxford, England: Archaeopress. ISBN 1841719315.
  • Plate, Regina (1992). Kulturgeschichte der Maultrommel. Orpheus-Schriftenreihe zu Grundfragen der Musik, Bd. 64. Bonn: Verlag für Systematische Musikwissenschaft. ISBN 3922626645.
  • Shishigin, S. S. (1994). Igraite na khomuse. Mezhdunarodnyi tsentr khomusnoi (vargannoi) muzyki. Pokrovsk : S.S. Shishigin/Ministerstvo kul'tury Respubliki Sakha (IAkutiia). ISBN 5851570121.
  • Shishigin, Spiridon. Kulakovsky and Khomus. Yakutia.[4]
  • Smeck, Roy (1974). Mel Bay's Fun With the Jaws Harp.[5]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jaw harps.

External links

Video

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