response 1 of 22:

Jul 6 19:44 UTC 1995

HELP. How does one play the jew's-harp? Our daughter sent one to me for my
birthday, from Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, a jew's-harp, with the cryptic
note "Its for you to figure out." In fact, when I opened the package, I
had to dig in my memory to come up for a name for it, and I came up with
"mouth-harp". Only a day later did the common name come back to me. SO -
how is it played? We are picking her up at Blue Lake on Sunday next, and
*I need to be proficient by then*! Is there music for it? How about, CDs?
Who're the foremost performers today? Educate me, please! I might be able
to join the jew's-harp section of the Blue Lake orchestra. 

response 3 of 22:

Jul 7 03:35 UTC 1995

I have so far discovered:
* The tone is *much* louder if one blows gently while twanging.
* Tongue position affects the tone more if one doesn't blow.
* My thumb is having a hole worn in it from twanging.

response 5 of 22:

Jul 7 16:12 UTC 1995

Try facing a wall, about 12 inches away when you play.  The reflection will
give you a much better sense of how it sounds.

response 7 of 22:

Jul 7 21:20 UTC 1995

I believe that I already mentioned the lack of pitch control.  If you think
about the physical system, there is no way to change the frequency of
oscillation (at least not any *significant* change).  You *could* attach a
small socket to the end of the twanger and carry a variety of weights to
attach, thereby changing the frequency.  Or you might be able to change the
active length of the twanger by holding the base tightly.

response 9 of 22:

Jul 10 20:27 UTC 1995

We've been to Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp to pick up our daughter. I
"twanged" a little when I saw her, and she thought it was pretty funny
(she had sent me the instrument, you will recall). I was able to pick up
the instructions for the "Jaw Harp" (they were out when our daughter
bought one). Here is what it says: 

  "The jaw harp, a folk instrument of uncertain age and origin, was
  already well known during the European Middle Ages. The note it
  produces depends entirely upon the dimensions of its vibrating
  tongue, although the timbre of the note may be affected by the
  characteristics of the frame and the player can produce interesting
  effects with the note by regulating the breath.

  "Hold the rounded part of the jaw harp frame between the thumb and
  forefinger of your left hand, with the long extension of the jaw harp
  tongue pointing away from your mouth. Place the narrow part of the
  frame between your lips, allowing your lips to just touch the bars
  on each side without touching the metal tongue, while holding the
  bars in position against your front teeth. Your teeth must be slightly
  parted to allow for a vibrating space for the metal tongue and
  a passageway for your breath. The vibrations of the jaw harp tongue
  which produces this instruments's distinctive sound are set in motion by
  plucking or stroking the metal tongue towards yourself with the first finger
  of your right hand; tones are produced and varied by your breathing
  rhythm. First try a simple tone by breathing out (as in a sigh) while
  plucking the tongue. Then experiment with breathing in and out in
  rhythm with the vibrtating tongue to the beat of a familar tune. Be sure
  that no part of your mouth is in contact with the metal tongue, as this
  will prevent its proper vibration and is the most common source of
  difficulty in mastering the instrument.

    [Cooperman Fife & Drum Co., Centerbrook, Connecticut - U.S.A.]

response 11 of 22:

Jul 11 19:44 UTC 1995

Just wait till the Art Fair in a coupla weeks. Some nut will be playing
one on some street corner, a grubby bucket at his feet, expecting you (or
I) to put money in it for his 'performance'. Don't cha just love it?
BTW, Keep your tongue a bit back from the vibrating metal, it hurts like
hell if you get it caught!

response 13 of 22:

Jul 14 10:55 UTC 1995

Tuned percussion.  My Elderly Instruments catalog has it available in a range
of pitches.  They list it under "Miscellaneous".

response 15 of 22:

Jul 14 18:29 UTC 1995

Call (517) 372-7890.  They're in Lansing, so you could also stop by.
You want the Acoustic Instruments catalog.  If you have any pretensions toward
being a folky, you definitely want their CD catalog as well.  There is also
an Electric Instruments catalog and an Instructional Book/Tape catalog.

Elderly is one the nation's biggest Martin (guitar) dealers, and stock all
kinds of hand-made banjos, guitars, mandolins, etc.

response 17 of 22:

Aug 11 06:08 UTC 1995

The catalogs arrived from Elderly. I'm impressed. You can get a chromatic
set of 13 Whitlow Jaw Harps from low D to high D in a thermoplastic
foam-lined case for only $255. Now, how do you play 14 jaw harps, if you
don't know how to juggle? Boy, you could outfit a weirdo combo from
Elderly. 

They sent only 4 of their catalogs (books & videos etc; acoustics;
electric; vintage and used), but will be sending their record/cassette/cd
catalogs. 

They sell books called "5-minute Jaw Harp Self-Instruction Method", and
"MB Fun with Jaws Harp". The latter has 9 songs with music, lyrics, guitar
chords, and jaw harp rhythm notation. I guess if I'm going to continue by
training, I better get these books, before I get for a personal trainer.
Unfortunately, no jaws harp video is available.

response 19 of 22:

Aug 11 18:46 UTC 1995

I have been wondering whether the previous common name for this
instrument, the Jew's Harp, has any negative connotation to Jewish
people? It now appears to be called only the Jaw Harp in current
publications. It was observed that the name Jew's Harp might just be
a corruption of the Dutch jeugd (youth's). 

response 21 of 22:

Aug 13 02:24 UTC 1995

No negative connotation that I know of. I am not aware of any connection
to the history of the Jewish People, though, so that would be consistent
with the name being a corruption of something else.