The jew's harp is not only a musical instrument for extracting sound, but also an instrument that encapsulates the cultural heritage of the peoples of the world. Sensitivity. When plucking the tongue of various harps with the same force, sound volume can be different. Sensitivity determines the ratio between the volume and efforts made to produce it. The higher it is, the easier it is to produce a loud sound. Volume sensitivity can be combined with a sensitivity to the control commands — articulation, breathing. Using a high quality instrument, only a small movement is enough and the sound will distinctly change. But a low quality one requires more effort. As a rule, the higher the sensitivity, the easier and more enjoyable it is to play.
We have visual references in Europe going back to the 14th century, the earliest of which comes from the seal of the Trompii family of Grьningen, near Aarburg, Switzerland, dated 1353, and there is no doubt that this is a Jew's harp of, if we accept Kolltviet's system, a late type (Fig. 6) Crane 2003, p. 3. In England there is a fantastic series of miniature enamels of angels playing various musical instruments displayed on the Crosier of William of Wickham, to be found in the chapel of New College, Oxford, one of which not only clearly shows a Jew's harp, but the angel flicking the instrument's tongue with his finger (Fig. 7). There are also a number of watermarks from the late 14th century from a widespread area of northern France and the Low Countries Crane 2003, p. 4.
I should think that the method of keeping the khomus by a hand doesn't influence the quality of khomus sounding. It just should be comfortable for the executant itself. I also saw musicians who attached the khomus to a massive thing and played keeping the khomus for it. In this case it is not obligatory to press the khomus to your teeth. I am making an accent that ways of keeping the khomus do not influence the sound. In any case there is no much influence. The most important thing is to keep the khomus closely to teeth and nothing should bother reed vibration. Lips should clasp the cheeks.
There was probably no limit on what could be considered a musical instrument during the Viking age, and they probably used all kinds of instruments. From using their voice, whistling, stomping their feet or clapping their hands, it is really only the imagination that sets the limits.
Handmade by Dikirim Dari, the Karinding (bottom) and Hoen Toong (top) are traditional instruments of Bali. These easy to play instruments feature a percussive sound, full of tone, but with short sustain as compared to a steel trump. Both are held against the lips rather than the teeth. Excellent for the beginner. Undecorated.
The intention behind Uncle Woe‘s new video would seem pretty clearly to be to give a sampling of what the project's debut album, Our Unworn Limbs ( review here ), is all about, and in that regard, the song Mania for Breaking” is more than suited to the purpose. At a little under five minutes, it is the shortest of the pieces on Our Unworn Limbs by a wide margin — the minute-long acoustic departure When the Night Fell In Pt. 2” that precedes it notwithstanding — but still captures the tonal crunch and atmospheric reach of the album's longer material. The video put together by Rain Fice, who also happens to be the sole figure behind the Ontario-based solo-project (more on that in a bit), is animated weirdness that underscores the emotional tumult on display in the chugging riffs and YOB-style cosmic atmosphere.
Many sounds and effects are easily found by giving it a trial. I like playing the jew's harp very much and have learned playing by self-study - like presumably most players. May be the fact that playing the jew's harp has been invented again and again by the players is one reason for the diversity of playing techniques. A small gallery of pictures from the jew's harp festival at Leipzig, Germany in 2007 illustrates some of this diversity.
A terrific surprise was the offerings of Leo Tadagawa of Japan and the Chairman of the Japanese JHG. His table offered an assortment of products and the very fine steel Jews Harps of Metsugi Norimitsu that Leo commissioned. These Jews Harps are of a more European design and not traditionally Japanese (why not? Americans certainly don�t shun fine instruments made elsewhere). Leo advised that they are made by a master knife maker and this is evident by the quality of the steel (especially the tongue and the precision of assembly). Their sound is incredible and, in my opinion, they are among the best in terms of volume and range.
Most European Jew's harp names have a designation of pre-industrial origin. Then, before the popular rise of the industrial mouth-harmonica in the nineteenth century, the Jew's harp was reputed as folk instrument in general. A lot of its names originated in the time-layers of rural culture. In practice they were compared with names of musical instruments that already had found their way to several European language groups during the early days. In this context we find name-adoptions with words as fiddle, bell, drum, trumpet, horn, harp, organ, string, hurdy-gurdy, rattle or guitar, often accompanied by the word ‘mouth'. From these linguistic roots a group of names for the Jew's harp was derived, in which the embouchure of mouth-instruments is indicated. Very near to this group are the name-adoptions that associate the part of the head which is concerned to the Jew's harp playing: mouth, lips, teeth, throat, tongue and jaw.
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