The name Jaw Harp is a bit of a misnomer and does not hold much scholastic merit. Under its unobtrusive appearance khomus conceals extraordinary opportunities for it is able to make all the varieties of natural sounds as if it were born by Mother Nature. Many years ago, hearing for the first time the sounds of a jew's harp, the next day he purchased his first jew's harp, and since then has not parted with this instrument.
First the term untuned is a bit of a misnomer. The instrument still has a tune, but this tune does not correspond exactly to any note on the western scale. Tuned instruments are usually more expensive since the craftsmen will have to take extra time to work on the instrument until it matches the desired musical key, while untuned jawharps can just be made and they'll have whatever tuning come's from their natural shape. If you plan to play your jawharp in a band with other tuned instruments, get a jawharp that is tuned to whatever key most of your songs are in. The untuned jawharp can be considered a bit more of a solo instrument, or to be played with light percussive background. Because the jawharp is not tuned to the western scale, it can clash and cause dissonance when played with other instruments that are tuned.
During the workshop every student will get a djam to practice which you can take home afterwards, so you can continue to learn by yourself. During the day you will get to know basic techniques of playing the Jew's harp and learn a lot about the cultures around this instrument in traditional, contemporary, folk, pop and art music. We will listen to recordings and I will play live examples of different Jew's harps.
In the musical and spiritual ideoscape of the central Asian steppe, the forces of nature's master-spirits affect everyday life. With just two million people spread over a vast expanse of over one million square miles, the nomadic life is often pitted against the elemental power of nature, early or late snow, rain and wind, testing the resilience and humility of humans. In this landscape, the gods can be charmed with music, and music performance become an act of reciprocity—returning to nature what has been borrowed.
Her repertoire combines throat singing and folk melodies accompanied by the khomus (jaw harp). Her voice and khomus blend to create unique harmony that often evokes feelings of profound wonder. Audiences might hear the rustle of grass in the wind, the cry of a bird startled in the sky, and the quiet incantations of an ancient shamanic ritual.
Seventeenth and eighteenth century archaeological research recovered Jew's harps from Maine to Florida. More than 120 were found at one site in Michigan alone. Conclusive evidence of the use of the Jew's Harp is by no means abundant, except for the fact that practically all of the Jew's Harps which have been archaeological finds have been in dis-repair, which means the tongues were broken and missing. Most of them were discovered down wells or among rubbish heaps meaning perhaps that they were played then thrown away when they broke. Evidence shows that the use of Jew's Harps as a barter item with the Indians continued till as late as 1815 and 1820.
It expresses a theme of the film, which is the movement of people. This sort of movement has been going on since the beginning of the human race — and the music of the jew's-harp, an ancient instrument, is meant to reflect that. Then people began to stay in one place and accumulate possessions, which they had to protect.
Ancient craftsman created the instrumented by splitting the rib of a cow or horse into two pieces, as reported by the Siberian Times They would have then fashioned the remains into a three-forked contraption, much like a mouth harp or a Jew's harp,” where the handle” is placed into the performer's mouth and the forks are plucked with the finger to create a twanging sound. Since bone is strong yet surprisingly flexible, it's the ideal material to create such an instrument.
The artist creates music filled with the breath of the wild nature of the Far North. Masterfully performing in several manners of throat singing and playing the traditional Yakut khomus (Jew's harp), Olena imitates the voices of birds and animals, various sounds of nature, combining them with archaic and modern electronic music.
how to use a jew harp
how to play a jew's harp
vintage jew's harp