Jaw Harp

Parchment

Mouth harps have a few basic parts that can be found in most versions. First you have the frame, which is rigid and holds the arms and reed. The reed is positioned between the arms of the mouth harp and has a trigger mechanism at the end of the reed. The flexibility of the reed held between the rigid frame and gives it the capability of being plucked and vibrate; this vibration produces the sounds. These sounds are amplified when the mouth harp is held between the lips and can distort the sounds produced by the vocal cords, depending on the shape of the mouth and tongue.

Learn to play the Jaw Harp in 60 seconds.

The jaw harp has been used for centuries in shamanistic rituals and incantations by Mongolian and Siberian tribal peoples, said to induce trances and heal sickness. It also has been used for spiritual healing and connection to the natural world in other places such as Malaysia and Indonesia, where its sound mimicked and communicated with the birds, insects, frogs, and plants of the rain forest, curing melancholy and sadness and passing away idle time.

One of the oldest traditional uses of the mouth harp survived in the Siberian area of Russia into the modern age. This tradition has maintained it’s shamanistic and animistic foundations and it’s use of the mouth harp in ritual practices. The story above comes from that region and holds onto the regions animistic beliefs and regard for the jaw harp. Many of the cultures that still hold onto the traditional uses of mouth harps consider them sacred when played by a “shaman”. Though commonly used for personal meditation or entertainment, when placed in the hands of a shaman these instruments become tools for journeying to the spirit world (much like the drum is commonly used).

There are a number of ancient artifacts that can be cataloged as mouth harps. As recently as 2018 scientists found a&nbsp;<a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/01/ancient-musical-instrument-mouth-jaw-harp-siberia-russia-spd/">mouth harp thought to be around 1,700 years old in the Altai mountains</a>&nbsp;of Russia that still can be played. This specific artifact was made of bone, which helped it last for thousands of years in it’s location. There are other mouth harp artifacts thought to be as old as 2,500 years old found throughout Europe and Asia.

Though these artifacts are not the oldest instruments found, such as 43,000 year old flutes made from bone in Germany, these mouth harp artifacts show our long history with these instruments. Most of the metal historical mouth harp artifacts are in decay, as oxidation has made finding them in working order hard to come by. The fact that many of these instruments are made from materials that don’t last long, such as bamboo, makes it clear that finding them as old as the ancient bone flutes mentioned above hard to imagine.

Many of the cultures that still hold onto the traditional uses of mouth harps consider them sacred when played by a “shaman”. Though commonly used for personal meditation or entertainment, when placed in the hands of a shaman these instruments become tools for journeying to the spirit world (much like the drum is commonly used).

Jaw Harp Magic In Enchanted Forest (WITH REVERB)

Ayarkhaan -"Легенда о Сотворении мира", "Орто дойду оноhуллуута"

The jaw harp is known worldwide and has many names depending on the culture and region found. Very little is know about it’s origin, but there are many stories that mention them and a few ancient artifacts that prove the jaw harp has a long history associated with almost all of our ancestors. The mouth harp is a finger plucked instrument made of a frame that holds a vibrating reed; which can be made of metal, reed, or bamboo. This instrument is held between the teeth, and the reed is played with the fingers, while its vibrations are modified by changing the shape of the mouth and position of the tongue.

Known as a “Jew’s Harp” for the last few hundred years in European cultures, this version is commonly thought of as a distortion of jaw or from the Old English word for the instrument gewgaw. There is little evidence connecting this specific instrument to the jewish people, but the name stuck for hundreds of years. Today many people describe them as “Jaw Harps” or mouth harps.

In this book I used the materials from <a href="https://www.archaicroots.com/education/the-cross-cultural-jaw-harp-jews-harp-or-mouth-harp/">https://www.archaicroots.com/education/the-cross-cultural-jaw-harp-jews-harp-or-mouth-harp/</a>

Chalkboard

-&nbsp;Jaw Harp - a Magical Instrument of Antiquity

Mouth harps are considered idiophones, instruments which vibrates to produce a sound when struck, shaken, or scraped, such as a bell, gong, or rattle. These instruments produce sound because of the elasticity and rigidity of the materials they are made from. As mentioned earlier jaw harps can be made from metals (such as copper), wood and bamboo, or bone; and each culture usually has one preferred material they use.