Have you ever wondered what that mysterious “boinging” sound is that randomly pops up in songs? Or what instrument is being played when a character stumbles and falls in a cartoon? Well stop your worrying today folks because Danielle has all of the answers to your questions! BEHOLD…the jaw harp, also commonly known as the jew harp. I first discovered this quirky instrument during the summer of 2017 when I was browsing through Bernunzio’s, located right here in Rochester! I made an impulsive purchase and VOILA, a jaw harpist was born. Grab a seat and enjoy this short video of snoopy playing a spectacular little tune! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkldkfoeVQc
The jaw harp is small metal instrument that is played by using one’s mouth and right hand index finger. To get started simply rest the instrument between your lips, while holding the left side of the instrument with your left hand. There are many different models of a jaw harp, and some may require you to press the frame onto your lips against your teeth. The right hand is used for plucking the loop of the instrument, which then vibrates the reed. The “boing” sound is created by simultaneously plucking the loop, and moving your tongue. The faster you move your tongue, the more vib
rant the “boing” sound will be. The lower your tongue sits in your mouth, the lower the pitch will be. If you move your tongue to the roof of your mouth, the pitch will sound higher. You can also change the pitch by making “oo-ee” shapes with your mouth. This sounds like a relatively simple concept, but I struggled a lot with understanding how the instrument works. I guess since I’m so used to focusing on my breath because of singing, I thought in order to play the jaw harp I would need to blow air through the reed. I quickly learned that no air is required to produce a sound on the instrument. However, the process of breathing into a jaw harp is a common practice used for some genres of music. It’s surprisingly a pretty popular skill in the techno music world. In this video, Mirko Muni shows off his techno jaw harp skills by experimenting with breathing in and out while playing the jaw harp.
A little known fact, is that the jaw harp is also associated with the invention of other well-known instruments. In this TED talk, guest speaker Valentinas tells his audience that the invention of the harmonica “is based on several little jaw harps connected together.” He also mentions that the accordion was made in a similar way. This explains why the jaw harp blends so well with these two instruments. You’ll often hear the jaw harp being played with harmonica, accordion, or banjo in bluegrass! It’s interesting to think that two well-known instruments were made possible by one simple instrument few people have heard of. It makes me wonder if other instruments were originated in a similar way. If so what are they?
TED talk speaker Valentinas also touches on the origin of it’s name. “It has nothing in common with Jews, Jewish, or Judaism. Very simple, this name ‘jews’ came from English word ‘jaws’, mouth, so sometimes it’s called jaw harp or mouth guard.” He mentions that it has around 900 different names, and is known as one of the oldest instruments in the world. Michael Wright, author of The Sea
rch for the Origins of the Jew’s Harp states that “the beginnings of the instrument suggests an Asian origin…Bamboo examples are played throughout Asia and Polynesia, but because of the basic structure of the single reed concept, it is possible that the instruments evolved in various ways independently rather than from one single source.” The picture to the right shows four jaw harps carved out of bamboo instead of metal.
Jaw harps also make fun cameos in cinema. They’re most popular in western movies, and actors often actually learn how to play them! Here is a little montage of the jaw harp in cinema!
Sources:
http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/newsletter/vol2num2/Harp.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SpWuseQGys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKHgIERB5rQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkPlk4BSSMY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkldkfoeVQc
http://www.jewsharpguild.org/history.html
When you said VOILA, I miss read it as viola and thought, “that’s a great pun”. I thought the info about the harmonica and accordion being an extended jaw harp was really interesting.
Hi Danielle! What I enjoy most about your post is that it is so unique. I would have never thought about the instrument behind that noise; my first instinct would’ve been that these noises were created electronically. This said, the jew harp sounds like a really cool invention and after reading your post I felt like I had learned something that I probably never would have if not for your blog! I had no idea this instrument has been around for so long, and that it was crucial in the creation of the harmonica. I also thought the description of how you play the jew harp was very interesting and adds to what a fun and quirky invention this is. If I were to give some criticism, it would be that I would’ve like to have read why you personally think it is important that people know about this technology. Great job!