Tran Quang Hai : Introductory Notes about the Jew's Harp

Introductory Notes accompanying the CD (PAN Records) produced by Bernard Kleikamp on Jew’s Harps in the World released during the International Jew’s Harp Festival in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) (28-30 July 2006)

Different names of the Jew's harp

Jew’s harp is indeed an extraordinary musical instrument. Tiny in shape, simple in techniques, it is very powerful and magical in sound production.
A musical instrument called “Jew’s harp” must have three essential elements: fixed frame, flexible tongue and variable mouth resonator . It bears several names : Jew’s harp, Jaw’s harp, Juice harp (USA), gee gaw, maultrommel (Germany), Koukin, mukkuri (Japan), Vargan (Russia), Khomus (Yakutia, Siberia), Kubing (Philippines), Scacciapensieri, Marranzanu (Italy), Guimbarde (France), Munnharpa (Norway), Chang (Afghanistan), Morchang (India, Rajasthan), Morsing (South India), Genggong (Bali, Indonesia), Karinding (Sunda, Indonesia), Angkuoch (Cambodia), Dan Moi, Roding , Guoc, Toung, Kon Hla (Viet Nam) Nago besi (Timor , Indonesia), Daromb (Hungary), Berimbao (Spain)

How to play it

Held firmly in the left hand between the palm and the fingers, the Jew’s harp is pressed between the teeth, is struck using the forefinger, the middle finfer or the thumb (depending on which tradition from which country) of the right hand to create sounds.
With the tongue of the player , mixed with variations of the throat when blowing and sucking the air through the instrument, the musician can produce multiple sounds or overtones which are varied according to the modification of the mouth cavity .

Two types of Jew’s Harps

There are two type of Jew’s harps :
1. Jew’s harps with the tongue outside of the frame in Europe and Asia
2. Jew’s harps with the tongue inside of the frame in Asia, and in Oceania .
1. The Jew’s harps with the free extremity of the tongue longer than the frame are in metal. In Europe, the shape of the instrument is nearly identical everywhere. In Asia, a great diversity of shape is noticed in South Asia (India, Afghanistan, Kirgistan, Kazachstan) in Central Asia (Yakutia, Tuva, Mongolia, Altai, Bashkorostan)
2. The Jew’s harps with the free extremity of the tongue shorter and inserted inside of the frame are principally found in Asia – without pulling string (Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Sunda in Indonesia, Thailand), and with pulling string (Bali, Sulawesi in Indonesia, Bastar in India, Japan, among the Ami tribe in Taiwan, and in New Guinea and some Pacific islands )

We can find the Jew’s harps with tongue inside of the frame made of brass ( especially Vietnamese Dan Moi, and Chinese Hoho of the Yi tribe and Koukian with 2 to 5 instruments fixed like a fan)

The distribution of the Jew’s harp is worldwide. Its role , usages, and shapes are so diverse. The subtleties of how to make the vibration of the tongue attest the human ingenuity in the field of sound production .

There exist five principal functions:

1. Love courting (widespread in Asia)
2. Shamanism (Central Asia)
3. Agricultural ceremony (Asia)
4. Danses and entrertainment (Europe and Asia)
5. Children toy (Europe)

Some important historical data

This tiny musical instrument is mainly found in Europe (heteroglottic metallic Jew’s harp), in Asia (heteroglottic and idioglottic metallic, wooden and bamboo Jew’s harps) and in Oceania, except Australia (idioglottic wooden and bamboo Jew’s harps).
In America , in Africa and in Australia, the metallic Jew’s harp was introduced by the Dutch and the English during their conquest .
• 900 Iron Koukins were found in Japan in 1990 (more than 1,000 years old)
• Before 1399, old frames of Jew’s harp were found in Germany .
• In 1500, Jew’s harps were a common peddler’s goods during the 16th century.
• In 1765, Johanna George Alberchtsberger , an Austrian composer wrote a number of concerti for the Jew’s harp .
• One great virtuoso Jew’s harpist Karl Ulenstein (1802-1890) was influenced by two masters of Jew’s harp : Franz Koch (1761-1831), and Kunert and became well known throughout Europe for his Jew’s harp mastery .
• Up to 1850 the Jew’s harp attained a remarquable prominence in the musical life of Western Europe. Germany , Austria and Italy produced a big quantity of Jew’s harp (the most well known factories came from Molln village in Austria)
• From the 60’s of the 20th century, Fred Crane was the first professor who taught the history of the Jew’s harp at the University of Iowa (USA) and launched the first festival of Jew’s harp in America in 1984.
• Many other festivals of Jew’s harps followed this event . In Yakutia (organized by Ivan Alexeyev), in the United States (organized by the Jew’s harp Guild in Oregon), in Norway (organized by Anon Egeland) have flourished around the world since 1991 onwards .
• Thanks to Ivan Alexeyev and Spiridon Shishigin, the Jakut Jew’s harp (KHOMUS) and thanks to Tran Quang Hai , the Vietnamese Jew’s harp (DAN MOI) have been known and appreciated throughout the world nowadays .

Jew’s harp techniques have been developed since the discovery of Yakut style . The South Indian Morsing techniques have added to experimental compositions led by Steev Kindwald (USA)

Experimental music with Jew’s harp was composed by Tran Quang Hai (France /Vietnam) for the electro-acoustical music since 1970, and later by Anton Bruhin (Switzerland). Aron Szilagyi (Hungary) and his Navrang group, Luca Recupero with his Electric Fans (Sicily) introduced Jew’s harp in Pop / Rock music .

Other virtuoso Jew’s harpists namely Leo Tadagawa (Japan), Wang Li (China), Robert Zagretdinov (Bashkorostan), Phons Bakx (the Netherlands), John Wright (United Kingdom), Borot Bairyshev (Altai) , Gordon Frazier (USA), Manfred Russmann (Austria), Svein Westad (Norway), Anon Egeland (Norway), Sylvain Trias (France), Nguyen Duc Minh (Viet Nam) has contributed to the new style of Jew’s harp with many technical creations thanks to their dexterity and virtuosity .

Little by little we have discovered many countries having Jew’s harps . In Vietnam for example, there are now 10 different types of Jew’s harps found among many ethnic tribes (Hmong, Thai, Muong , Khmu, Dao, Jorai, Bahnar, Ede, Sedang, Mnong Gar, etc…)

The main magazines dealing with the only one subject which is Jew’s harp are : VIM edited by Fred Crane (USA), the Pluck by Gordon Frazier (USA), and Koukin Journal in Japanese by Leo Tadagawa (Japan). An only one museum of Jew’s harp was created by Ivan Alexeyev in Yakutia at the beginning of the 90’s of the 20th century. Many CDs and DVDs on Jew’s harps performed by the leading performers mentioned above since the last 15 years .

Thousands and thousands of websites have existed . All these websites can be found with the motor of research google.com by typing “jew’s harp, guimbarde, maultrommel, scacciapensieri, khomus, dan moi ”, etc….

The International Jew’s Harp Festival in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) in 2006 gathers nearly all the best Jew’s harpists in the world for a 3 days concerts, lectures, workshops (http://muziekgebouw.nl) .

A CD with samplers of different types of Jew’s harps from 3 continents selected by Bernard Kleinkamp represent an excellent choice to show to Jew’s harp lovers a beautiful panorama of music performed by this wonderfully tiny musical instrument which is JEW’S HARP .

Tran Quang Hai
Ethnomusicologist
UMR 7186 CREM/LESC of the National Centre for Scientific Research
Paris, France