Jew's Harp Revisited

I was thinking that the fairly decent Jew's harp I have squirreled away in my drawer was a dying breed.

Even in the old days when Johnson-Smith was the my Jew's harp source; (see my archive blog) and when Froggie the Gremlin (another past blog) was twanging, or Gerald Mc Boing Boing was boinging, we in the Brooks family were strangely proud to know the difference between a toy or cheap Jew's harp and a quality one that would really bang (twang?) out a tone.

After sitting on or losing a favorite twanger, we would finally get Dad to take us in to Rochester to get a real nice one from a glass case in a music store. The stiffer yoke and the tuned blue-black steel tang would really talk to you . I saw a "Jaw harp" on a card at a store lately that was the awful pot metal toy that I'm sure would have had the weak airy sound that surely would kill off the species. I don't know what is worse, somebody buying that, thinking they would get the great sound, or using the P.C. name "Jaw Harp" that somehow implies that saying Jew's Harp is in some way objectionable or anti-Semitic or something. Dopey.

Anyhow, I had almost decided that quality Jew's harps were dying when I found this link that is just short of the Holy Grail if you are a Jew's Harp fan. Reviews and descriptions of scores of creative and wonderful harps. makers from around the world, pictures of them all. A strange and handmade site that shows the quality and variety seen for the humble musical tawanger.




Just one more reference to make this blog as rich as possible. Here is an audio clip from the grandaddy of all Jew's harps, I guess. It is a clip from "Ghenghis Blues" album with Paul Pena and Ondar from Tuva. (great story, should be the object of another blog) . The jacket reports it as a homus, a Tuvan instrument. Hearing these strange overtones, I can see why a lot of folks like me who like this sound also are fascinated by throat singing and similar overtone rich sounds like the Australian didgeridoo.
Here is the clip of Kongar-ol Ondar and the Tuvan homus Jew's harp.