The Song Fight Bulletin Board

I was just given one of these instruments but I'm totally clueless on it's use and what the proper sound of a jew's harp should be. Help! Please.

http://www.jewsharpguild.org/wav/billtis2.wav

I have never played one.

From seeing them played, it appears you place it up to your hollowed mouth, and pluck the twanger thing, and then adjust the shape of your mouth to adjust the tone of the harp.

Hold it firmly against your teeth, one bar on the uppers, one on the lowers. Pluck the thingy, but don't let it slam against your teeth! Move your cheeks and lips in ways that make you feel silly. This modulates the sound. For specials occassions, inhale/exhale while the thingy is vibrating and you get an overdrive sound. I have one I bought from a Hmong girl in Vietnam years ago but haven't recorded it yet.

For a fascinating treatise on the Jew's Harp and its relationship to piscine nomenclature, see:
http://songfight.net/forums/viewtopic.p ... &start=105

Man I had one of these things as a kid. If I played it too long and too vigorously I would get light headed and have to stop. And Yes "DO Not let it hit your teeth" ouch. Keeping your tounge away is a good idea as well.

bortwein wrote:Keeping your tounge away is a good idea as well.

That advice can be applied to most things in life

Thanks everyone. I'm gonna try this out again. I guess it just takes a lot of practice getting the mouth positioning right.

Also called a jawharp.

The Jew's harp is known world-wide by many different names, depending on the country of origin.
Some examples are:

England - Gewgaw
Germany - Maultrommel (which means mouth drum)
Japan - Koukin
Russia - Vargan
Siberia - Khomus
Philippines - Kumbing and kubing
Italy - Scacciapensieri
Norway - munnharpa or munnharpe
France - guimbarde
Bali - genggong

from http://www.jewsharpguild.org

and in the US it's often called a "Juice harp" from people who think they need to be totally PC, as if referring to something as belonging to a Jew is inherently racist or whatever.

So saying "Fluffy has a Jews-predisposition-to-complain-about-everything" would be ok?

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.I'm sure there was a funnier way to put that, but that's all I got at the moment.

fluffy wrote:and in the US it's often called a "Juice harp" from people who think they need to be totally PC, as if referring to something as belonging to a Jew is inherently racist or whatever.

When I was a little kiddie, I can remember that if I picked up something dirty off the ground, like an old food wrapper or something, adults would often say,
"...don't touch that, a Chinaman might have had it in his mouth!".

I don't think it's considered cool to say things like that anymore.

(BTW, has anyone else heard anything like that, or is that a bit of home-grown Aussie racism?)

Ray

my favorite if those was when I was a kid and an adult caught you cheating at a game or sumthing they would often say

"cmon now play the white man"

I dont hear it any more tho I do try to use it myself at times just for nostalgic reasons

Tho 'racialist' to the core it stil makes me laff to think about

the sober irishman wrote:So saying "Fluffy has a Jews-predisposition-to-complain-about-everything" would be ok?

That, sir, is a stereotype. I'm calling the anti-defamation league and reporting you.

Come on, Fluffy, don't be a nigger.



/prepares for lifetime ban from boards

wow, are you dumb enough to think throwing a smiley in there legitimizes that ? like, makes it all funny and stuff?

sad.

Welcome to the internet, man.

It's a word.

Chill out.

the sober irishman wrote:Welcome to the internet, man.

It's a word.

Chill out.

you are an idiot, and you really need to work on not being one.

Yes, Sober, your railing against Denyer at every turn seems rather meaningless now ...

Sober, as one of the few people of color on this board, allow me to express to you- it's not just a word. And I know rappers throw it around all the time and some people have placed it into the vernacular. But it doesn't change the fact that the word comes from a place of hate and ignorance. You've never had the word said to you by someone who wants you to feel like you are a human being of less worth because of the color of your skin. It's an ugly word. Don't use it.