Jew's harp

Missing Infobox musical instrument / Maintenance / sound parameters example: template

The Jew's harp is a small musical instrument with resounding tongue, whose tone generation principle is already very long prevalent in the world. A manually excited elastic tongue vibrates through the open rows of teeth in the mouth cavity of the player and is there sound changed by changing the size of the oral cavity and through breathing. As a Jew's harp only has a limited range, she was condemned as a solo musical instrument almost to extinction during the Central European musical development of the last 200 years. Since all the overtones produced by different stroke and breathing techniques are based on the root and this root is always represented in the sound, the jew's harp is one of the Borduninstrumenten. In the field of folk music she was ousted in 1900 by the harmonica, which produces its tones after a very similar principle.

History

It has its origins probably in Asia. There are strong indications that the oldest versions wooden (bamboo ) were prepared. In Europe, the oldest finds in eastern France were made. 1868 was found in Rouen five foot drums made ​​of bronze, probably date from this Gallo- Roman period ( 5th to 7th century).

Latin was the Jew's harp in Europe crembalum or trombula.

In German-speaking countries, where the instrument was especially popular in folk music, it was Brummeisen. Excerpts we read in the General Musical Zeitung No. 42, dated 18 July 1804, page 707 of a gig in Braunschweig: " Mr. Franz Koch entertained in his concerts on the Brummeisen with mancherley Piecen, and found very many applause. ". From an appearance of the same Mr. Koch harmonica is a year later in Frankfurt am Main in the general musical newspaper, No.24, reported on 13 March 1805 p 393. From another appearance of Mr. Koch in Vienna is in the general musical newspaper, No. 11, reported by March 18, 1818, p 211. One last time is an appearance of the Lord cook in Vienna in the musical newspaper from JG Layer, No. 47, reported on 19 November 1823. In the reports cited here, the instrument is called a " harmonica " and once as " Brummeisen ".

Input into the high culture music was the Jew's harp in the Baroque, who loved folk instruments. Johann Georg Albrechtsberger wrote a number of concerts for it; Bruno Glatzl, a milker Benedictine Father gave, as nationally known player for Emperor Joseph II a concert. Franz Stelzhamer as a masterful player, it has also been immortalized in literature ( D' Ahnl, epic poem, 1851 Vs. 220-227 ).

Design

In the Hornbostel -Sachs system Guimbardes be counted among the plucked idiophones, other instrument experts they want to belong to the aerophones in their classifications of musical instruments instead. The shape of the bow varies regionally, but the operating principle is the same everywhere: between the legs of a U-shaped frame, which one takes in the oral cavity, a leaf spring is fixed as a spring tongue is stimulated with a finger to vibrate. The pitch of the root is primarily determined by the length, thickness, hardness and shape of the spring. The width of the spring acts in the first place on the torsional vibrations.

Jew's harps are usually made ​​of metal, such as iron, bronze or brass. A Jew's harp made ​​of bamboo is the Genggong that is played in the Javanese, Balinese music and the music of Lombok. The decisive factor is the harmonic content of a Jew's harp. In this case, the narrower is the distance between the spring and ironing, the better the harmonic content.

Jew's harps are made in Slovakia, Austria, Germany, Poland, Italy, Hungary, Norway, the Russian Republic of Sakha ( Yakutia), Vietnam, Indonesia, Afghanistan, India, the Philippines and the United States.

Play

For music, the legs can be easily applied to the incisor teeth, the lips are on the legs and thus the spring tongue can easily swing into the open mouth cavity, which acts as a resonance chamber. By changing the oral cavity volume and its geometry (corresponding to the vocal education as " aou - ö -ei " ) creates a sound with different harmonic content and spectrum of sound. The simultaneous bubbling and - pull of air that sound is amplified. To extend the range, switch musician in the game often between several Guimbardes held in the hands.

"There were in the experimental time the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century very virtuous instrumentalists on the Jew's harp. So could be assembled, for example, Johann Heinrich Scheibler up to ten foot drums on a support disk. He called the resulting instrument, AURA '. The Jew's harps were tuned to different basic sounds, which even allowed chromatic melodies. "

Similar mouth movements as in the Jew's harp are running at the sound formation in the mouth arches. Since the 1930s, are in southern Africa, the main distribution area of African oral arches, large numbers of European Jews harp in use.

Musical use

The musical range of applications ranging from simple " Boing! " In animated films about modern music and classical music. The Jew's harp is found almost worldwide as an instrument of folk music, she also belongs to the traditional instruments repertoire of the Alpine region and is by Hungary and Slovenia on the German - and Italian-speaking alpine countries to France and then on to Sardinia and Corsica home. Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, the teacher of Beethoven, wrote around 1765, seven concerti for Jew's Harp, Mandora and strings, of which three have received in a library in Budapest. He interpreted it melodies and stylistic devices of contemporary Austrian folk music.

In Central Asia and neighboring mountain areas it is common, as in the Tuvan music, where it is used together with upper and undertone. Became known for this style of music by appearing on world music festivals and in classical concert halls groups Huun Huur - Tu and Yat - Kha.

Today many people the sound of the Jew's Harp from the title tune of the Sesame Street is known. In the pop charts the jew's harp came in the seventies by the group Medicine Head with songs like One And One Is One or Rising Sun. Also in folk metal and the Viking Metal finds the Jew's harp. An example of the latter is the early Viking metal band Bathory.

Other artists who have used the Jew's harp, are Karl Eulenstein, Tapani Varis, Anton Bruhin, Albin Paulus, Bernhard Mikuskovics, Wolf Dietrich Janscha, Toni Geiling, Attwenger, Seeed, Jon Bon Jovi, The Who, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Leonard Cohen, Joe Walsh, Xavier Rudd, Subway to Sally or the doctors.

Hans Werner Henze is in his recital for four musicians El Cimarron (the runaway slave ), autobiography of the escaped slave Estebán Montejo, from the year 1970, a Jew's harp.

In the radio drama and animated film " Maya the Bee " Flip the grasshopper jumps are accompanied by music with a Jew's harp.

Hermann Karlsbrunn (1862-1939) received the Viennese musician's price for the very good playing the Jew's harp.