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Both jew's harps in figure 1 are held on the left side and plucked on the right side. The bow-shaped jew's harp is plucked at the reed, the lamellate one at the end of the frame. The reed vibrates, producing the fundamental note always heard during playing.
figure 1
The bow-shaped jew's harps have to be held against the teeth, but not the
lamellate ones. Why is that so? The answer holds some basic information
about the functioning of jew's harps:
On bow-shaped jew's harps the reed is attached to a frame made of a forged
metal stick. The stick is bowed so that its ends run parallel and very
close to the reed (figure 1 left, classical form, this one is from the
Szilagyi factory, Hungary). For playing the frame is held near the base of
the reed, and the reed is plucked at its tip (figure 2, figure 4).
Lamellate jew's harps can have different shapes. They are made from one
piece of wood or metal (mostly brass), into which the reed is cut. In most
cases the frame encloses the reed (figure 1 right, showing a Vietnamese
Dan Moi). The player holds the frame on the side of the reed tip and
plucks the frame on the side of the reed base (figure 2).
Both types of jew's harps show only a narrow slit between frame and reed.
The player's lips touch the frame and bring the sound of the vibrating
reed in close contact with the oral cavity functioning as a resonance
chamber (see below).
figure 2
The reed can vibrate, because the connection to the frame is a spring (figure 3, green area). This spring is - so to speak - the hinge between frame and reed. As the reed vibrates, so does the frame - the reason is physics: Action equals reaction, each power has an equal antagonist (figure 3, red area).
figure 3
The bow-shaped jew's harp has to be held against the teeth to make the
head function as a balance weight and absorb the vibration of the frame.
Otherwise, the soft lips, touching the frame just where it vibrates, will
muffle the joined movement and sound of frame and reed. Without teeth the
jew's harp sound has no reverberation.
The lamellate jew's harp on the right functions different: The frame
vibrates not where the lips are, but where it is held by the hand. The
hand functions as balance weight, and without teeth the sound is not
muffled by the lips.
Thus, contrary to a common statement, the teeth do not connect the sound of the instrument to the skull of the player to produce resonance. The skull functions as a mere balance weight. The lips are responsible for the sound connection, and it is the cavities of head, throat and chest that function as resonance chambers. This we learn from the lamellate jew's harps that have a clear and strong sound without direct connection to teeth and skull.
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