Some of my Jew's harps, made of wood, bamboo, bronze, metal. The simplicity of the kubing's appearance belies the complexity of its acoustic mechanisms, for while it acts primarily as a lamellaphone is also to some extent an aerophone. The frame of the kubing is held in the left hand and pressed against a player's lips facing outward, using his mouth cavity as a resonating chamber. The primary source of sound is actuated as the player flexes and releases the tip of the frame with his or her right thumb or index finger. This produces a fixed pitch, rich in overtones. The fundamental of the kubing pictured here is approximately E-flat3. By changing the mouth cavity's size and shape through movement of the tongue and larynx, a player may sound different overtones of the fundamental pitch and affect timbre. Nothing comes in contact with the lamella once it is released to vibrate. If the musician exhales during sounding, this amplifies the sound and changes the instrument's timbre. Spoken words and phrases can be simulated with this instrument.
Now we've already established that, compared to a jaw harp, the guitar is lame. But La Beau is right: it is the same principle. You use your mouth as the acoustical chamber for the harp. To hold it in place, you use your teeth or lips, which must be slightly parted to let the reed (or twanger) vibrate. Then, by changing the shape of your mouth, you can create different overtones.
Handmade by Dikirim Dari, the Karinding (bottom) and Hoen Toong (top) are traditional instruments of Bali. These easy to play instruments feature a percussive sound, full of tone, but with short sustain as compared to a steel trump. Both are held against the lips rather than the teeth. Excellent for the beginner. Undecorated.
JEWS HARP - PRO TUNED - Excellent sound - 13 variants. Jaw harp. Jaw's Harps of various quality are avalable. Some are handmade and tuned to particular keys. Retail prices range from $6.00-$43.00. During the past winter we spent time on developing a new harp. The feedback from many players and valued customers brought us to realise that there is interest in a larger harp and in lower pitches.
I've got several high end mouth harps and I bought this on a whim. I can't tell the difference between the high end ones and this one! Amazing! Get it and hit You Tube to learn how to play this unique musical instrument. This bamboo Jew's Harp of the Ainu people of northern Japan (Hokkaido) is very rare. The Mukkuri's reed is attached to a string which is pulled sideward, away from the player's head.
jew's harp instrument family
https://choose-jaw-harp-to-play-buy.blogspot.com/2020/01/best-jaw-harp-for-beginners.html
country songs with jew's harp