Petr Jasinčuk on the magic of playing the jaw harp
Jaw harp, known in Czech as brumle, is an ancient musical instrument that has been played all over the world for centuries. Here in Czechia, it is mostly used in traditional folk music, especially in Moravia, but it has also found its way into other musical genres. What is the origin of this unusual musical instrument? And how do you play the brumle? I discussed these question with jaw harp enthusiast Petr Jasinčuk.
“A typical shape of the jaw harp that I usually play has the shape of the letter Omega. The most important part of the jaw harp is this flexible part, called a tongue, and the trigger. If I put it into my mouth and hit the trigger, I produce sound.
“It's all about physics. It is affected by the length of the jaw harp and the length of the tongue and the rest of the sound are overtones of the bass frequency.”
You brought along a case full of jaw-harps. Does each of them play a different tone?
Yes, I can show you…
What is the history of the jaw harp? Where did it originate? And how did it get to the territory of today’s Czechia?
“The oldest excavations of this instrument is the Chinese Kouxian, which is around 4,000 years old.”
“It is quite a complicated question, I have to say, because the oldest excavations of this instrument from the past is the Chinese Kouxian, a jaw harp made from bone. It is around 4,000 years old.
“There are a lot of places in the world where enthusiasts tried to find the origin of the jaw harp. Nobody knows for sure where it started, but maybe it originated in various parts of the world.”
You mean it originated simultaneously…
“Yes, this is one of the theories.”
What do we know about the history of the brumle in our country?
“Some people say the instrument was brought to Europe by Mongolians. But there is also a theory that it was brought here by the Jewish peddlers.”
And that might be the reason why it sometimes referred to as the Jew’s harp…
“Yes, this is possibly why people call it the Jewish harp or Jew’s harp, but I prefer the name jaw-harp because it is connected with the way it is played.”
The jaw harp has mostly been used as an accompanying instrument in traditional music. Are there still places in the world where it is commonly used?
“There is one nation, the Yakutians, who use the instrument natively and it's actually their national instrument. They mostly use it as a solo instrument. They have a modern way of playing it, combining it with background music such as techno or pop music.”
Here in Czechia, I associate the brumle with Moravian folk music. Is that correct?
“I think it is correct. Moravians and Slovaks also call it grumle and they usually use it in folk music.”
When did you first discover the instrument? And how did you learn to play it?
“I am not able to say how long I have known about the instrument, it is at least twelve years. I first saw it in a tea room, my friend show it to me. I had never seen anything like it and I wanted to have one of my own.
“I eventually got the instrument as a gift from my ex-partner, and I have been obsessed with playing the jaw harp ever since and I met with a number of jaw harp teachers all over the world.
“The most important one was Aron Szilagyi. He is a Hungarian player whose father is a well-known jaw-harp maker, and he is also a great musician. I also saw a lot of videos on YouTube and after some time I started to create a community around the instrument.”
I know you organize various workshops and lectures to teach people how to play the brumle.
“It is not a common instrument here in Czechia, so I try to promote it and make people more aware of it.”
“It is not a common instrument here in Czechia, so I try to promote it and make people more aware of it. My goal is to teach people how to play the jaw harp and I developed four different patterns to help people in the learning process. I start with explaining the rhythm, because it is absolutely essential if you want to learn how to play the brumle.”
You have also released a CD with your own music. What kind of music do you play? And could you perhaps give us a sample?
“Yes, I can, although I don’t have the same jaw harp that I use for recording. The idea for the CD was how the shamans came to our world. I usually use this track in my meditations with a jaw harp and a drum.”
Do you prefer to play the jaw harp as a solo instrument or do you also like to play with other musicians?
“It depends on the situation. When I play it for other people as a meditation instrument, I prefer solo playing. When I try to show people how to play the jaw harp, it is better to play a solo.
“But I also have a project called Nigunatica where I play a duet. I play the jaw harp and my colleague sings and plays the tapan drum, a double-headed drum. I create a sort of baseline with the jaw harp, while she adds the drum rhythm.”
Finally, as a player, do you have any dreams that you would like to achieve?
“I have already achieved several of my dreams. First of all, I got to perform in Yakutia, I played in the National Ballet building in Yakuts. It was a national holiday of the jaw harp and I was invited there as an honourable guest. It was amazing.
“I also got to play with my favourite band, called Arteests. It was at my favourite festival in Germany, the Ancient Trance festival in Taucha. I was invited to play with them on the main stage as a guest and it was brilliant. And I have also performed at the same festival several times as a solo player, so I am really happy with that!”
