Jaw Harp - Also called the Jew's harp, Juice harp or Mouth harp. It is not part of Jewish history or music, but has been connected in English with them for the last 400 years, in 1595 it was written about as the jewes trump. It's origins and age is uncertain, the oldest one found in Japan and dated to 900. It was a well-known folk instrument by the Middle Ages in Europe, and many have turned up in excavations from Anglo Saxon and Carolingian times. Since 1511 there has been an on-going debate as to if this is a percussion instrument or a chromatic instrument. Versions of the jaw harp are made from bamboo in Southeast Asia. | |