A Word from the Executive Director by Janet Gohring

Happy New Year to everyone!

This past year has been very full and rewarding, for me personally and for the Jew's Harp Guild. Because the highlight of my year was attending the 3rd International Jew's Harp Congress in Molln, Austria, that will be the main topic of my column for this issue.

I know many of you have been waiting for some kind of "report" from one of us who attended the Congress and I hope my version here will be informative for you. I'm sorry I don't have the room to tell you about all the personal things that we experienced. I encourage the others who attended to submit their own "edition" of Molln Memories to the newsletter.

Molln Memories

My husband, Bill, and I flew to Vienna, Austria on June 14th, one week before the Congress began. We were met at the airport by a Congress volunteer and driven to Molln (which was about a 3 hr drive from Vienna).

I could write a book ... but I will try to be concise! We spent the first week helping the Congress organizers for a few hours each day ... and sightseeing, touring, eating and drinking with some of the local citizens. We had a blast and in two days felt like long-time members of the community!

The week of the Congress was very full ... there was hardly a spare waking moment for any of us! Our official motto became, "We'll sleep when we're dead"! There were, literally, 2 weeks of events crammed into one!

The Congress began on Monday morning with registration at 10:00am. There were over 90 performers plus 30 historians, makers, etc. Many people who had just arrived spent the rest of the morning touring the new Jew's Harp Museum in Molln. Monday afternoon was full with the "Symposium" of speakers: Professor Dr. Franz Födermayr (Institute for Musical Science, Vienna), Moderator; Dr. Tran Quang Hai (Vietnam/France) spoke on "Overtones Used iin Various Aspects of Music"; Hr. Moya Malamusi (Malawi) spoke on "Concepts and Methods of the Southeast-African Mouthbow". Afterwards, the International Jew's Harp Board had a Round Table while some of the Jew's Harp Makers met to share and discuss their different harps. Monday evening was the "Opening Ceremony" under the huge tent that served as the Concert Headquarters. The audience was treated to the Molln Brass Orchestra and Costume group, welcome from all public officials, and finally the presentation of participating nations and ethnic groups.

Tuesday was a full day of Sumposiums: A.O. Univ. Prof. Dr. Hannsjörg (Ubl, Austria) "Jew's Harp Production in Enns, Upper Austria"; Mag. Angela Mohr (Austria) "History of Jew's Harp Production in Molln"; Dr. Frederick Crane (USA) "Production and Import of Jew's Harps in and to America"; Leo Tadagawa (Japan) "The Jew's Harp In Japan"; Banay Mulu (Taiwan) "The Jew's Harp Culture in Taiwan; Ivan Alexeyev (Sakha-Yakutia, Russian Federation) "Opening Speech: The Jew's Harp in Sakha Yakutia"; Rimma Madvarova (Kyrgyzstan) "From Congress To Congress"; Anon Egeland (Norway) "Norwegian Techniques of Playing the Jew's Harp"; Tran Quang Hai (Vietnam/France) "Playing techniques on Various Jew's Harps". Tuesday evening was "Concert Alpine Style - Jew's Harp In The Pocket" followed by the speaking Khomus in Sakha-Jakutia, and performers from Germany, Austria, and South Tirol.

Wednesday's Symposiums were: Dr. Gerlinde Haid (Institute For Research in Folk Music, Vienna) "Jew's Harp and Erotism"; Semyon Ivanov (Sakha-Yakutia, Russian Federation) "Jew's Harp and Lyrics"; Spiridon Shishigin (Sakha-Jakutia, RF) "Jew's Harp Therapy in Sakha-Yakutia - Report About Experiences"; Robert Zagretdinov (Bashkortostan, RF) "Jew's Harp Music therapy in Baschkortostan - Report About Experiences"; Kiyoshi Iwasaki (Japan) "The Jew's Harp Therapy"; Dr. Tucek (School for pre-Orientalic Musictherapy, Austria) "Pre-Oriental Music therpy"; Tran Quang Hai (Vietnam/France) "The Jew's Harp in Popular and Contemporary Music"; Fred Crane (USA) "The Jew's Harp in Art Music"; Rudolph Henning (Germany) "The Jew's Harp in German Prose" and Anton Bruhin (Switerzerland) "The Headless Jew's Harp Player".

Thursday was a more relaxed day ... Nature Excursion to Austria's newest national park, Kalkalpen ... complete with relaxed jam session and a wonderful catered banquet buffet in the middle of the Alps! In the evening we all attended the community Summer Solstice celebration.

Friday: Concert for the Children by all the performers in the morning ... all the local school children were let out of school to attend. Concerts started in mid-afternoon and continued to well after midnight. Friday was the night the American's performed anad Bill and I didn't go on stage until 1:15 AM !! Performers that night were from Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Poland and USA (American performers were Gordon Frazier, Larry Hanks, Bill and Janet Gohring, Wayne Hankins, Fred Crane, David Holt and Mike Seeger.)

Saturday morning was open and concerts from Finland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Netherlands, Norway, Bashkortostan, Altai, Tuva and Sakha-Yakutia continued late into the night.

Sunday morning all attendees gathered in the huge "Food Tent" for the traditional Morning Pint of beer. It was a relaxing time enjoying the music from Molln's Brass (Marching) Band. Concerts began again in mid-afternoon, performers were from Vietnam, Japan, India ... with special presentations of Jew's Harp and Poems as well as Jew's Harp and Dance.

I wish I could share with you all of the wonderful people, places and things we experienced on this trip ... it was a wonderful personal opportunity as well as the perfect chance to let the world know about North America's own Jew's Harp Guild. We are definitely the "new kids on the block" when it comes to the international scene. But, at the same time, I also think we are bringing fresh new ideas and concepts to an ancient and ceremonial instrument.

Fred Crane said it quite nicely in the festival Program, "The North American Jew's Harp Festival has been thriving every summer since 1992; it has been the impetus for bringing together and fostering trumpists in the northwest, to the point where they form the largest school of trumping in the whole hemisphere. The Jew's Harp guild is associated with the festival. Notable among its accomplishments is its website, full of information on the trump and the Guild and the Festival." So, thanks to the many volunteers who help make all of this possible.

And thanks to all of you Guild Members who support the Guild. We couldn't do it without YOU!
See you next time! Janet *

TRUMP TECHNIQUES

I have had requests for more about the playing of trumps, specifically
tricks and tips.  Given my somewhat limited experience, I welcome others to
add their own tricks and will incorporate them into the next Mouthing Off.
I'll give a couple of addresses at the end of the article.

The Quick Tongue

I consider this a trick because I am amazed at how fast some folks can
move the tip of their tongue.  A quick up and down movement of the tongue's
tip can trill between several high harmonics.  This works well on a
sustained pluck as the energy fades.  Move the tongue as if saying "T" or
"D" or "LA", each producing a slight variation on this theme.

Slap Tongue

The Jew's harp reed can be muted in several ways, including contact with
the tongue. Place the tongue's tip behind the lower front teeth and push
the top of your tongue forward to the upper front teeth.  Time the pluck
and tongue push to create a muted pop.

Big Throat vs. No Throat

Two distinct note ranges are available with the trump, though making them
distinctly different takes practice.

The most used range is with air pushing across the reed.  This open throat
technique can be expanded upon by opening as big as you can and not using
air.  A cavernous sound is available.  Practice pitch control by changing
throat size. Conversely, if you close off the throat with the very back of your tongue,
a very different sound is produced.  Pitch control is much easier with the
tongue than the throat, and the highest harmonics can be reached.  Rhythmic
alterations between these two modes offers unlimited possibilities.
Switching between a variety of techniques in a measured way greatly adds
interest to a trump performance.

Sing Along

Vocalizing either with or against the frequency of a trump adds another
palette of sound textures.  Singing a falsetto note sympathetic with the
low pitched Jew's harp is hauntingly beautiful.  Singing the same note as
the trump is powerful.  With sensitive reeds, great interactions can be
heard as the two vibrating systems "flavor" each other.  The results of
phasing the voice slightly out of tune with the trump can be startling.
Since air must eventually be inhaled, vocal techniques are a natural to
combine with a non-vocal accent.

Change the Reed

Alterations in the sound of the reed occur depending on how it is plucked.
A pluck which pushes or pulls the reed at the end (perpendicular to the
length of the reed) has a slightly less brilliant tone than a pluck which
grabs the tip of the trigger and pulls it away from the crimp (parallel to
the reed's length).  In the latter, the reed is flexing toward the middle
which excites the higher harmonics more.  The difference between these two
plucks varies from instrument to instrument, and may be quite subtle.

Muting the reed can shift its pitch upward or can highlight a specific
overtone similar to muting a guitar string.  The effect, however, is not
clear like the guitar's harmonics.  This mute is accomplished with a finger
tip or the thumb being placed into contact with the reed.  Try different
points moving away from the crimp to find different effects.

Don't Forget to Breathe

Air is a powerful tool, which can gently coax the reed or can completely
overwhelm the instrument. While the strong blast of air is loud and
powerful, the subtle control of lesser amounts of this precious gas defines
the beauty of a Jew's harp.  Support your breathing from as low as you can,
not just the diaphragm, but this whole region of muscles, much like a singer
does.

Plucking

I will only suggest a few of the many variations of this all important
aspect of playing a Jew's harp.  Which finger or body part you use to pluck
the reed is up to you.  There doesn't seem to be a wrong way.  Many people
pluck forward and/or backward with the index finger, some the thumb, some
the heel of the hand.  Others pluck by bringing a finger around and
"scratching" at the tip of the reed, thus getting that slightly different
reed brightness.  This technique is sometimes expanded to multiple fingers,
each taking turns "scratching" the reed.  A rapid back and forth pluck can
be quite impressive, while interspersing double plucking with a single
plucked rhythm allows for wide rhythmic possibilities, and is particularly
useful in playing melodies.

Take It Off Your Teeth

Playing a steel harp like a bamboo instrument (touching lips only) brings
out a muted tone with little resonance.  Air can still be very effective
and tongue mutes are fun.  Be careful of your lips in doing this; it is
easy to get them pinched between reed and frame.  I prefer a fast plucking
tempo to offset the shorter sustain, further enhancing the lip problem.

One Real Trick

Bill Gohring brought back a wonderful trick from the Molln Congress.
He was shown this by a young Austrian girl who apparently was astonished that
he didn't already know how to make a trump whine like a horse.  The sound
is really quite easy as Bill showed us at the Jew's Harp Festival last summer.

Holding the harp to your teeth as you normally would, place your plucking
finger on the trigger and push the reed forward and backward while blowing
like crazy.  Do not release the reed, just go in and out with it.  Trumps
with tight tolerances work best.

Experiment

Perhaps the best tip I can think of is simply to experiment, relentlessly.
  Moving seamlessly from one unique sound to another, and the simultaneous
pitch control to render a song's melody clearly, combine for great playing.
  Developing individual skills that can be combined into melodic
soundscapes brings out one of the trumps marvels, that being a voice which
can sing different pitches in a wide array of timbres.