Vargan, Khomus, and Kubyz – the Russian jaw harp landscape is in motion / The DAN MOI Jaw Harp Blog ♫ • ARTICLE with VIDEOS

Vargan, Khomus, and Kubyz – the Russian jaw harp landscape is in motion

Russia is a country with a handful of jaw harp traditions: in Sakha/Yakutia, in the Altai, and in Tuva the Khomus (or Komus) is played; in Bashkortostan the Kubyz is known, and in Western Russia and in the big cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg one can hear the name Vargan. The different terms already indicate diverse cultural links of the instrument. Since the 2000s more and more people remember these instruments again after the mouth harps had been forgotten for many decades. Now several hundreds of people in Russia are extensively engaged with this instrument, and it might be thousands who at least once held a Vargan, Khomus, or Kubyz in their hand. Furthermore there are many mouth harp artisans who produce excellent instruments. These are reasons enough to have a more intensive look at the Russian scene..

READ: Vargan, Khomus, and Kubyz – the Russian jaw harp landscape is in motion / The DAN MOI Jaw Harp Blog ♫ (VIDEOS)