Relaxation and movement: Francois Cesari and his music stories for children / The DAN MOI Jaw Harp Blog ♫

"Sometimes, I use the jaw harp like a robot. Then the kids laugh. The thunder drum is making them awake and they are a little scared as well. They are surprised by the bird voices and they love dancing with the drums and percussions the most”, says french percussionist and music educator Francois Cesari.

“I enjoy the fact that I can open up the infinite world of sounds to a new generation”, states Francois Cesari in an email to us. Since 2015 DAN MOI supports the French jaw harp player and percussionist who was part of the trance music band Goayandi for a long time. His new band project is called Watt The Foxxx. When Francois is passionately talking about a new generation, it’s children aged between 6 months and 6 years that he has in mind. For the last 2 years he’s been regularly sharing sound experiences with them. On this mission, too, the instruments from DAN MOI are involved.

more: Relaxation and movement: Francois Cesari and his music stories for children / The DAN MOI Jaw Harp Blog ♫

How the jaw harp became a commodity in Great Britain and Ireland: Michael Wright’s book about the jaw harp | The DAN MOI Jaw Harp Blog ♫

How the jaw harp became a commodity in Great Britain and Ireland: Michael Wright’s book about the jaw harp

“The Scottish and Irish integrated the jaw harp into their music culture, the English did not,” writes Michael Wright in his book about jaw harps in Great Britain and Ireland, which was published in 2015. Even though the English didn’t play the jaw harp that very often, since the 18th century at the latest England was one of the largest jaw harp manufacturers and exporters. In his detailed book about the British and the Irish “jews-harp” the jaw harp expert Michael Wright contributes important information about the economic and cultural history of the widespread instrument. On what trade routes did the jaw harp get to England and who bought it? Why became Birmingham the center of jaw harp manufacturing? Who built the instruments? Why is the jaw harp in English called jews-harp? The book is recommended for jaw harp lovers and beginners, but also for experts. It provides the basics of the instrument, uncovers several correlations in the European history of the jaw harp and invites to look into the numerous references from archives about the culture of the instrument and its depiction in the fine arts, architecture and press.

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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)