How to play Jew's harp (khomus)

[Zarzarcon]

What a fascinating instrument. Small, yet withmthe sound of almost a digeridoo with metallic undertones...

[dankdrokush]

thanks! nice skill

[epicureus314159]

wow. that's the best i've ever heard yet. i just got a 6 dollar one at the music shop but so far haven't really been able to play it. it's just the thing for hanging around somewhere you know? i will keep trying, but there definately seems to be a bit of quality difference depending on what you spend; such a wonderfully simple instrument like the digeridoo sort of! in simplicity

[aazd]

Thanks! just what i needed! :)

[stopstickers]

Bird at the beginning FTW

[Musicwizard13]

is it possible to play with braces? Ive been trying all day!

[wadeslackerson]

@Musicwizard13 i know right??? me to

[Musicwizard13]

@wadeslackerson I think the metal clashes with the sounds or something.

[43cire]

can you break your teeth with a jew harp? i want one, but i want to know if i can make my jaw hurt, or break my teeth, or anything like that.

[bugotak]

@43cire Yes, you can. I also believe you can parachute jump, or tame a dog, or just smile, if you still don't. You actually can do many things, even at one time.

[43cire]

@bugotak i think you meant someone else..

[129150jr]

Omg! I just noticed he gave me the middle finger at the beginning of the video!

[musstakrakish]

The Who!!!!

[icuaudio]

Still can't play it :(

[EdEoc5]

its a freakin piece of metal how does it hurt your lungs!!!

[riteandritual]

Awesome! Just what I needed. And I agree with previous comment, you need to go into reading audio books with that accent!!

[rabies79]

Exactly the one i have =D

[rsanjay26]

dangerous instrument chances of get cuts on tongue and finger

[Socioistic]

You should be commissioned to do some books on tape.

[bbfunhk]

i like ur speaking tone..... very funny/entertaining n of course informative ;)

[MrMonkiM]

i love how he gives us the finger at the beginning

[WH093]

how do you make it sound so loud :(

[RDBeatnik]

Needs MORE COWBELL!

[dyad2r1]

Alas - thanks to our ever-so-politically-correct speech cops, the "Jew's harp" is now called a "mouth harp."

[dyad2r1]

Why was it necessary for the player to give viewers the finger?

[DdlyHeadshot]

What do you do when you have an overbite?

[Longuncattr]

@DdlyHeadshot You just... play it as you normally would? I have an overbite and have no problem playing my Jew's harps.

[nustinj]

DAMN IT! i hit my teeth!

[doodoobrah]

does anybody else think that looks like an energy sword

[kkane6able]

you cant do this with braces can you?

[RoyalRanger136]

@kkane6able 16 year old here play right now with braces.

[kkane6able]

you cant do this with braces can you?

[Shmangled]

Oh My Humus!

[rebeccaannhay]

wtffff i don't get it. my jew harp is broken.

[jarrod1685]

its borat, i like

[andrekkezero]

I badly need one of this!!!

[Wierdoinc]

sounds like the god Khazar from the video game Black & White

[ankhmenace]

dude sounds like Borat

[skatapoopy]

@ankhmenace dude, I was just thinking that! Maybe this guy is a Kazakh

[theman160090]

/why do u use ur mouth

[tigresssharplesl]

fix with thuuump. i thougt that was the thumb. funny accent. havin a bit of a hard time understanding what he says tho sadly. oh well :3

[DaxxiKat]

when i play it, it comes out all flat and not bouncy like urs... what am i doing wrong? HELP!

[arktikgraywolf]

IT will make your lungs stronger, 

[Johnniehaha]

I can't get my horse out of my mouth

[shreyasragunath]

@bugotak thnx for ur time

[bugotak]

@shreyasragunath It may even hurt your right knee joint, depending on the way you use it... But I assure you, most people do not hurt their lungs, throat or teeth playing that instrument.

[TamboresDeJaykub]

@bugotak haha!

[KinetiK138]

@bugotak I saw a guy lose his leg playing one of these when he stood on an upside down lawnmower. These harps are DANGEROUS!

[Ponnybit]

@shreyasragunath it hurts your whole body because it has jew in it. dont use, it's a satanic INSTRUMENTAH!

[MaBluBallz]

F**k you t... Oh That's how you use it...

Nice vid though your good!

[derdererist]

Thank you dude!

[sonicfan2017]

did you flick us off in the first two seconds :^O

[Damien1456]

what the hell is wrong with jews

[DanKam92]

Flick him off!

[smokethegrazz]

nerd, I can't fucking find out how to :(

[gardonasta]

THE EARLY AUTO-TUNE #FTW

[alfredoowns12]

hhaha nice flick off

[drangboon]

The narrator is BORAT!!!!!!

[lovham89]

aah shit awesome playing

[keckstudios]

Your accent sounds just like Borat's. what is it? btw good tutorial

[kevincostertycoon3]

lol

[akya62]

hes not flipping us off, hes emphasizing what finger hes using to play the harp

[TheDumbkid15]

DOOD!! HE FLIPPED ME OFF!!! WTF! 8-)

[SweetRosaly]

You should breath while playing. And make some acts with your tongue as if you're saying smth.

[Prout0r2k5]

it's Jaw harp, not Jew.

It's not jewish at all.

[lennyplayslefty]

originally it was jew's harp! jaw harp is the politically correct version

[andiders]

@lennyplayslefty

actually its "mungiga". they tracked the instrument down too sweden, according too some studies they thing the jawharp got out in the world with the vikings, even though the instrument is much older.

[Marrrtin88]

Ahoj it is czech greeting

[servererror83]

a jew invention

[EvilLurker121]

Place the two metal bars firmly against your teeth/lips. Part your teeth enough to allow the twanger to pass through them and as you flick the twanger breath lightly

[bugotak]

@EvilLurker121 thanks for correction!

[gi1963]

@EvilLurker121

with that explanation i'm thinking a vox (mouth) amplified instrument, like a talk box, the sound goes in and bounces out, right?

[bugotak]

not at all - the sound is also generated by the fluctuating reed, which breaks air apart. and then sound is amplified in oral cavity

[Damanik3]

@gi1963 you can pronounce words a bit like talkbox

[realisticHomeboy]

Cool accent.

[himynameisbob123123]

i cant play mine i do not understand

[filmbuff87]

same here. i just got one. and i am following the instructions perfectly... still no sound.

[abcasd1]

haha at first i thought he pointed his middle at me

[Greggah]

Oh god his mock-accent is so cewl :D

[kasparh]

1:34 ^^

[bboyliangwei]

what brand do you recommend to buy?

and i am buying from Singapore, any reliable seller? thank you^^"

[bugotak]

Potkin's, AKA Altai khomus or Altai vargan. They're widely available at eBay.

[emandude03]

he fliped the bird

[Drummaster13]

damn i barely figured out how to barely produce a tone in mine aftr having it for more than a year and a half! =P how long has this fool been playing? like his entire life?

[JacobNfromhubcity]

He flipped us off

[Papercleps]

@JacobNfromhubcity Your point is?

[JacobNfromhubcity]

I'm just kidding.

[oliver1343]

Anyádnak mutatsd hogy kapd be te rohadt kampós geci

[hedunlap]

Why does he flip the bird at the beginning of the clip?

[hdiylove7]

Pretty wild!

[chillakis]

haha this is called jew harp in english? In Norway we kall it munnharpe, mouth-harp, I didnt know it had anything to do with jews:p

[warrenmontgomery]

It has nothing to do with Jews. Not sure how it even got that name.

[IpkisStanley]

cause it's so cheap compared to a real harp

[JacobNfromhubcity]

that's not cool. but still lol.

[IpkisStanley]

it's true though, but don't take it too seriously. i think we should all be able to laugh at ourselves and not resort to shouting RACIST or JEW HATER etc at eachother

[IpkisStanley]

cause it's cheap

[allupinyourgrillxxx]

lol!

[isntmynametoolong]

isn't it really called Jaw harp in english?

in Dutch it's also mouth harp

[allupinyourgrillxxx]

i didn't know ovens did either, i never understood those jokes but now I do and I laugh. I LAUGH AHAHAHA

[IpkisStanley]

it's not a joke! that's why it was called that, peope like to call it jaw harp now cause it's more politically correct but the fact remains that jews are tight ass miserly motherfuckers

[NickDenning3]

haha in the very beginning he totaly flips us off

[Inspactah1]

Killer english...:):D

[carpet5698]

handy

[yamahaturkiye]

perfecttttttt

[MultiBombers]

Man can you help me play this?  I just dont get it

[bugotak]

Anytime) Just watch the video above an have fan!

[MultiBombers]

Yea but when i strum the harp it doesn't even make a noise. i don't know why

[filmbuff87]

im having the same problem. no sound.

[MultiBombers]

yea its weird and im wondering y does he flip us off at the beginning

[dahooligan12]

ummm....im sure im not that first guy to ask this but...wtf is up with the guy and the strong accent?

[ReloadPsi]

So it's about what kinda weird sounds you make, not what notes you play. I've never seen anything like it, cool!

[Longuncattr]

It's about both. A Jew's harp only ever produces one note, but that note has a boatload of harmonics along with it. It is fully possible to play melodies by emphasizing certain harmonics over others. Think of it as an acoustic acid synthesizer, the operation principles are similar.

Sound effects are always cool, though.

[mrturkey23]

Hehehe, he flicked us off at the beginning

[Rajamuttu]

@Mazurka1001

Other than your being a racist and a moron, how do you happen to come by the knowledge of the religious affiliation of this particular Siberian?

[FIFAMAN07C3]

MOOVA YOR RIPS!

[bjcsupertortoise]

@FIFAMAN07C3

0:38 – "Fix with thmm"

[garrettanderson983]

joo!

[tlewis10060]

Borat!

[breana1965]

I CANNOT DO IT WITHOUT HITTING MY TEETH WITH THAT tounge part!!!!! which hurts like hell and if I actually happen to make the right sounds, it is NO WHERE as loud as any of these videos. Im ready to through this thing out the window.

[GoldDronzer]

practice makes perfect

[wigmiester]

u should get the viatnamese type called a dan moi.

its played against the lips rather than the teeth.

i find them much easier to play than the khomus too!

[UndeadTurk]

That is so cool.

[mTmFilms]

i want to know where can i buy one

[naruto9tfox3]

Cracker Barrel

[ToRmAn315]

thats where i got mine, ive watched a million youtube vids on em and i still cnat play it

[naruto9tfox3]

I KNOW! I can't eitehr! Everyone else's looks longer than the one i have... it's shorter and the part where u hold it is bigger. I can't get anything out of it..

[Foldweg]

I had one of those. I am absolutely convinced they are defective. You would be much better in buying another one (from a music store, for example). I can make sounds with my new one. A good jaw harp is longer and closer together.

[michaelbs301800]

im jew! funny :)

[neutroncore]

stephen hawking plays the piccolo in concert

followed by han solo and jabba on the jew's harp

finale: yoda on banjo, chewbacca on drums.

[EnormousHuntBall]

Erm..... I think that here in the 21st century we call it a 'jaw harp' or 'mouth harp' for obvious reasons.

[kocsogarc]

Like?

[willsabo]

Just bought it and you had me making solid sounds by the end of the demo. Very good tutorial bugotak. Will be rating this awesome.

[tomfrankly]

i used to have one of these. i was under the impression that i had to bite down on it so i was like "fuck that"

[moskimmos]

I heard that this was a hard instrument.

[mfp508]

Can a girl do that thru her...well one time I did hear the Andy Griffith song whistled...

[KittenBane7]

Very helpful. Thank you.

[pilotofa787]

AHOY!!!!!! HAHAHAH

[33dave]

Fucking Hilarious!

[liuntika]

Would you like this version more? watch?v=PDqC42oR9oo

[HallowedHoly]

easy to say (jew harp) - not so easy to prove.

[HallowedHoly]

i think " jaw harp " is more correct, since there are extremely similar instruments like it all over the world.

but different people will have a different opinion.

" jaw harp " makes more sense to me personally.

[patryck2027]

Jaw Harp is the Americanized name. The instrument is originally a Jew Harp, one of the worlds oldest instruments.

[HallowedHoly]

an opinion - i've also heard by experts that it is "actually" originally from the Asian Steppes & was used in the interior of that continent LONG before it ever acquired the popularized name of "Jews Harp"

there are ugric, etc. tribes that have used this exact type of instrument for a very, very long time --- & i don't think they borrowed it from the jewish people.....

[scruffy032893]

did he flip us off at the beginning?

[SylvanaForrester]

I think he was just showing which finger to play with, but I was like WTF? Right back atcha, buddy. LOL

[drwierd]

is that your for real voice?

[bugotak]

unknown idiom

[liuntika]

It's nothing sort of jewish instrument. It's called doromb in hungarian. It's jaw's harp or mouth's harp, not "jew's". This "name" is insane....and is completely incorrect.

This instrument is from the Eurasian steppe, not from modenr day Palestina.

[bugotak]

This is a problem - use real name of a thing, or its most common name. I've used second - just to make more people find this video by keywords.

Same thing with throat singing, which is actually overtone singing.

[dettaglio]

Спасибо за руководство. Научился извлекать неплохие звуки за полчаса, а запил стал получиться уже через пару часов игры. :)

[bmans7853]

super hardcore giving the finger in the beginning.

[LittleUkuleleMonster]

yeah!! awesome touch to the vid!!!

[SeptimusGoatboat]

Great stuff Bugotak.

I'll be buying a khomus or two.

Keep up the good work with your music.

[mentalysound]

Very nice. I was able to easily figure out how to play from this. Thank you Bugotak.

[PooJiraiya]

my 3 friends did a trio on jaw harps i had the potkinns my friend had a blade harp and my other friend had a indian large. and we did it in the 6th grade talent show after we preformed, we got the biggest cheer we got asked for an encore and we gave them an encore

[JCMcGee]

In Scotland it's called a TRUMP....

[Treecrow9]

Italy: Scacciapensieri

France: Gambard...

[AbuGrabIt]

I read somewhere that the Jews harp damages the teeth. Any truth?

[bugotak]

not truth

[embroisured]

A friend of mine said that sometimes while playing, the piece could bounce back and smack your teeth, so I guess it really depends.

[Treecrow9]

It's always exciting when the bar hits your tongue, too. It's just practice. When you're more experienced it won't hit you anywhere. Put your teeth a little wider apart on the bars.

[Stierlitz]

I bought one just today. Thanks for this video, it really helped me getting my first tones from it! :-)

[PTp1ranha]

i tried this, it freakin' hurt. bad.

[Eddydowd]

Crappy thing doesnt work!

[xanos4225]

Potkin's khomus are awesome to play! I totally endorse them.

[civicness]

at 1:00-1:05 how you make that accent on the sound?

[civicness]

isn't it also called a "boing stick" ( boy ing stick )

[mireille865]

its not 'juice harp'. its jew's harp.

[kashmirxincx]

Thats not what wikipedia says. both are common names for the stupid peice of crap.

[chobrocoli]

well from the beginning it was more like JAWS harp

[ZGongMan]

its a funny sound

[goldnmoon]

Me, I like more this kind of playing it is shown here and which I heard in different parts of Central Asia. But everyone to his taste.

By the way - also the wooden JHs sound very interesting.

Many thanks to Bugotak for this instruction of playing!

[goldnmoon]

And You will find it still today in many different parts of the world. There are some differences in design and in kind of playing...in which hand You are holding the instrument, which finger is used to play. In the Alps I've seen people playing with two or three instruments in every hand. They are held together with a kind of wooden clip. Because of different size/ton of each JH it is less this instrument of rhythm there but they are playing more whole melodies.

[obidinsasha]

Nothing. Not notice. Браво for musicion

[Kampfmesser]

Potkin is a good instrument - as long as you manage to get an authentic¨. Ther are just too many fakes goinb around nowadays. I got myself a yakutian (gotovtsev) reicently - and i enjoy it a lot more - its sort of longer, and with more powerfull sound and vibration. Sadly, for me the good play depends heavily on inspiration - cant just pick it up and make a nice melody any time i want....

[allahonsteroids]

i love your accent, this was helpful