Please Compare a Jaw Harp to a Kalimba

July 1, 2023 8:37 PM

Playing the kalimba hurt my thumbs/hands. Will I have the same problem with a jaw harp?

I'm interested in the Russian style, with a thin, flat blade. I'm guessing they require less force than the tines on kalimbas, which are pretty thick. It's also a different hand motion. Nevertheless, I'm hesitant to buy one and try because I'm somewhat prone to hypermobility and repetitive stress injury. Can anyone comment on jaw harp ergonomics?

posted by Hex Wrench to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (6 answers total)

I don't think so? My experience with the jaw harp is that it's more flexible than a kalimba. But you will whack yourself in the teeth several times while practicing.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:48 PM on July 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

If you are playing one of those commercially sold box kalimbas, yes, they hurt your fingers. If you really like "real" kalimba music - um, African traditions on the "thumb piano" - get yourself any of a number of its ancestors, the african thumb pianos such as the mbira. They usually have much wider finger areas on the tongues and specific techniques for how to play them that let you get a good sound without shredding your fingers.
posted by zaelic at 8:28 AM on July 2, 2023

I found trying a Jaw Harp painful on my teeth, I didn't last long. I really like the sound, but it has a limited range so it's mostly good for certain songs.

Kalimba/Mbira and Jaws Harp have really different musical approachs so I don't think one quite substitutes for the other. If you don't like the kalimba that you've played, consider trying different ones.
posted by ovvl at 12:00 PM on July 2, 2023

Best answer: In my experience, the tine of a typical non East Asian jaw harp (which is usually made out of a single piece of brass or bamboo) has always been fairly easy to pluck compared with the typical kalimba. They're usually much thinner spring tempered steel, and require less effort to pluck. The triggers are typically rounded off in some way, which can feel less abrasive on the finger than a typical kalimba.

Keep in mind, that there is no standardized jaw harp (or kalimba for that matter) design. In general, I've come to think that the East Asian styles, often marketed as coming from places like Vietnam or Cambodia or Japan, are easier and more forgiving to play. They don't quite require you to rest the instrument on your teeth, a method that can be uncomfortable, and the risk of whacking your teeth with the tine is far reduced. And they tend to rattle less, which is something that narrow tined harps do easily as the tine accidentally makes contact with the two arms that run parallel to the tine. These are made of bamboo or sheet brass and yield a different, but pleasant tone. There is one bamboo style that is played not by plucking, but by tugging on a piece of string to activate the tine. I've never used one of these.

If you're looking to a more Western version, ones made in places like Russia, India, and areas further west, quality can be all over the place, and they can get frustratingly expensive for what you get. On the low end, I think the Austrian made Schwarz ones are OK. Specifically, the ones with the loop that connect the arms, which is usually opened ended on most harps. This little feature makes the frame more rigid and less prone to getting squeezed, which impacts the performance of the tine vibrating.

The fancier harps like the Russian style you pointed to (very similar to some Ukrainian ones that I own), are made of heavier steel frames that appear to be fabricated using modern machine tools, and are made to closer tolerances, which yield louder and more satisfying results.

I don't know the nature of your level of comfort playing the jaw harp. I can say the ergonomics can be... weird. I hold the frame of the harp with my left hand and pluck with my right. Some people pluck by action of the wrist or even elbow. I find what's more comfortable for me is to rest three fingers on my chin and pluck with my index finger. Most western harps will require you to rest the arms of the instrument on your teeth, which anchors the instrument to your skull, which is necessary for volume and sustain. It can be a weird and uncomfortable sensation. It also makes your teeth more prone to getting whacked by the tine, which is definitely an uncomfortable sensation.
posted by 2N2222 at 5:59 PM on July 2, 2023

And just in case it's not apparent, the thumb piano and jaw harp are very different in this respect: the jaw harp has one fundamental pitch. What you play is the resonant overtones created by varying the shape of your mouth and the force of your breath. You don't really play pitches in a conventional sense. In contrast, the kalimba has a set of more or less fixed pitches, and melodies/chords can be played.
posted by 2N2222 at 6:03 PM on July 2, 2023

Response by poster: Dang, 2N2222, thanks for that thorough answer! I found out that it’s possible to hold some harps in a small clamp instead of against your teeth, and that’s what I’d like to do. But maybe I’ll try bamboo instead.

The comparison to kalimba was meant to be purely physical; I’m not looking to play kalimba music.
posted by Hex Wrench at 9:44 AM on July 3, 2023