Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

Does anyone have a handle on playing one of these things? I picked one up on the weekend, and can't get it happening. The one thing I've realized since trying to play it, is that the attached clip (my fave track featuring the instrument) must be some kind of varispeed studio trickery, due to the fact that not only does the mouth manipulation do the wah/talk box thing, but the actual root note changes along with the chords.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLXQltR7vUQ

Dajax,
It's been a long time, but back in the day , I was quite adapt at playing the 'ol Jaw-harp.
Keep a fairly constant pressure on your teeth. (Be careful that you don't chip the enamel off, however ) If your Harp is half decent, there should be a fair amount of mass, in the form of a little ball, at the end of the resonator spring. If yours dont have one, and you are finding it difficult to produce a fairly audible tone, some experimental modifications may be in order.

The great jazz-man (Baritone sax), Jay Cameron, had a music store in our town back in the 60's. One day, I purchased a Jaw Harp off of him and immediately started jammin' out on it. Jay, who played with such people as Benny Goodman , and was up on all things musical, was quite impressed with my performance, saying that he never actually heard one played live. I regarded that as a great compliment!

All I can tell ya is,
Keep practicing and good luck!
Howlin'