JEW'S HARP     


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Jew's Harp notation system

The following system of fixation of jew's harp music will be used at the web site varganist.ru. At the first site it looks like a usual European musical notation, but it is too simplified for comfortable usage by musicians who do not have special education. All the melodies are in C-major (or A-minor), and also notes mean not a certain pitch but an exact overtone which should be beaten by a jew's harp. Consequently you need not transpose such notation, and it can be used for any tuned instrument.



  • Jew's harp's overtones system is described in the article "Finding the Jew's harp Notes I" . "C" of the first octave means the eight overtone of a jew's harp of any type, not depending the fact what is the real pitch of this sound, correspondence between other notes and jew's harp overtones is reflected on the picture above.
  • - The arrow pointing upwards means exhalation, downwards one means inhalation (on the picture above arrows mean deviation of sound of jew's harp overtone from the chromatic tone row, it is made only for information, further arrows in our jew's harp notation will mean only breath)
  • The rhythm is given by finger beats on the reed at each of not tied notes.
  • - If the note group is covered with the sign "tie" (in other words it is tied), the finger beat should be made only at the first note of all the tied notes, the rest of notes are produced with the help of your speech apparatus and breath.
  • - Strokes a reed away from you (it is not always denoted).
  • - Strokes a reed toward you (it is not always denoted).
  • - Making an accent.
  • + - A closed sound, the sounds which are not marked by this sign are open.
  • tr - trill
  • ha - Abrupt beginning of the sound with the help an epiglottis.
  • ah - A sudden stop of a sound with the help of an epiglottis.
  • * - The reed of the jew's harp pinched by finger.
  • Ta, Ka, Ti ... - Using syllables.
  • The rest of signs correspond to the European system of notation. The base ones are worked out in the article " Music Theory Basics".

Jew's Harp Tabs(notation system)

This tabs were created in 2011 and showed on IJHS congress in Yakutia. Jew's Harp Tabs notation system used since 2011 among Russian jew's harp players and it' is easy abd usefull.
Generallu number mean a steap of jew's harp row. .

Octave
Jew's Harp Tabs(notation system
Open or close
Note
Harmonic number
Low
01

Ñ
4
Low
03
+
E
5
Low
05

G
6
Low
07
+
A
7
First
1

C
8
First
2
+
D
9
First
3

E
10
First
4
+
F
11
First
5

G
12
First
6
+
A
13
First
ü7
üB 14
First
7
+
B
15
Second
21

Ñ
16
Second
ü22
+
üD
17
Second
22

D
18
Second
ü23
+
üE
19
Second
23

E
20
Second
24
+
F
21
Second
#24
(+)
#F
22/23
Second
25

G
24
Second
?26
+
üA
25
Second
26
(+)
A
26/27
Second
ü27
(+)
üB
28/29
Second
27
(+)
B
30/31
Therd
Ç1

C
32


meanings:
without mark is open sound
+ close
(+) open as well as closed sound
# sharp
ü flat
| start or end of musical phrase
() legato.
- rest
çíàê |: start of repiting
çíàê :| end of repiting



Example of tabs without fixating the rhythm of the tune:
|5(43)5(43)3(45)3:|
|3(21)3(21)1(23)4|
|3(21)3(21)1(23)1|
|5(43)5(43)1(23)4:|
|3(21)3(21)2(34)5|
|3(21)3(21)2(34)1|

Example of tabs with fixating the rhythm of the tune:
|5-(43)5-(43)3-(45)3---:|
|3-(21)3-(21)1-(23)4---|
|3-21)3-(21)1-(23)1---|
|5-(43)5-(43)1-(23)4---:|
|3-(21)3-(21)2-(34)5---|
|3-(21)3-(21)2-(34)1---|
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© Vladimir Markov 2009, 2010
this article translated by Natalia Ivanitsa