Can Jaw Harps Damage Your Teeth? 

wow, thanks for sharing. I wish I knew what could be done about that.

I do this whenever I play a complex song on bass or guitar. I can imagine it’s worse with a jaw harp.

I'm 2 years late, but if it's taking a toll on your teeth, I would recommend getting a jaw harp that you play up against the lips such as the vietnamese dan moi mentioned in this video.

Thanks, @david lake, that's so kind of you! glad it was helpful for you! Good luck on your journey and we'll see you around. :)

Thanks for your kind comment! Good luck on your journey

Oh no! :( That's awful... Hope it wasn't too bad?

Ouch!

Learn to play first

-me with bad teeth- Dammit...

Why thank you! :)

I love it! It's such a fun instrument. If you're careful you can play without any damage. I recommend the Pavel Potkin harp that I talk about in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-X510qsD17Ek.html

So cool! I was blown away by how much variety of sound could come from such a simple seeming instrument. Enjoy!

@@SoundAdventurer ive been exploring techno music with it lol it'll be my first instrument so heres to a new journey!! as if i didn't have enough hobbies. oh boy. i guess ill just stop sleeping.

I feel like we must be related. Sometimes I stay away from something interesting and awesome just because I feel like my hobby-counter is going to explode. By the way, I totally think the jaw harp is an amazing techno machine! I found a couple techniques to make techno music with the jaw harp that are super fun. It's here if you haven't seen it already: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6imvomm1Rcs.html If you're looking for more inspiration--this guy is INCREDIBLE! His videos are not in English but... I guess that doesn't matter: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KrDJ89Ql24k.html

@@SoundAdventurer awesome man! thanks. and i guess if you want to look at some cool wire art, ive got that. don't know much good it'll do for playing music though. lol ive wanted one since i saw that Russian lady so many years ago. who knew it would be so within reach.

I only have personal experience with a few types, but I found a harp I think is great for beginners here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-X510qsD17Ek.html In general, I am drawn to the Potkin Vargan, although I was really looking at the Blackfire harps as well. The morchang style harps are very melodic with very flexible reeds but I've heard they are difficult to play in other ways. The Potkin harp I talk about in that video gives a rich sound and can also be used to play melodically. Hope that helps! Good luck!

I was thinking maybe a teeth guard like the use for sports, but designed just for this purpose.

I think that it would work, but I think it could change the sound (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). As you play you'll notice how your whole skull is vibrating and your mouth is acting as a resonance chamber, so anything to affect the reverberation has a potential to make a different sound. I might buy one of these if you ever manufactured them. :)

hmm, I think that as long as it's connecting solidly enough with one tooth it should still work. try making sure your mouth is sealing around the edges of the jaw harp. you are trying to make your mouth a resonant cavity, so connecting with a solid surface is important but I'd think that a tight seal would make a bigger difference.

Hi there. I'm glad you haven't experienced the lip pinching! It's awful! Since the reed is passing in between your lips and teeth, if you have the jaw harp off-center it can catch your lips and snag it. Additionally, I like to beatbox with the jaw harp using my lips directly against the jaw harp and although it is really cool sound, it does add to the lip-snagging risk. So, to answer your first question, yeah, jaw harp reeds vary in their flexibility. For example, I have a bass harp Glazyrin Lighthouse, and the reed is stiffer, while morschang harps are known for their flexible reeds making them more ideal for melodies. Anyway, happy harping. Good luck on your journey! :)

I think there's a couple differences: 1. To keep the harp in place by putting it between the teeth, you have to be constantly biting down on the harp. That means that you have to have a consistent pressure, and it's easy to do too much, which means you are biting down on an uneven metal frame. 2. Biting down for a long time will exhaust your jaw much more quickly. it shouldn't hurt per se, your jaw might get a bit tired after extended playing, but you shouldn't be cramping or feel tooth pain--you might be putting too much pressure on your teeth.

Honestly as small as possible without it hitting. You should be able to see it, but you'll know if it's too small of a gap if it keeps colliding

I also have a minor overbite and it doesn't seem to make a difference. I think in any case it would just affect the angle in which you apply pressure but shouldn't impact your playing.

That's definitely a relief to know which of the jaw harps would you recommend as a start I would love to personally try the Russian vargan I ran across this guy who had a huge collection I even saw once that had a double read and I even seen a few that were rather large RU-vid didn't even notify me that you replied. My apologies.​@@SoundAdventurer

ooh, that doesn't sound good. :( are you playing with too big of a harp? I know I can't play my Glazyrin Lighthouse for more than 15 minutes because my jaw gets exhausted. (it's a bass harp) A smaller Jaw Harp like my Pavel Potkin is much easier to play for extended periods of time and my jaw doesn't get as exhausted. anyway, that might be affecting you as well. You also might be putting too much pressure. You only want just the amount of pressure necessary for the harp to not rattle against your teeth. good luck! hope that helps.

@@SoundAdventurer I have the same one you said u started with, the one with the big butt😅

@@SoundAdventurer if it touches teeth, its gonna rattle against them

Hi there! Great question--In my opinion you shouldn't feel a buzz on your teeth. You should have just enough pressure on your teeth so you can eliminate the buzz. The buzz is definitely dangerous and you're at risk of chipping a tooth. Good luck!

@@SoundAdventurer thanks I will try not to damage my teeth 😬

thanks for your comments. if you like the sound you should try a Dan Moi. it rests on your lips instead. It doesn't have exactly the same capabilities but it's still a wonderful instrument.

you know, that's a great question. I'd be a little worried about the braces getting too much vibration. I see no reason why you couldn't play a Dan Moi, though. you play it on your lips instead of your teeth and it has a similar sound. I really haven't tried it though or know anyone who has.

Your teeth don't need to be even or airtight, as long as you can comfortably put pressure on them. I have a slight overbite and I haven't had an issue.

Thanks for your prompt reply, appreciate the info. Definitely need to go easy on the teeth lol.

@@Aza912 😐

@@Aza912 🗿

He put sharpie on his tooth, it's not true :/

ahhh man... that's awful :( sorry to hear that

Duuuuhhh! 5 bucks? Are you serious man? What did you expect? Those rubbish cheap ones are really asking for trouble for your teeth, not that you can't chip your teeth with a £50-100 one but $5/£5 or less I mean come on!

u should watch him more, to really get upset. REPEAT.