I’ve only seen this instrument being used in movies about the Civil War, or in spaghetti western soundtracks. But I love the sound of that thing! I could probably listen to it twang away for hours. Is it a total anachronism, or do certain country/bluegrass bands still use it?
LC:
I have one. I would say it would be most prevalent in jug band music. Outside of jug band, I think it’s used more as a sound effect than an actual instrument.
It’s really difficult to hear the pitch (which is the sound of moving air) over the sound of the metal reed (which doesn’t change in pitch).
If you listen to “The Bali Project,” produced by Micky Hart, you can hear a Balinese gamelan made up of a group of musicians playing a similar instrument with (I think) a bamboo reed.
I believe the more correct term is Mouth harp. I had occasion to play one - it hurts!
I have several of them. They sound good on their own but throw in just about any other instrument and they become quite hard to hear. And yes, it hurts pretty bad if you have the misfortune of it coming back to knock you in the teeth.
Buy your own. For six bucks you can listen to it twang away for hours.