 |
Sandy SchumanStoryteller, Musician, Educator“Creating Stories Since 1951” |
 |
There is always another side to the story. |
||
| Home/ About |
New York Tales: Tall & True |
Familiar Songs & their Unfamiliar Stories |
Jewish Stories Every Person Should Know |
My Father was a Storyteller |
Resources/ Links |
Book/ Schedule |
The legendary J. R. Smith Jew’s harp, manufactured in Rensselaer County, New York, from 1831 to about 1965.“They made the Jew's harps for the nation.” | |
| Sample sounds made by the J. R. Smith Jew’s harps pictured to the right are presented in alphabetical order. As with any Jew’s harps, sound characteristics vary. The harp lettered “c,” which has a horseshoe design, has a defect that makes the tongue hit the frame and is otherwise very quiet. Harps “a”-“f” have cast iron frames; harp “g” is made from bent wire. |  |
Here are a few samples to give you an idea of what the Jew’s Harp can sound like. The instrument I used, shown here, is the Russian vargan “Shuttle” made by Makaseev. |
 |
Sample sounds. A demonstration of various sounds that can be produced on this instrument. |
|
Happy Birthday. You've heard it before, but probably not like this. |
|
The William Tell Overture. This is an abridged version. If you listen carefully you can hear Gioachino Rossini turning over in his grave. |
|
For the following recording I used the set of four Jew’s harps shown here. |
 |
Goldilocks and the Three Bears. An abbreviated introduction to the story, with theme music for each of the four characters. |
In my storytelling work, I like to tell the story of how I came to be a Jew’s harp player — and invite everyone in the audience to take a group lesson. And yes, I bring a lot of Jew’s harps!
There is always another side to the story.
Copyright 2026 Sandy Schuman
