Näverlapp
Encyclopedia
The näverlapp is a very primitive Swedish folk instrument consisting of a thin piece of birch bark
, two or three centimeters square. This piece, which has a rounded top, is placed between the lip and the lower teeth; when a thin stream of breath is blown over the piece of bark, it produces a clear, strong tone akin to a clarinet but with less range (about one and a half octaves). As the patch of birch becomes soaked with saliva, which it does after a few minutes, it begins to sound worse and worse.
Birch bark
Birch bark or birchbark is the bark of several Eurasian and North American birch trees of the genus Betula.The strong and water-resistant cardboard-like bark can be easily cut, bent, and sewn, which made it a valuable building, crafting, and writing material, since pre-historic times...
, two or three centimeters square. This piece, which has a rounded top, is placed between the lip and the lower teeth; when a thin stream of breath is blown over the piece of bark, it produces a clear, strong tone akin to a clarinet but with less range (about one and a half octaves). As the patch of birch becomes soaked with saliva, which it does after a few minutes, it begins to sound worse and worse.
Recordings
Jan Lundström plays the näverlapp in a few songs on Låtar från Hedemora och Säterbygden on the label Wisa WISC 724 (MC) Recording year: 1990External links
- Course on playing the närverlapp in 2006 by Jan Lundström, Hedemora http://www.folkmusikfesten.nu/da06/daprog05_085-7stjernsund_naverlappkursen.htm
- Birgit Kjellström: http://www.visarkiv.se/folkmusikboken/Kapitel2/om_01.htm