About the Dan Moi jaw harp
The Vietnamese đàn môi is a slim jaw harp. You hold the frame against your lips and pluck the thin tongue (reed), shaping the sound with your mouth. After dozens of iterations, the designer settled on this shape as the easiest to play, loudest and best tuned. It should come out close to C, but the material, infill and layer height all affect the pitch.
To lower the pitch, carefully shave a little from both sides of the reed's base with a thin, sharp knife, which lengthens the reed. To raise it, take material off the edge of the reed. Print with dry filament, because stringing between the reed and the frame will stop it vibrating. Plastic has its limits, and the designer warns that the frame will eventually break at its weak points. At 3 g each, though, they're easy to replace.
What you'll need
Printed parts
- Jaw harp
Bought parts
- Nothing
Tools
- A thin, sharp knife for tuning
Build overview
Print settings
- Material: PLA (dry)
- Layer height: 0.12 mm