THE APPALACHIAN MOUTH BOW: EASY TO MAKE, EASY TO PLAY!

Enlarge Image Image Gallery CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Here we see the tuning peg, holding peg (optional), screw, and string.... If the center of your slat can be flexed 2 inches off the straight, it's sufficiently resilient.... Set the tension... lay the bow against the hollow of your cheek, and make music!

Musical instruments have been around for a long, long time, and the mouth bow is probably one of the oldest of them. In fact, an ancient French cave drawing, made perhaps 15,000 years ago, shows an individual dancing toward several buffalo while playing one of the stringed resonators. Early humans may have believed there were magical powers in this simple soundmaker, or may have discovered that wild animals were intrigued by the humming, twanging noises it could produce. Regardless, later musicians have continued to find the mouth bow to be a charming instrument . . . one that's both easy to play and to construct.

The most traditional sort of mouth bow is similar to its counterpart, the simple hunting bow . . . being little more than a springy bough with a length of twine, leather, or gut strung between the two ends. The socalled Appalachian mouth bow is a variation on this style, having a flat strip of wood, tapered on each end, rather than the rounded branch. Its design is clean and uncomplicated, and lends itself to artistic woodworking or painting if—by chancethe maker feels so inclined.

GATHER YE MATERIALS

When assembling most mountain or folk instruments, there's no "correct" way to do things, and making a mouth bow is no exception to this rule. Feel free to use your own creativity to alter any details of the bow you build. The particular design shown here calls for a strip of hardwood, Which I had cut to measure about 3/16" X 1-1/4" X 32" . . . a guitar string (a heavy-gauge steel second or third B or G string works well), preferably one with a ball end . . . a wooden violin tuning peg . . . two No. 2 roundhead brass screws, each 1/2" or 3/8" long . . . and, if your guitar string has a "loop" end rather than a ball, an 18-gauge wire brad.

For tools, you'll need a jigsaw . . . a drill with assorted bits (1/16" to 1/2" or so) . . . a small screwdriver . . . a hammer (if you use the brad) . . . a power sander (this is optional) . . . sandpaper in various grades . . . and—if you want to add a finish to your creation—some tung oil or boiled linseed oil, fine steel wool, and several clean rags.

The most difficult task involved in making the mouth bow is likely to be simply finding the right sort of resilient wood (walnut, maple, cherry, ash, or white oak are all popular, and provide a nice range of colors). The variety you do get will depend, of course, on what's available from lumber suppliers, local sawmills, friends, or even your own scrap pile. Most lumberyards deal primarily in evergreen wood (fir, pine, cedar), but others do carry at least a few suitable hardwoods, such as white oak. Then again, you might find that a local cabinetmaker will have some odd lengths of woo to give away or sell. There are also companies that specialize in unusual and exotic woods (see the Editor's Note at the end of this article) . . . and—although these products may be quite expensive-such outfits can provide you with clear, straight-grained pieces having the strength and flexibility you'll need for your project. You should know, too, that the necessary "cutting to size" will be difficult, even with the best hand equipment, so if you don't have access to a relatively complete woodworking shop, it might be worth your while to have the wood you select milled to size at a local sawmill or lumberyard.