What is Munnharpa?

Ånon Egeland and Veronika Søum. Photo: Lena Knutli.

Munnharpa brings you hot-off-the-press interviews, musical deep dives and all the latest news about what’s going on in the Jew’s harp world, both in and outside Norway.

Munnharpa is a digital magazine aimed at all Jew’s harp enthusiasts. Whether you’re itching to immerse yourself in Jew’s harp tunes both familiar and obscure, read interviews with leading performers, keep track of events in the Jew’s harp world or simply nerd out and polish your skills on this beloved instrument of ours – you’ve come to the right place!

Norway has a living Jew’s harp tradition, with fantastic performers and smiths. This tradition is also well-documented, which gives us a massive advantage and places us in a unique position when it comes to melodic playing. Our Jew’s harp heritage and community can serve as a model and inspiration for others. We hope Munnharpa will help us share our knowledge and passion with even more people. We aim to publish new articles every month, so check in regularly!

Since 1998, Munnharpa has been published as a physical magazine for members of the Norwegian Jew’s Harp Forum, ably edited by Bernhard Folkestad.

In 2025 Munnharpa switched to a digital format, with Veronika Søum and Ånon Egeland as the new editors. The English translation comes courtesy of professional translator Lucy Moffatt.

Until 2021 Ånon was Associate Professor of Traditional Music at the University of South-Eastern Norway. Since his retirement, he has continued to work actively both as a musician (Jew’s harp, regular fiddle and Hardanger fiddle) and a writer on a wide range of topics related to traditional music. Ånon was the founder of the first ever Norwegian Jew’s Harp Festival. He was also one of the first people to highlight the importance of the opening/closing technique and phrasing in traditional Norwegian Jew’s harp performance.

Veronika is a journalist who has studied Jew’s harp under Svein Westad. She is the brains behind the norskmunnharpe.no documentation project and a member of the Norwegian Jew’s Harp Forum’s board.

Any suggestions, contributions or tips about topics we should cover? Send them to us here!