Morsing
The morsing is the South Indian jaw harp of Carnatic music. The player presses it to the front teeth and plucks it, and the mouth, as resonator, shapes its tone with vowel positions.
£250 - £500
Professionally made morsings with well-set tongues and steady pitch, suitable for Carnatic concerts, start at £250, and hand-forged instruments from specialist South Indian smiths reach £500. Choose by sruti first, matching your tonic, test each one, and plan for several, as higher srutis wear out faster.
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Meet the musical tradition, its practitioners and ways to learn.
History & Origins
What is the morsing?
The morsing is the jaw harp of Carnatic classical music, and a KalaSudha morsing, matched to your sruti, suits the percussion student and the concert player. By Grinnell College's account it is the only jaw harp with classical status in that tradition. A small iron, steel or brass instrument, it is a horseshoe-shaped frame holding a flexible metal tongue whose bent tip the player plucks. Sruti magazine calls it the smallest instrument on the Carnatic stage.
How it sounds
The player holds the frame in one hand and presses it against the front teeth, and the mouth becomes the resonator. The tongue sounds one fundamental rich in overtones; by shaping the mouth into vowel positions the player shifts the resonance and picks out harmonics, so the morsing's colour depends as much on the vocal tract as on the metal. Each instrument sits at one pitch, the sruti, set by the tongue's length and mass; beeswax on the tip lowers it a little.
In the ensemble
The morsing sits beside the mridangam and kanjira, shadowing the mridangam's syllables with tongue and breath and adding its buzzing tone, and takes its own turns in the tani avartanam. Mannarkoil J. Balaji, Poovalur Sriji and the Bhimachar family have built its solo language. Start on one of our morsing study paths.
The morsing belongs to the jaw harp family found from Siberia to Sardinia and across South and Southeast Asia and Indonesia, its spread pointing to independent invention. It may have reached India from the northwest. India knows it as the morsing in Tamil Nadu, the morchang in Rajasthan and the north and the murchang in Nepal and the Hindi belt; Assam has the gogona, a bamboo jaw harp played at Bihu.
Jaw harps appear in South Indian texts from the medieval period. The morsing perhaps entered Carnatic concerts as a supporting instrument in the early 1900s, filling rhythmic gaps beside the mridangam and kanjira. It added colour more than rhythm of its own, so solo playing waited for the 20th century. L. Bhimachar of Bangalore (1931–2024) took it up in the early 1940s and in 1979 became the first morsing artist at All India Radio Bangalore; his children B. Rajashekar and Bhagyalakshmi M. Krishna continue his bani.
Mannarkoil J. Balaji brought its solo playing into the concert mainstream and showed it could carry sustained improvisation. Poovalur Sriji and later players developed rapid articulation, harmonic modulation and tonal layering. Its resonator, the player's mouth, gives it colours no other percussion has.
Construction & Craftsmanship
Construction Process
A morsing has two parts. The frame is a horseshoe-shaped loop of iron, steel or brass, its two parallel arms flaring at the tips so the player can grip it against the teeth without the metal touching the lips. Smiths heat the rod, bend it round a form and grind the edges smooth. The tongue, a separate piece joined to the frame at one end, makes the morsing a heteroglot jaw harp (Hornbostel-Sachs 121.22).
The tongue is thinned along its length, flexes freely between the arms without touching them, and bends at a right angle to form the plucking tip beyond the frame. Its length and mass set the fundamental: longer and heavier sounds lower. The Grinnell College specimen has a steel tongue in a steel frame, a tongue about 12 cm long, a frame about 3.8 cm across and a fundamental near F3, with a small ball of beeswax on the tip.
Beeswax on the tip lowers the pitch within narrow limits. Players keep one instrument per sruti and choose by playing each and matching it to the soloist's tonic.
Maintenance & Care
- Drying: Dry frame and tongue with a cloth after every session; saliva rusts iron, weakens the tongue and can make it snap.
- Oiling: Apply a thin coat of food-safe almond or coconut oil to prevent rust, and wipe off the excess before playing. Ask us about care for your instrument's metal.
- Storage: Keep it in a small padded case or pouch away from damp, and never seal it airtight while wet.
- Tongue: Check for bends, cracks and fatigue; a slight bend can be eased back, but a cracked tongue can snap on stage and means a new instrument. Do not drop it: a knock can bend the thin tongue, change the pitch or make it catch on the arms.
- Wear and pitch: Morsings wear out, the higher srutis faster, so keep spares. Add beeswax to lower the pitch in small amounts, testing after each.
Technical Specifications
Detailed specifications for the Morsing
Physical dimensions
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Frame length | 5–8 cm |
| Frame width | 2–3 cm |
| Tongue length | 4–6 cm |
| Tongue thickness | 0.5–1.5 mm |
| Weight | 20–50 g |
Construction materials
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Frame material | Iron, steel or brass |
| Tongue material | Spring steel or iron; a separate piece joined to the frame |
| Frame finish | Tine edges ground smooth; may be lightly oiled |
| Handle width | 5–8 mm between tines |
| Tongue tip clearance | Runs beyond the frame end; tip bent at a right angle |
Sound characteristics
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Fundamental pitch | Fixed at manufacture by tongue size; about F3 on one measured specimen |
| Pitch range (harmonics) | Multiple overtones produced by oral cavity shaping |
| Tone character | Buzzing, metallic, nasal; rich in overtones over a fixed fundamental |
| Dynamic range | Soft to moderate (limited by plucking force) |
| Resonance source | Player's oral cavity |
Playing technique
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Hold | Frame held in one hand (the left in most accounts) and pressed against the front teeth |
| Plucking hand | Right index finger or thumb tip |
| Tonal control | Vowel shaping of mouth cavity |
| Breath use | Exhale or inhale through the instrument to add a wind tone or sustain a note |
| Difficulty level | Advanced |
Tuning and setup
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Tuning method | Fixed at manufacture; beeswax on the tip lowers it within narrow limits |
| Pitch selection | One morsing per sruti, matched to the soloist's tonic |
| Tongue alignment | Must flex freely between tines without contact |
| Pre-play check | Test tongue resonance and free vibration before ensemble use; keep spares |
| Replacement | Cannot be repaired once the tongue cracks; morsings wear out, the higher srutis faster |
Available Instruments
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Contact for Custom OrderYour Journey to Morsing Mastery
Follow this structured path from absolute beginner to accomplished performer
Basics of jaw harp technique
Beginners start here, at Foundation, the opening level of KalaSudha's courses. Hold the morsing in one hand, usually the left, and press the frame against the upper and lower front teeth without touching the lips. Keep the contact firm but light, since hard pressure risks toothache. Pluck the bent tip with the free hand and control the stroke for even volume.
Mouth resonance and vowel modulation
Carnatic rhythmic cycles and mridangam syllables
Ensemble playing
Solo vocabulary, improvisation and the tani avartanam
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the morsing, the jaw harp of Carnatic music?
The morsing is a jaw harp, also called a jew's harp or mouth harp, used in the Carnatic music of South India. A metal tongue vibrates between the two arms of a horseshoe-shaped metal frame. Grinnell College's collection describes it as the only jaw harp given classical status. In Rajasthan and North India the same instrument is called the morchang.
How can a beginner, a child or a returning player start learning the morsing, the Carnatic jaw harp?
KalaSudha teaches the morsing online and in workshops, and every beginner starts at Foundation level. You learn to hold the frame against your front teeth, firmly but lightly, and to pluck the bent tip for an even sound. Children learn with us as well as adults: ask us about a starting age and about a size for a younger learner.
Players back after a long break start again where they left off. Our courses run in levels, so your teacher first hears where you stand.
Can a morsing be tuned?
A morsing can be fine-tuned only within narrow limits: beeswax on the tongue tip lowers the pitch, and filing raises it but may damage the instrument. Because each morsing is tuned to the sruti, the tonic of the performance, a player needs one instrument per sruti and chooses the one that matches the soloist. Larger instruments sound lower and smaller ones higher.
How is the morsing held and played?
The morsing player holds the instrument in one hand, usually the left, and presses the frame against the upper and lower front teeth, firmly but lightly. Sources disagree on plucking: some describe the right index finger, others the right thumb pulling and releasing the tip. Changing the shape of the mouth with the tongue and larynx selects which overtones sound.
Who are the best-known morsing players?
The best-known morsing lineage begins with L. Bhimachar of Bangalore (1931 to 2024), who took up the instrument in the early 1940s and in 1979 became the first morsing artist at All India Radio Bangalore. His style, the Bhimachar bani, voices only the syllables suited to the morsing. His children B. Rajashekar and Bhagyalakshmi M. Krishna are senior morsing artists, both graded A by All India Radio.
How old is the morsing?
The jaw-harp family to which the morsing belongs is found across Eurasia, South and Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Melanesia, and sources disagree on whether it had one origin or several. Grinnell reports that the morsing spread south into the subcontinent from the northwest. Sruti says it entered Carnatic concerts possibly in the early 1900s, and the V&A holds an iron jaw harp collected in British India by 1879.
Is the morsing the same as the morchang?
Morsing and morchang are names for the same metal jaw harp: morsing in South India, morchang in Rajasthan and North India. It is also called mukharshanku. Assam's gogona, played at Bihu, is a different construction: it is cut from one piece of bamboo or horn, while the morsing's metal tongue is a separate piece fixed to its frame.
Which morsing should I buy?
Choose a morsing by pitch: each is tuned to one sruti, so pick the instrument that matches the tonic you will play in, and expect to need one per sruti. Test instruments before buying and consider buying several, because morsings wear out, the higher srutis faster. Beeswax on the tongue tip can lower the pitch a little.
Where can I buy a morsing outside India, matched to my sruti, with international shipping and service after the sale?
You can buy a morsing from KalaSudha outside India, by quote or made to order, and we deliver worldwide. Each morsing sits at one pitch, so choose yours by the sruti, the tonic, you play in. We pack the morsing for international shipping; ask us about a case and insurance.
We service and repair any morsing in any country, wherever you bought it. Ask us for spare parts too. For help with your instrument after the sale, use the chat on any page or email [email protected]. Ask us, too, if you need a gift voucher, a class set for a school or a flight case for travel.
What role does the morsing play in a Carnatic concert?
The mridangam leads Carnatic percussion, and the morsing joins as an optional addition with the ghatam and kanjira. It shadows the mridangam through the concert, and players recite the mridangam's syllables silently and reproduce them with tongue and mouth. It also takes solo turns in the tani avartanam, and it reinforces the sruti and adds texture as well as rhythm.
Is playing the morsing bad for your teeth?
A morsing is held with its frame pressed against the upper and lower front teeth, so the pressure matters. Keep the contact firm but light, because pressing hard risks toothache and damage to the teeth. Some players hold it between the teeth instead. Heavy breath for fast effects quickly causes hyperventilation.
How do I book a morsing player for a Carnatic concert, an event or a recording session?
KalaSudha can book a morsing player for your concert, event or recording: ask us. The morsing shadows the mridangam in a Carnatic concert and takes its turn in the tani avartanam, the percussion solo. Send your request through our page to book Indian classical musicians, and hear our artists first in KalaSudha's recordings and concert videos.
Have more questions? Contact our support team and we'll be happy to help!
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