Vasiliy Kovatsenko

Vasiliy Kovatsenko is a jaw harp maker from Saratov. In 2018, he shared first place in the musical-instrument-making category of the regional “Craftsman of the Year” competition with Saratov garmon maker Oleg Aristarkhov.

Kovatsenko first encountered the jaw harp in October 2009 at a festival, where he heard one of the guests playing by the campfire. About a week later, he acquired his first instrument — the Kazantsev–Minakov Altai komus. His later desire to alter the sound of finished jaw harps led to his first experiments with a file: two instruments were ruined, but these failures prompted Kovatsenko to begin making jaw harps himself.

Kovatsenko learned the fundamentals from Sergei Litvinov, whom he met online and invited to Saratov. In a single day, Litvinov showed him the basic techniques of jaw harp making. Kovatsenko named the “Leader 85” by Sergey Pyzhov and Litvinov’s medium-sized jaw harp as his principal points of reference, while seeking not to copy them but to develop a design of his own.

The history of changes in his instruments since 2014 reflects a search for a stiffer frame and narrower gaps. By 2016, Kovatsenko had switched to titanium-containing stainless steel, and at the end of that year he changed the reed geometry and material, its proportions and the way it was mounted. The reeds became more responsive, while the sound became longer-lasting and deeper. The maker later refined his low-pitched instruments separately and developed his current series, spanning pitches from very low to high.

Before making jaw harps, Kovatsenko produced historical leather footwear; this experience proved useful when creating his own leather cases. He embosses each case with the instrument’s note and his personal mark. Kovatsenko also brought together a community of jaw harp enthusiasts in Saratov and held workshops for beginners.

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