This simple one string bow is likely the oldest stringed instrument in the world. It is still played in the Southern Mountains today.

Many old-timers simply used a stick with a string made of catgut. The tuner and the guitar string are a modern adaptation.

The mouth bow is played in a similar way to a berimbau, except that the player uses the mouth as a resonating chamber as with a jew's harp. It is played by putting one end of the stick across the edge of the mouth, plucking the string and altering the shape of the mouth/lips to vary the pitch. Some later variants of the instrument may also be played with a bow, using the fingers of the other hand to stop the string to achieve different pitches.