MONOCHORD OR DAN BAU

One of only two purely Vietnamese instruments, the dan bau consists of a hardwood frame and a softwood surface, over which a string is stretched and connected to a handle decorated with dried gourd (bau). “Do not listen to the music of the dan bau if you are a young woman.” Such is the romantic and emotional appeal of music played on the dan bau that Vietnamese parents used to warn their daughters against listening to it. For the...

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H'mong Pen Pipe

The Pen-pipe is a musical instrument of the wind family with the free vibrated reed, popular among almost all of Vietnam's ethnicity in different forms. The Kinh (Viet) group calls it Khen, while the Mong ethnic minority call it the Kenh, and the Ede in the Central Highlands use a similar instrument called Dinh Nam, etc. The Pen-pipe may have an even number of 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 sections of small hornless bamboo pipes arranged in two...

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The Gong Zither

The gong zither is a stringed musical instrument of flipping branch. It is popular among some ethnicities in the North of the Central Highlands such as Bana, Gia Rai, Xe Dang, Ro Ngao, Je Trieng. The special instrument often accompanies its player to the field, to festivals held at the communal long-house, or to a meeting place where the player reveals his feelings to his lover. The body of the gong zither is made of a hollow bamboo pipe...

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The Dan da (lithophone)

The Dan da (lithophone) is a set of stone slabs of different sizes and shapes fabricated through an elementary technique. Lithophone is composed of a set of eleven resonant stones. The examination of the stone slabs found at Binh Da archaeological site in the southern Dong Nai province has revealed that this kind of instrument may have existed for over 3,000 years. For some ethnic groups in Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands), the stone...

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The Klong Put

The Klong put is the Xe Dang language name of a musical instrument of the wind family, air driving-in branch. It is played by ethnic groups in Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) such as the Xe Dang, Bahnar, Gia Rai, Hre, etc. A traditional Klong put consists of many large empty hornless bamboo sections. The length of each section ranges from 60 to 200 cm and a diameter ranging from 5 to 8 cm. This woodwind instrument is intended for women....

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Dan Day

Dan Day is a special instrument of Vietnamese origin. This three-stringed lute is used incorporate the peculiarities of the two-stringed lute (dan Nguyet), the four-stringed pear-shaped lute (dan Ty Ba), and the three-stringed lute (dan Tam). In the past, the dan day was an accompanying instrument used only for one genre of songs, which later divided in two variants known today as hat cua dinh and hat a dao. The dan day, exclusively played...

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The Trong Com

The trong com (rice drum) gets its name from the practice of placing a pinch of hot steamed rice in the middle of the drum skin to "tune" the instrument. The trong com onsists of a hollow cylinder or hemisphere with a membrane stretched tightly over one or both ends, played by beating with sticks. The player, when standing, has the trong com slung over his stomach. When sitting he rests his instrument on his lap. He strikes the faces...

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Sao Truc - Bamboo Flute

Sao truc, the bamboo flute, is made from a stem of fine bamboo pierced with finger holes. The bamboo flute has long been attached to the cultural and spiritual life of the Vietnamese. It can be said that the bamboo flute contains the musical essence of the Vietnamese countryside together with the four tranquil seasons. Vietnamese people used to play Sao Truc on the fields when taking a rest, or even at nights before going to be...

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Dan Tam Three-string Lute

This three-stringed lute is used by several ethnic groups in Vietnam. The Viet call it Dan Tam, whereas the Ha Nhi call it Ta in. This instrument exists in three sizes: large, medium, and small. The small is the most popular. The sound box is oval-shaped, and the soundboard is pierced with sound holes. A bridge is fixed on the soundboard. The neck made of hard wood is fairly long and bears no frets, only three wooden pegs for tuning....

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Dan Ty Ba Four-string Guitar

The Dan Ty Ba is a four-string instrument which is frequently present in a traditional orchestra. Its soundbox is shaped like a pear cut in half lengthwise. Its soundboard is made of unvarnished light wood, and its back is made of hard wood with a slightly convex surface. The neck is short and tightly fixed to the sound-box. Originally the neck bore no frets; now, however, it has four frets in addition to eight others on the soundboard and...

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Dan Nguyet Two-string Guitar

The Southerners of Vietnam refer to this instrument as Dan Kim. Dan Nguyet has two strings and the resonator resembles the moon, that is probably why it is named Dan Nguyet, which means moon lute. The strings were traditionally made of silk but are today normally made of nylon, which can be strummed with either finger or pick. The Dan Nguyet provides a mid-range pitch in traditional orchestras and is played in short, melodic passages....

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Dan Tam Thap Luc

The Tam Thap Luc is a sort of zither with thirty-six brass strings as it is called. It has the shape of an isosceles trapezoid, with a slightly convex sound board made of light, porous, unvarnished wood. The bridges and sides are made of hardwood. The bottom is flat. There are two staggered lines of 18 bridges on the sound board. The bridges on the left have hooks to which the strings are attached; those on the right have pegs for tuning....

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Dan Tranh 16-string zither

The Dan Tranh is also known as Dan Thap Luc or sixteen-stringed zither. Its shape resembles a bamboo tube that has been sliced vertically in half. The Dan Tranh has mostly been seen performed by female musicians in Vietnamese traditional dress (Ao Dai). When played, the instrument is placed in front of the musician, who uses her right hand to regulate the pitch and vibrate, while plucking the strings with her left hand. The 16-string zither...

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Dan Nhi Two-string Fiddle

The Dan Nhi is popular among several ethnic groups in Vietnam. It is also referred to as Dan Co in southern provinces of Viet Nam. The Dan Nhi is somewhat a sort of vertical violin with two strings, held in front of the player like a small cello and played with a bow. In the past, Dan Nhi strings were made from silk, but today Dan Nhi craftsfolk prefer metal. The frets on the neck are made from horse-tail hair, and the body is covered...

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Cong Chieng

The Cong Chieng is a kind of musical instrument casted from mixed copper and belongs to the idiophonic family. In Vietnamese language, the word "Cong" points to a musical instrument with a bossed part in center (bossed gong) and "Chieng" without it (flat gong). The Cong Chieng can be struck with wooden sticks, mallets, or even bare hands. There are various techniques that can be used to shut off sounds and to produce melodies. The Cong...

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