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. When played, the tubes are laid horizontally and the player must either stand with her back bent or kneel while clapping her hands at a distance of about 10cm to push air into the tubes to produce sounds. Generally, each tube produces only one tone. However, some ethnic groups use the hand to block one end of the tube to produce some different pitches. With this technique, a two-tube Klong put can produce four or five pitches. The Klong put can also be played by two girls at a time.

Ethnic minority people often play the Kong put on the milpa land during the rice planting time and on the day of closing doors of rice storage. It is believed that hornless bamboo or ordinary bamboo sections of the Klong put are related to those used for containing breed seeds. This belief seems somewhat reasonable because they both give the same sounds when being blown with air. In the breed seeds is existing the spirit of "Mother Rice". Therefore, if the Klong put is played on the milpa land during the planting time, "Mother Rice" will come and help rice grow rapidly. If one plays the Klong put on the day of closing doors of the rice storage, "Mother Rice" will come along and sleep all winter in the storage, then when the next planting season comes, she will come together with seeds to the milpa land.

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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 by men, most probably came into being in the 15th century when musical genres were forming. Mostly the Dan Day is used in the northern parts of Vietnam. Its sound box is a trapezoid shape but without a back surface. This bass instrument has high frets and a very long neck. The frets are fixed on the lower part of a very long neck. Its 3 plastic strings produces a low sounds and the Dan Day is only used to accompany the songs performed by female singers.

Apart from accompanying hat cua dinh and hat a dao songs, the dan day is now used to accompany poems as well. Thanks to the unusual technique called ngon chun (slacking the string with the fingers), players may lower the tones and produce refined and modest sounds, it is sometimes compared to a secluded philosopher.

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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 of the drum with his fingers with varied style.

The sound obtained from one face is five tones higher than the other. The sound of the trong com is a little dull, somewhat similar to the large-sized dan ho, and it is used to express sadness.

The trong com is one of the percussion instruments used to accompany tuong or cheo drama. Its use has also spread to cai luong (reformed opera) and other orchestras.

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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 bed.

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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. The three strings are traditionally made of twisted silk, but are now more commonly made of plastic.

The player uses a plastic plectrum, which he uses for plucking downward or upward in quick intervals. The tones of the Dan Tam are bright and cheerful and they carry far.

The techniques for the left hand include tremolos, trills, picking, stopping and especially sliding, which are played in combination with the quick plucking of the right hand. Full tones, three-quarter tones and quarter-tones can be played.

The Dan Tam is often part of an eight instrument band or an orchestra accompanying cheo drama. At present, a fourth string may be added.

The Japanese samisen, the Chinese sangen, the Chinese sanxian, the Mongolian dandze, and the Persian setar fall into the same category as the dan tam.

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