vietnamese-music-and-intruments | cultrure

Dan Tranh 16-string zither

Published on Sunday, 30 September 2012 14:18 Written by Asia Pacific Travel Team Category: Vietnamese music and intruments Hits: 3299

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 has a rectangular sounding box, about 110 centimeters long that tapers about 13 cm toward an end, with a warped sound board made of unvarnished light wood. The sides are made of hard wood decorated with various designs, either lacquered or inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The bottom is made of light wood with sound holes. The broader end of the sound box is pierced with 16 holes and reinforced with a metal band.

Toward the middle of the sound board there are 16 bridges made of wood or bone tipped with copper that can be moved to vary the tension of the strings, thus creating various notes. At the narrower end of the box are sixteen pegs for tuning. The strings are metal and tuned to the pentatonic scale.

dantranh The Dan Tranh sits flat like an autoharp and is plucked using all fingers. Players will usually wear picks made of plastic or tortoise shell on their fingers to facilitate plucking. The sound reverberates through the hollow wooden box below the strings. Sounds can be altered through cupping, pressing or stroking the strings instead of simply plucking.

The Dan Tranh originates from the ancient capital city of Hue, where women once played it for royalty, and the instrument is still considered a symbol of the city. The Dan tranh is normally played unaccompanied, but it can also be used to accompany a singer or as part of an orchestra.

Dan Ty Ba Four-string Guitar

Published on Sunday, 30 September 2012 14:15 Written by Asia Pacific Travel Team Category: Vietnamese music and intruments Hits: 2642

The Dan Ty Ba is a four-string instrument which is frequently present in a traditional orchestra. Its sound box 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 two under the strings with the highest pitch.

The frets stand low and close to each other following the heptatonic scale. The instrument has four pegs for tuning. The strings, Dan ty ba formerly of twisted silk, are now made of plastic.

The player uses a plectrum which she holds in her right hand and plucks either upward or downward in a quick run.

The technique for left hand, which presses the strings, includes glissando, staccato, arpeggio and tremolo. The Dan Ty Ba music is light and cheerful. The instrument is played solo or as part of an orchestra or a band accompanying the singing of Hue melodies or cai luong operas.

Ty Ba recitals are well liked by music lovers at home and abroad. Though related to the Japanese biwa and the Chinese pipa, the Ty Ba has a personality of its own.

Cai Luong or Renovated Opera

Published on Wednesday, 20 June 2012 17:04 Written by Asia Pacific Travel Team Category: Vietnamese music and intruments Hits: 22563

In comparison with cheo (popular opera) and tuong (classical opera), cai luong is a new type of theatre in Vietnam, combining drama, modeled after French comedy, and singing.

Cai luong Viet Nam

Cai Luong (Renovated Opera) appeared in the southern part of Vietnam in the 1920s. Now, this form of music is a new type of theatre.

Scenes are elaborate and are changed frequently throughout the play. Cai luong is similar to the Western operettas and more easily depicts the inner feelings of the characters. Songs of the Cai luong are based on variations of a limited number, perhaps 20, of tunes with different tempos for particular emotions - thisconvention permits a composer to choose among 20 variations to express anger, and as many to portray joy.

The principal supporting songs in Cai Luong is the Vong Co (literally, nostalgia for the past). Cai luong owes much of its success to the sweet voices of the cast, much appreciated by the audience. Upon hearing the first bars of the well-loved Vong Co, the audience reacts with gasps of recognition and applause.

The Cai luong performance includes dances, songs, and music; the music originally drew its influences from southern folk music. Since then, the music of Cai luong has been enriched with hundreds of new tunes. A Cai luong orchestra consists mainly of guitarswith concave frets, and danakim.

Over the years, Cai luong has experienced a number of changes to become a type of stage performance highly appreciated by the Vietnamese people as well as foreign visitors in Vietnam tourism.