Traditional Vietnamese musical instruments

Traditional Vietnamese musical instruments are the musical instruments used in the traditional and classical musics of Vietnam. They comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments, used by both the Viet (Kinh) majority as well as the nation's ethnic minorities.

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Plucked

*Đàn bầu - monochord zither
*Đàn đáy - long-necked three-stringed lute with trapezoidal body
*Đàn nguyệt (also called "nguyệt cầm" or "đàn kìm") - moon-shaped two-string lute
*Đàn sến - two-string lute
*Đàn tam - fretless lute with snakeskin-covered body and three strings ^{[http://www.vietnam-sketch.com/special/monthly/2004/11/image/003d.jpgphoto]}
*Đàn tranh - long zither
*Đàn tỳ bà - pear-shaped lute with four strings
*Đàn đoản (also called "đàn tứ") - moon-shaped lute with short neck; little used
*Đàn ghi-ta (also called "lục huyền cầm" or "ghi-ta phím lõm") - "Vietnamized" acoustic or electric guitar with scalloped fretboard; used primarily in "cải lương"
*Đàn tứ dây - bass guitar in the shape of a "đàn đáy"
*Cầm - 7-stringed zither equivalent to the Chinese "guqin"; no longer used
*Sắt - zither with 25 strings equivalent to the Chinese "se"; no longer used
*Đàn tính - long-necked lute with a gourd body and two or three silk strings; used by the Tay, Nung, and Thai ethnic groups
*Bro - fretted zither with a body made of bamboo and a gourd resonator; used by minority ethnic groups in the Central Highlands
*Goong - tube zither with a bamboo body; used by minority ethnic groups in the Central Highlands

Bowed

*Đàn gáo - two-stringed vertical fiddle with coconut resonator
*Đàn hồ - two-stringed vertical fiddle with wooden resonator; "hồ" derives from Chinese "hu", as in "huqin")
*Đàn nhị - two-stringed vertical fiddle
*K'ni (also spelled "k'ny" or "k'ný") - one-string vertical fiddle; played by the Jarai people of the Central Highlands

truck

*Đàn tam thập lục - hammered dulcimer with 36 metal strings

Wind

Flutes

*Sáo (also called "sáo trúc") - transverse flute made of bamboo or hardwood

Oboes

*Kèn bầu - conical oboe with gourd-shaped wooden bell
*Kèn đám ma - conical oboe with metal bell; used for funeral music in northern Vietnam

Free reed mouth organs

*Đing nǎm - free-reed mouth organ with gourd body and bamboo pipes; played by upland minorities
*M'buot - free-reed mouth organ with gourd body and bamboo pipes; played by upland minorities

Horns

*Púa - valveless brass trumpet
*Ốc - conch trumpet

Percussion

Drums

*Trống - drum played with sticks
*Nruas tuag (also called "Ư chua" - drum used by the Hmông ethnic group for funeral music
*Trống đồng (also called "trống đồng Đông Sơn") - bronze drum played by the Dong Son culture in ancient times

Tuned percussion

*Cồng chiêng - tuned gong (comes in both flat and knobbed varieties)
*Tam âm la - three small, high-pitched flat gongs in a frame; used primarily in "nhã nhạc" music
*T'rưng - bamboo xylophone
*Đàn đá - lithophone

Untuned percussion

*Sinh tiền - coin clapper
*Song lang - woodblock

Other

*Đàn môi - Jew's harp
*Klông pút - set of bamboo tubes; hands are clapped near ends of tubes to produce musical tones

External links

* [http://www.istov.de/htmls/vietnam/vietnam_start.html The traditional music and instruments of Vietnam]
* [http://www.vnstyle.vdc.com.vn/vim/english/music_instument/index.html Comprehensive listing of Vietnamese musical instruments]

ee also

*Music of Vietnam
*Space of Gong culture in the Central Highlands of Vietnam
*Vietnamese Wikipedia category: Vietnamese folk musical instruments