ĐÀN BẦU – TRADITIONAL VIETNAMESE INSTRUMENT (Monochord)

Ngo Tra My – Ta Quang Dong

1. An overview of the history and cultural background of the Đàn Bầu

Đàn Bầu is a typical musical instrument in the system of Vietnamese traditional instruments. It is also considered one of the most unique instruments in the world because of its simple structure, special performing style and sound produced from the harmonics of the string combined with the use of the rod/handle to tense or loosen the intrument’s single string, creating different pitches with attractive and unique timbre that is close to the tone of Vietnamese laguage.

There have been no research documents identifying the exact time of the appearance of the Đàn Bầu. According to some historical records, the Đàn Bầu has been present in Viet Nam since at least 1770. In the book "Đại Nam Thực Lục Tiền Biên" (Annals of Dai Nam – Prequel record), written in 1770, there is a passage that states: "Duc [a Vietnamense scholar who lived in XVIII century. -- Ed.] is good at studying and poetry and super at numerology and music. Legend has it that the Nam cam instrument (also known as the Đàn Bầu) is invented by Duc ... ". In the “Kiến Văn Tiểu Lục ” wrtitten in 1777 by Le Quy Don, there is a passage that states “At the parties of Tap Hien palace, men often play as kép (actor) while women play as đào (actress). They are sitting on the both side of the ground with 10 people each. There are also many kinds of instrument such as the Tỳ Bà (pear-shaped lute), the Tranh (zither), the Đàn Bầu”. It is said that the Đàn Bầu was born from the game the Trống đất (the earth drum), also known as the Trống quân (military drum). The musical instrument played in this folk game is very close to the structure of the Đàn Bầu because, it has a string, a resonator box, and could tense or loosen the string with the rod and use the stick to hit the string to produce sound.

In the late 19th century, the Đàn Bầu was known for its role as an accompaniment to Xẩm group (a kind of Vietnamese folk music, including blind singers and blind musicians) in the village markets and on the streets. It gradually joined small singing troupes. Thanks to its unique structure, timbre and performance, the Đàn Bầu has affirmed its position as a soloist instrument in most traditional ensembles in Vietnam. Besides performing traditional instrumental pieces, with the development and improvement in the structure, resonance and vibration of the sound as well as performing techniques, the Đàn Bầu has been played in many contemporary orchestras, symphony orchestras, experimental orchestras and music and art training institutions. It is always the first musical instrument chosen to represent Vietnamese music.

2. Comparison with similar musical instruments

As far as we know, some countries in the world also have one-stringed musical instruments such as Ektara and Gopi Yantra in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan; Ichigenkin in Japan, Kse Diev in Cambodia and Pin Nahm Tao in Thailand, etc. Of them, two musical instruments from Cambodia and Thailand use the technique of overtones to produce sound. However, due to the limitations in performing style and sound volume, these instruments

1 create timbre rather than being dynamic and flexible performing intruments like the Vietnamese Đàn Bầu. 3. Structure and production process of the Đàn Bầu

At present, there are two types of the Đàn Bầu in use: the acoustic Đàn Bầu and the electric Đàn Bầu. The acoustic Đàn Bầu uses the soundboard of the body and resonator to amplify the sound. The electric Đàn Bầu uses electronic components (pickup/piezo microphone) to amplify the sound. In terms of the structure, both types include the following parts: the body, the rod/handle, the resonator, the string, the tuning peg and the plectrum.

* The structural similarities between the acoustic Đàn Bầu and the electric Đàn Bầu - Body (including the surface, the bottom and the wall): Mainly made of wood but sometimes of bamboo. In wooden instruments: the surface and bottom are usually made of sycamore wood - a light and porous wood. The wall is mainly made of hardwood types such as rosewood, barian kingwood, ebony, etc. The large end is about 11 to 13 centimeters wide and about 10 centimeters high while the small end size is about 2 centimeters narrower compared to the larger end. The common body length ranges from 105 to 115 centimeters. In bamboo instruments: the body is made of a bamboo section (or a big size bamboo - the same family as bamboo) with a diameter of about 10 to 15 centimeters and the length of about 110 to 130 centimeters. - The rod/handle: usually made of buffalo horn or bamboo and inserted into the small end of the instrument’s body. It can be easily disassembled when changing the string or transporting the instrument. The width and thickness of the rod/handle at the position where it is plugged into the body are about 1 to 1.5 centimeter and whittled at the top. - The resonator: can be made of the bark of a dried gourd, coconut shell, bamboo tube or wood. - The string: The most commonly used string is made of metal. Only a few artists use strings made of silk. One end of the string is tied to the rod/handle in the middle of the resonator’s wide end, while the other end is attached to the tuning peg. - The tuning peg: nowdays is mainly made of metal and has a structure similar to the guitar tuning key. - The plectrum: usually made of bamboo, about 4.5 centimeters in length and 1 centimeter in width. The end used to pluck the strings is rounded, thinner and narrower than the other end so that the sound is smoother and softer when plucking.

2 * Specifics of the electric Đàn Bầu In addition to the similar parts as mentioned above (the body, rod/handle, resonator, strings, tuning peg, plectrum), the electric Đàn Bầu has the following parts: pickup/piezo microphone, amplifier, power cord, battery holder (another kind of simpler electric Đàn Bầu exists, without amplifier, power cord and battery holder, where the pickup sends the signal to active speaker or guitar amplifier), volume control knob and a dedicated speaker that match the amplifier to create distinctive sound of the Đàn Bầu.

Acoustic Đàn Bầu (bamboo)

Electric Đàn Bầu (bamboo)

Acoustic Đàn Bầu (wooden)

Electric Đàn Bầu (wooden)

Plectrum Rod/handle, resonator Speaker

Wide end of electric Đàn Bầu Amplifier Battery holder

* Some remarkable points in the manufacturing process The Đàn Bầu is mainly made by hand. The first step is to select the raw materials and then to process them. For the Đàn Bầu made of wood, the raw materials must be air-dried thoroughly after logging, before being used. The longer the wood is left to dry, the more beautiful the sound is and the less it will shrink when used to produce the instrument. For the Đàn Bầu made of bamboo, it is best to choose old and straight bamboo trees which are not topless. These bamboo trees should be logged in the last months of the year (October, November or December of the lunar calendar). After logging, the raw materials, which are used to produce the intruments, should be air dried to create good sounds. In terms of manufacture, although the acoustic and electric Đàn Bầu have the same parts, there are some differences in the way of making such as: The body/soundboard of the acoustic Đàn Bầu is usually made larger and its surface is made thinner than that of the electric Đàn Bầu. For example, for the acoustic Đàn Bầu made of bamboo, the instrument maker often chooses sections/parts of bamboo 13 to 15 centimeters in diameter and then removes the outer layer, leaving only the 4 to 5 millimeters thick core to make the body. However, when making the electric Đàn Bầu, the instrument maker usually only chooses the bamboo sections 10 to 12 centimeters in diameter and does not remove the outer layer. For the Đàn Bầu made of wood, the surface of acoustic Đàn Bầu is usually about 3 to 4 millimeters thin, while that of the electric Đàn Bầu is usually about 10 to 15 millimeters thick.

4 4. Classification According to the classification method of E. Hornbostel and Sachs, the Đàn Bầu belongs to the string family and the pluck branch. 5. Tuning method

Normally, the open string, when the rod/handle is not bent, is usually tuned at C (C3 – 130.81Hz - C at the third octave on the piano). In accordance with musical genres or at the request of the author as well as the work, the Đàn Bầu can be tuned diffrently. For example, in some Vietnamese traditional musical pieces, the Đàn Bầu is tuned to D4 (the midle D on the piano), sometimes at B3-flat (B flat below the midle C on the piano), or to A3 (A below the midle C on the piano). 6. The register and pitches of the Đàn Bầu

* Register: The Đàn Bầu has a range of approximately 4 octaves, but the most common and effectively used register is from note C1 (C4 on piano, 262 Hz) to C3 (C6 on piano, 1046.50 Hz).

The 6 pitches in the neutral position of the rod (overtone series)

Range of the Đàn Bầu (in standard tuning)

* Ability of playing different types of scales: with the flexibility in using the left hand technique of bending the rod/handle to produce different notes, the Đàn Bầu can play all scales in music, from traditional Vietnamese musical scales to musical scales of other countries around the world. * Availability of chromatic and microtonal intervals: As mentioned above, the left-hand technique of the Đàn Bầu is very special and extremely flexible in playing the intervals, so it is also very convenient in performing chromatic and microtonal intervals.

7. Timbre, volume, and resonance of the instrument

* Timbre: The sound is pure, soft, warm, resonant, strong, and close to timbre of human voice. * Volume: - Acoustic Đàn Bầu: the sound has a characteristic warmth and timbre, but is pretty quiet and with relatively short sustain. It is more suited for performing in small and quiet spaces. Therefore, the acoustic Đàn Bầu is very rarely used. - Electric Đàn Bầu: this instrument is equipped with electronic devices to amplify the sound. Therefore, the volume can easily to be adjusted from very quiet to very loud, so the Đàn Bầu can easily play with small ensembles or big orchestras without using an additional microphone. The electric Đàn Bầu also has the advantage that the high overtones sound clearer and it can sustain the sound longer than the acoustic Đàn Bầu. Therefore, today, 5 artists in Viet Nam mainly play the electric Đàn Bầu. This is also the instrument being played in the Asia Traditional Orchestra. *About the sustain: The electric Đàn Bầu can sustain the sound quite long, like most other plucked string instruments. 8. Performing method

*Performing potures: There are three principal postures in playing the Đàn Bầu, such as sitting on the floor, sitting in a chair with the Đàn Bầu placed on a stand and standing with the instrument placed on a stand or on special legs.

Sitting on the floor

Sitting in a chair with the Đàn Bầu placed on a stand

Standing with the instrument placed on a stand or on special legs

* Performing techniques: One of the most specific characteristics of the Đàn Bầu is its performing technique. Because the Đàn Bầu has only one string, when simply plucking it, it only produces one pitch. Therefore, in order to produce other pitches, it is necessary to use the plectrum to pluck the string by applying the special harmonic method rather than simply plucking. To find other pitches, we have to do as follows:

- The left hand holds the rod/handle while the right hand holds the plectrum.

Holding the plectrum Touching the string at the overtone point Plucking

- While holding the plectrum, lightly touch on the string with the right (outer) edge of the right-hand palm. The position of the touch has to be exactly at the overtone point of the string (in order to generate harmonic partials). Pluck the string with the plectrum and then, a fraction of the second later (nearly simultaneously), lift the hand up to produce the sound.

- There are 6 main pitches in the neutral position of the rod (without bending to either side) on Đàn Bầu. Going from the right to left toward, the first note is C1 (at ½ of the string), followed by G1 ( at 1/3 of the string), C2 ( at 1/4 of the string), E2 (at 1/5 of the string), G2 ( at 1/6 of the string) and C3 (at 1/8 of the string).

The 6 pitches in the neutral position of the rod

7 - In order to have the sound of Đàn Bầu resounding and clear, the player has to use the harmonic method of plucking as described above and take extra care of the precise positioning of the right hand on the string.

- After the right hand creates harmonic partials as mentioned above, the player can use the left hand to bend the rod/handle to the right (loosen the string, “bending down”) or to the left (tense the string, “bending up”) to produce different pitches from the six basic pitches of the Đàn Bầu. When bending the rod to the left (tensing the stings), we should not go higher than perfect fourth, because it will risk breaking the rod or the string. When bending the rod to the right (loosing the string), it is safe to reach major tenth down.

Neutral position of the rod/handle Bending right (down) Bending left (up)

- The technique explained above is the first basic performing technique of the Đàn Bầu. Additionally, in order to perform Vietnamese traditional songs as well as new compositions for the Đàn Bầu, there are also many complementary techniques of the right and left hands such as vibratos, legato, tremolos, ornaments, open string, etc. Performing these advanced techniques requires methodical and regular practice over a long period of time, just like with any other instrument.

9. Position of the Đàn Bầu in the Asia Traditional Orchestra: Due to its unique sound quality and the capability to play in different tunings and scales, from classical Western music, through Vietnamese folk all the way to various other Asian musical cultures, the Đàn Bầu is often the first choice for the composers as a leading melody instrument, and plays an important position in any kind of programme where melody is put to the front. Therefore, the Đàn Bầu is an indispensable instrument in the Asia Traditional Orchestra.