The (,

Chữ Nôm Chữ Nôm (, ; ) is a logographic writing system formerly used to write the Vietnamese language. It uses Chinese characters (''Chữ Hán'') to represent Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and some native Vietnamese words, with other words represen ...

: 彈二), also called , is a Vietnamese

bowed Bowed string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by a bow rubbing the strings. The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which the instrument emits as sound. Despite the numerous specialist studies devoted to t ...

string instrument with two strings. The word ''nhị'' means "two" in Vietnamese, and means "instrument". Its

sound box A sound box or sounding box (sometimes written soundbox) is an open chamber in the body of a musical instrument which modifies the sound of the instrument, and helps transfer that sound to the surrounding air. Objects respond more strongly to vibr ...

is generally covered on one end with

snakeskin Snakeskin may either refer to the skin of a live snake, the shed skin of a snake after molting, or to a type of leather that is made from the hide of a dead snake. Snakeskin and scales can have varying patterns and color formations, providing pro ...

.''

Garland Encyclopedia of World Music ''The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music'' is an academic reference work. It was initiated by editors at Garland Publishing in 1988 as a 10-volume series of encyclopedias of world music. The final volumes appeared in 2001, but editions have since ...

'': "The đàn nhị or đàn cò ..is a two-stringed fiddle resembling the Chinese erhu." There is some variation in construction between different forms of the đàn nhị. Instruments colloquially referred to as đàn cò are often more similar to the Chinese

Erxian The ''erxian'' ( 二弦; pinyin: èrxián; literally "two string") is a Chinese bowed string instrument in the '' huqin'' family of instruments. It has two strings and is used primarily in Cantonese music, most often in "hard string" chamber en ...

Khmer tro and Thai

saw duang A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mov ...

, while instruments referred to as đàn nhị are often constructed more similarly to the modern ''

erhu The ''erhu'' (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a ''Southern Fiddle'', and is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two- ...

'' of China. However, in the past, both names referred to what is now generally called the đàn cò. In the past, it was often paired with the

Đàn gáo The đàn gáo ("coconut shell fiddle") is a bowed string instrument, a part of the traditional Vietnamese orchestra. It is similar to the đàn hồ. The instrument originated from South Viet Nam, and is used in entertainment contexts. It ...

, not unlike the pairing of the

Yehu The ''yehu'' () is a bowed string instrument in the ''huqin'' family of Chinese musical instruments. ''Ye'' means coconut and ''hu'' is short for ''huqin''. It is used particularly in the southern coastal provinces of China and in Taiwan. The ...

and Erxian/

Gaohu The ''gaohu'' ( 高胡; pinyin: ''gāohú'', ; Cantonese: gou1 wu4; also called ''yuehu'' 粤胡) is a Chinese bowed string instrument developed from the ''erhu'' in the 1920s by the musician and composer Lü Wencheng (1898–1981) and ...

in Cantonese music, or the pairing of the

Saw duang A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mov ...

and

Saw u The ''saw u'' ( th, ซออู้, , ; also spelled ''saw ou'') is a Thai bowed string instrument. It has a lower pitch than the saw duang and is the lowest sounding of the saw family. Reliable evidence shows that pattern of the Saw U was pro ...

in Thailand, although this pairing is a bit more rare in modern times as the đàn gáo is falling into disuse. As well, the traditional handmade đàn nhị have been replaced by Erhus purchased from China in

Nhạc dân tộc cải biên ''Nhạc dân tộc cải biên'' is a modern form of Vietnamese folk music which arose in the 1950s after the founding of the Hanoi Conservatory of Music in 1956. This development involved writing traditional music using Western musical notation, w ...

ensembles. It is related to the ''

huqin ''Huqin'' () is a family of bowed string instruments, more specifically, a spike fiddle popularly used in Chinese music. The instruments consist of a round, hexagonal, or octagonal sound box at the bottom with a neck attached that protrudes ...

'' family of instruments of China. Some

Austroasiatic The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are t ...

groups in Vietnam also have their version of the đàn cò. The Mường have the cò kè, the Chứt have the t'rơbon, the Khua have the karong, and the

Khmer Khmer(s) may refer to: Cambodia *''Srok Khmer'' (lit. "Khmer land" or "Land of the Khmer(s)"), a colloquial exonym used to refer to Cambodia by Cambodians; see * *Khmer people, the ethnic group to which the great majority of Cambodians belong ** ...

have the tro.

References

External links

''Đàn nhị'' page
from DanTranh.com site
''Đàn nhị'' photođàn nhị Video
from YouTube
Đàn nhị video
Đàn nhị played in a more lively fashion by Ngo Hong Quang at the Onder de Stuwwal Festival, the Netherlands, 2011

References

External links

See also