The ''đàn tỳ bà'' (,
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 represented ...
: ) is a Vietnamese traditional plucked
string instrument
String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner.
Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the s ...
derived form the Chinese
pipa.
[ Garland Encyclopedia of World Music South East Asia p262 "The tỳ bà, a pear-shaped lute, first appeared in Vietnam in the early 600s"]
It is made of wood, with a pear shape and four strings made of
nylon (formerly twisted
silk). The instrument is held in a near-vertical position when playing and its playing technique involves frequent bending of the tones with the fingers of the left hand. The strings are plucked with a small plectrum similar to a
guitar's but larger. It was associated with the royal court and is still used in the ensemble that performs at the Imperial Palace at
Huế.
The instrument's name is a Vietnamization of the name of the Chinese pear-shaped lute, called ''
pipa'', from which the ''đàn tỳ bà'' is derived. "Đàn" is the Vietnamese prefix meaning "stringed instruments", which is part of the name of most traditional stringed instruments of the
Viet majority.
See also
*
Music of Vietnam
Traditional Vietnamese music encompasses a large umbrella of Vietnamese music from antiquity to present times, and can also encompass multiple groups, such as those from Vietnam's ethnic minority tribes.
History
Traditional Vietnamese music has ...
*
Pipa
*
Biwa
The is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. The is a plucked string instrument that first gained popularity in China before spreading throughout East Asia, eventually reaching Japan sometime durin ...
*
Bipa
The ''bipa'' is a pear-shaped lute that is a traditional Korean musical instrument. It is derived from Chinese ''pipa'' and was introduced through the Silk Road to Goguryeo and Silla. There are two major types of ''bipa'': the four stringed ''d ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dan ty ba
Necked bowl lutes
Vietnamese musical instruments