The ''mi gyaung'' ( ) or ''kyam'' (, ; pronounced "chyam") is a
crocodile
Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...
-shaped fretted, plucked
zither
Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body.
Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...
with three strings that is used as a traditional instrument in
Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
. It is associated with the
Mon people
The Mon (; Thai Mon: ဂကူမည်; , ; , ) are an ethnic group who inhabit Lower Myanmar's Mon State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Tanintharyi Region, Bago Region, the Irrawaddy Delta, and several areas in Thailand (mostly in Pathum Than ...
. Both Burmese and Mon names also mean 'crocodile.'
Tube zither of Myanmar, carved of wood in the shape of a crocodile with extended head and tail. It has three metal strings which pass over eight to ten raised movable frets on the flat top of the instrument and fasten to tuning pegs near the tail. This zither is related to similar instruments distributed widely in Southeast Asia. While the crocodile shape is not always found elsewhere, the reptilian name remains in variants such as the Thai ''čhakchē'' (‘alligator’, wooden tube zither) and the Indonesian and Philippine ''kacapi'' (box zither). In southern Myanmar the ''mí-gyaùng'' is associated with the Mon (who know it as ''kyam''), an ethnic people linguistically related to the Mon-Khmer of Thailand and Cambodia.
The instrument's body is made of wood that is carved out on the underside like a
dugout canoe
A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles.
In British English, the term ' ...
. It has approximately 13 raised wooden frets that are
diatonically rather than equidistantly or chromatically spaced. It has a carved crocodile's head and tail, as well as four legs.
Its strings are tuned (from low to high) FCF. The lowest string is made of
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
and the two higher strings are made from
nylon
Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups.
Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
. It is plucked with a short rod-shaped plectrum that tapers to a point, made of
horn
Horn may refer to:
Common uses
* Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide
** Horn antenna
** Horn loudspeaker
** Vehicle horn
** Train horn
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals
* Horn (instrument), a family ...
or
hardwood
Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...
. Unlike the Thai ''
jakhe'', the plectrum is not tied onto the right index finger, but instead simply held in the hand.
Tremolo
In music, ''tremolo'' (), or ''tremolando'' (), is a trembling effect. There are multiple types of tremolo: a rapid repetition of a note, an alternation between two different notes, or a variation in volume.
Tremolos may be either ''measured'' ...
technique is often used. The instrument has a buzzing sound because the strings are raised just off the flat bridge by a sliver of bamboo or other thin material such as plastic.
It is similar to the Thai ''
jakhe,'' the Cambodian ''
krapeu'' ''(takhe)'', and Indonesian/Filipino ''
kacapi
The kacapi is a traditional zither of Sundanese people in Indonesia. This musical instrument is similar to Chinese , Japanese '' koto'', the Mongolian , the Korean , the Vietnamese and the Kazakh jetigen. The kacapi played as the main accompa ...
''.
However, while the ''mi gyaung'' has realistic zoological features, its Thai and Cambodian relatives' animal forms are much more abstract.
References
External links
Photo of a ''kyam'' (''mi gyaung'')CD Baby Music Store
Listening
''Kyam'' (''mi gyaung'') audio samples
(track 6)
Burmese musical instruments
Zithers
Mon culture
{{Myanmar-culture-stub