Traditional Vietnamese musical instruments are the

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...

s used in the traditional and classical musics of

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. They comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments, used by both the Viet () majority as well as the nation's

ethnic minorities The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...

Strings

Plucked

* - monochord zither: often tuned C3, though tuning varies * - long-necked three-stringed lute with trapezoidal body: tuned G3 C4 * (also called , or ) - moon-shaped two-string lute: no fixed tuning; strings are tuned a 4th, 5th, or 7th (minor), derived from the Chinese * - two-string lute derived from the Chinese *''

Đàn tam The ''đàn tam'' (chữ Nôm: 彈三) is a three-stringed ("tam" means "three") fretless plucked Vietnamese musical instrument. It has a long fingerboard, and the body is traditionally partially covered by a snake skin stretched over a rounded re ...

'' - fretless lute derived from the Chinese with snakeskin-covered body and three strings: tuned F3 C4 F4 * - long zither derived from the Chinese * - pear-shaped lute with four strings derived from the Chinese ; tuned C4 F4 G4 C5 *'' Đàn tứ'' (also called ''đàn đoản''): short-necked round-bodied lute derived from the Chinese ''

yueqin The ''yueqin'' (; ; ; or ), also called a moon lute or moon guitar, is a traditional Chinese musical instruments, traditional Chinese string instrument. It is a lute with a round, hollow soundboard, a short fretted neck, and usually four str ...

'' or, beginning in the 20th century, a square-shaped, flat-backed, 4-string lute with short neck, tuned C3 G3 D4 A4 * Guitar phím lõm (also called , , or ) - "Vietnamized" acoustic or electric 5-string guitar with scalloped fretboard; used primarily in : tuned C3 F3 C4 G4 C5 * - long-necked lute with a gourd body and two or three silk strings derived from the Chinese Zhuang (); used by the Tay, Nung, and Thai ethnic groups * - fretted zither with a body made of bamboo and a gourd resonator; used by minority ethnic groups in the Central Highlands * -

tube zither The tube zither is a stringed musical instrument in which a tube functions both as an instrument's neck and its soundbox. As the neck, it holds strings taut and allows them to vibrate. As a soundbox, it acoustic resonance, modifies the sound and ...

with a bamboo body; used by minority ethnic groups in the Central Highlands File:Musicians from Hanoi.jpg, A woman playing the

đàn bầu The ''đàn bầu'' (; "gourd zither"; Chữ Nôm: ), also called ''độc huyền cầm'' (獨絃琴, "one-string zither"; the name is only used by the Jing ethnicity in China) is a Vietnamese stringed instrument, in the form of a monochord (o ...

. File:Ca trù performance.jpg, Man on the right is playing the đàn đáy which is an important part of

ca trù ''Ca trù'' (, , "tally card songs"), also known as hát cô đầu or hát nói, is a Vietnamese genre of musical storytelling performed by a featuring female vocalist, with origins in northern Vietnam. For much of its history, it was associate ...

File:Cach-choi-dan-tranh-150714.jpg, A lady playing the đàn tranh. File:Flickr - dalbera - Huong Thanh Trio, (musée Guimet, Paris) (1).jpg, Man is playing the

đàn nguyệt The ''đàn nguyệt'' ( Vietnamese pronunciation: Help:IPA/Vietnamese, �ǎn ŋwiə̂ˀt"moon-shaped lute", Chữ Nôm: 彈月) also called ''nguyệt cầm'' (Chữ Hán: 月琴), ''đàn kìm'', is a two-stringed Vietnam, Vietnamese tradit ...

. File:Dan nhi- ken- trong.jpg, The man in the centre is playing the đàn nhị. File:Flickr - dalbera - Huong Thanh Trio, (musée Guimet, Paris) (5).jpg, The man is playing the

sáo The ''sáo'' (also called ''sáo trúc'' — pronounced , like "''shall-joog"'') is a family of flutes found in Vietnam, considered a symbol of rural Vietnam. ''Sáo'' is the literal Vietnamese word for "flute". The most common variety is played w ...

Bowed

* - two-stringed vertical violin with coconut resonator derived from the Chinese * - two-stringed vertical violin with wooden resonator; derived from the Chinese , as in * - two-stringed vertical violin derived from the Chinese * (also spelled or ) - bowed monochord; played by the

Jarai people Jarai people or Dega (, , or ; , or , ) are an Austronesian people, Austronesian indigenous people and ethnic group native to Vietnam's Central Highlands (Vietnam), Central Highlands (Gia Lai Province, Gia Lai and Kon Tum Province, Kon Tum Provin ...

of the Central Highland

Struck

* - hammered dulcimer with 36 metal strings derived from the Chinese * Đàn t'rưng: Highland Central bamboo xylophone.

Wind

Flutes

* (also called ) - transverse flute made of bamboo or hardwood

Oboes

* - class of

double reed A double reed is a type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments. In contrast with a single reed instrument, where the instrument is played by channeling air against one piece of cane which vibrates against the mouthpiece and ...

instruments similar to the

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

and the Indian

shehnai The ''shehnai'' is a type of oboe from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end. It was one of the nine instruments found in the royal court. The shehnai is sim ...

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

Clarinets

* - double clarinet similar to the Middle Eastern ; used in courtship context mainly within the Mường people.

Free reed mouth organs

* Đing nǎm - free-reed mouth organ with gourd body and bamboo pipes; played by Highland people * - free-reed mouth organ with gourd body and bamboo pipes; played by upland minorities * - Vietnamese equivalent to the Khaen from

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

Horns

* - valveless brass trumpet * ("snail") - conch trumpet * - Buffalo horn

Percussion

Drums

* - drum played with sticks ** - bass drum ** or - the largest of the set of drums used in . ** - rice drum **

Dong Son drum A Đông Sơn drum (; also called Heger Type I drum) is a type of ancient bronze drum created by the Đông Sơn culture that existed in the Red River Delta. The drums were produced from about 600 BCE or earlier until the third century CE; the ...

(also called ) - bronze drum played by the Dong Son culture in ancient times * (also called - drum used by the H'mong ethnic group for funeral music

Tuned percussion

* - a set of L-shaped flat stone chimes used in ancient court music; derived from the Chinese * - tuned gong (comes in both flat and knobbed varieties) * - set of three small, high-pitched flat gongs in a frame; used primarily in music * - bamboo xylophone * - lithophone, commonly having 9+ stone bars, in length. It is believed the instrument dates back to 1000 BC. Also called (M'nong people), (M'nong people), (Mạ people).

Untuned percussion

* - castanets * - metal woodblock * - clapper made from bamboo or hardwood * - coin clapper * - clapper * - woodblock

Other

* -

jaw harp The Jew's harp, also known as jaw harp, juice harp, or mouth harp, is a lamellophone instrument, consisting of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue or Reed (mouthpiece), reed attached to a frame. Despite the colloquial name, the Jew's harp most like ...

* - Bamboo tube xylophone; hands are clapped near ends of tubes to produce musical tones * ("bamboo instrument") - A hybrid form of the Vietnamese plucked string instrument, similar to a , called a , was created by Nguyễn Minh Tâm, who escaped from Vietnam in 1982 and ultimately settled in Australia. The instrument has twenty-three -long wire strings attached to a bamboo tube with a metal hose-clamp around the top rim. A , rectangular olive oil tin, which acts as a resonator, is clamped to the base of the tube. The instrument is capable of playing both Vietnamese and Western music. The instrument can be seen and recordings of it being played by its creator can be heard at the

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia (NMA), in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''Nation ...

. * - Vietnamese bell

References

External links

The traditional music and instruments of Vietnam

Hybrid
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