Trống cơm (lit. "rice drum") is a kind of traditional barrel-shaped

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

, bearing similarities to the Chinese

yaogu The yaogu (; literally "waist drum"), sometimes historically referred to as the hugu (; literally "barbarian drum" ) or xiyugu (; literally "drum from the Western Regions" ), is a medium-sized, traditional Chinese drum. It is the symbol of Chinese ...

, and the Khmer skor sang na. It is an integral instrument in the hát bội orchestra and is also featured prominently in the Hát chèo repertoire. The ''trống cơm'' is a long, cylindrical drum with percussion surfaces on both ends. When stationary, it is positioned horizontally in front of the performer, who strikes the drumheads with their hands. Alternatively, drumsticks may be used. For performances that involve movement, the drum is slung over the shoulders with a sash, resting horizontally across the performer's abdomen, allowing it to be played on the go."Trong com"
/ref> The drum derives its name, "rice drum," from the practice of smearing a layer of cooked rice onto its surface for tuning purposes. This technique is similar to the methods used for tuning drums in Cambodia and Thailand. The two drumheads are traditionally tuned five notes apart, creating a distinct tonal range. Beyond its role as a

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 ...

, the ''trống cơm'' has deeply integrated into the folk music traditions of the Vietnamese people through the

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...

folk song of the same name. This song, with its cheerful melody and communal spirit, reflects the everyday life and cultural essence of the

Bắc Bộ Northern Vietnam or ''Tonkin'' () is one of three geographical regions in Vietnam. It consists of three geographic sub-regions: the Northwest (Vùng Tây Bắc), the Northeast (Vùng Đông Bắc), and the Red River Delta (Đồng Bằng Sông ...

region, further cementing the ''trống cơm'' as a symbol of Vietnamese folk heritage.

References

Vietnamese musical instruments Drums {{Membranophone-instrument-stub