Tube Zither
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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 modifies the sound and transfers it to the open air. The instruments are among the oldest of chordophones, being "a very early stage" in the development of chordophones, and predate some of the oldest chordophones, such as the Chinese Se,
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 ...
s built on a tube split in half. Most tube zithers are made of
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...
, played today in
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
and
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. Tube zithers made from other materials have been found in Europe and the United States, made from materials such as cornstalks and cactus. There are both round and half tube zithers, as well as tube zithers with the strings cut out of the bamboo body, ''idiochordic'', or, rarely, have separate strings, ''heterochordic''.


Cultural connections

The areas where the bamboo tube zither has been used was connected by trade and migrations of people. One widespread group who still have some members using the bamboo-tube zither today were the
Austronesian people The Austronesian people, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples who have settled in Taiwan, maritime Southeast Asia, parts of mainland Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesi ...
s, inhabiting an area that includes Madagascar, Southeast Asia,
Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...
and Taiwan. Musicologists use iconography, linguistics, and literature to look for clues about existence and traits of musical instruments in the past, as well as modern instrument and variations among them. From these clues they create a history, basing their story of the instrument on the clues they have uncovered. Existing instruments, names in different languages, methods of manufacture and playing, music theory and tonal systems all offer clues to instrument origins. Among the historical trends in the background of the bamboo tube zither, traders from India sailed east and "passed the Malay peninsula" by the 6th century b.c. Indonesians sailed west to Madagascar by the 1st century A.D. By the 3rd century a.d, Buddhists were making statues in Java, and by the 7th century A.D. the "Indianized"
Srivijaya empire Srivijaya (), also spelled Sri Vijaya, was a Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia) that influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddh ...
(650-1377) was founded in Sumatra. The
Khmer empire The Khmer Empire was an empire in Southeast Asia, centered on Hydraulic empire, hydraulic cities in what is now northern Cambodia. Known as Kambuja (; ) by its inhabitants, it grew out of the former civilization of Chenla and lasted from 802 t ...
(802-1431 a.d.) was founded in the 9th century a.d. Wars among countries (including the Khmer Empire,
Champa Champa (Cham language, Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ, چمڤا; ; 占城 or 占婆) was a collection of independent Chams, Cham Polity, polities that extended across the coast of what is present-day Central Vietnam, central and southern Vietnam from ...
) (192–1832) and
Đại Việt Đại Việt (, ; literally Great Việt), was a Vietnamese monarchy in eastern Mainland Southeast Asia from the 10th century AD to the early 19th century, centered around the region of present-day Hanoi. Its early name, Đại Cồ Việt,(ch ...
caused people to migrate overland, including a defeated tribe from the
Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...
plains in modern Vietnam moving overland eastward to
Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
near North India. Currently known evidence in pictures for the tube zither and bar zither dates to between the 7th and 10th centuries AD. The history of the tube zithers is interconnected with that of bar-zithers. It may not always be possible to tell from the artwork if a stick or a thin bamboo tube is being depicted on a relief artwork.


Basic divisions

Tube zithers can be divided by the materials used to create the tube and strings. They can be divided by the method used to get sound from the strings. They can be divided by the way the strings are arranged on the tube, which can interact with the way the strings are sounded. They can be divided by whether the tube is a whole tube or a half tube. Most tube zithers are made from bamboo, a material that is naturally hollow. Other plants have been adapted to make tubes, including cactus and breadfruit trees. Half zithers are made of both bamboo and of curved-wood boards, as much a board zither as a tube zither. After addressing the device used to stretch the strings, a tube as opposed to a stick for a bar-zither, Hornbostel-Sachs divides the tube zithers into two types, based on the types of strings they use: idiochord and heterochord. '' Idiochord'' tube zithers have "strings" which are made from the material of the tube itself. With bamboo, the surface of the tube is cut and peeled into strips, leaving both ends still attached to the tube. Small pieces of bamboo are put under the strip to make it tight. The tight strip of bamboo acts as a string and can be plucked, hammered or bowed. '' Heterochord'' tube zithers use a separate material for strings, such as wire, fishing line or guitar strings. The strings are secured to the tube on each end, and tension is placed on them. Some resemble the idiochord zithers, the string put through holes in the tube, secured there and bamboo put underneath to make them taut. Another version secures one end through a hole in the tube, the other end wrapped around a peg that can be tightened. Another way of looking at the instruments is the way strings are arranged on the tube. ''Polychordal tube zithers'' circle the tube with string-rows. In contrast, ''parallel-string zithers'' have strings arranged in parallel, often only one pair for the tube and linked together so that they sound together. Tube zithers may be plucked chordophones, tapped or struck percussion chordophones or bowed chordophones.


Bamboo

The bamboo-tube zither exists in the 21st century in pockets from Madagascar, to India, Southeast Asia and the Philippine Islands of
Northern Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
and
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
. Historically, it was found in India and China, where in the 21st century the Rudra veena and non-bamboo
guzheng The zheng (), or guzheng (), is a Chinese List of Chinese musical instruments#Plucked, plucked zither. The modern guzheng commonly has 21, 25, or 26 strings, is long, and is tuned in a Major scale, major pentatonic scale. It has a large, reson ...
are modern relations. The basic instruments were constructed by cutting strips into the outer edges, raising the strips with wedges to create tension and make idiochord strings. They could be tuned by the positioning of the wedges, tightening and loosening the bamboo-strip strings. Beneath the strips, the holes started below the strips of bamboo were expanded downward, until they went all the way through the side of the tube. Modern instrument makers in Madagascar, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam have taken advantage of modern materials. Fishing line, wire and other modern string materials have been repurposed as musical instrument strings, with pegs to tune the instruments. There is less fall-off of the note with the new materials and the sound of the instruments are different. The instruments are connected with gongs in cultures in Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. When hammered, the zithers with bamboo strings have a gong or bell-like tone which rings and falls off. In Indonesia, there have been gong-ensembles made entirely of bamboo instruments, and some groups use a word for gong in the instruments' names (such as ong bamboo.<--verify--> Where gongs are a public instrument, the polychord bamboo-zithers can be used privately in the home. Furthermore, with a tube-zither, a musician can play music that normally takes an entire group of gongs. Kolitong and kulibaw mimic the cyclic sequence of the gangsa (ensembles of flat gongs). For this, the six strings of the kolitong are tuned exactly to the pitch of the gongs. *Cambodia: Kong *Indonesia: Kolintang gong) Kolitong zither *Tagalog: Agong *Sumatra: Ogoeng *Vietnam: Goong


Africa

The tube zither, called
valiha The valiha is a tube zither from Madagascar made from a species of Valiha diffusa, local bamboo; it is considered the "List of national instruments (music), national instrument" of Madagascar. The term is also used to describe a number of re ...
, arrived in Madagascar in the 15th century a.d. with the Hova people, from Indonesian Archipelago. Two forms exist. The traditional form has as many as 14 strings cut and raised from the bamboo tube. Starting in the 20th century, the bamboo strips were replaced by metal strings, changing the instrument's sound. Africa also uses the raft zither, in which tube zithers are put together into a single musical instrument. One example of a raft zither is the Totombito zither, from Congo. Other African examples may be found in Nigeria and East Africa.


Southeast Asia

The instruments were used differently, depending on the cultures. In Cambodia, the Kong ring was plucked, used as a substitute for the sound of a circle of gongs, similar to the way a piano can substitute for an orchestra. In the Philippines, the zither strings were plucked but also hammered with a stick, like a drum. Off the coast of Burma and Thailand, the Moken people played their with a bow. Bamboo-tube-zithers the Kong ring in Cambodia, the Đàn goong in Vietnam. The instruments are also found in Burma and Thailand among the Pa'O (Black Karen), Kayaw (Red Karen), Sgaw Karen, Khamu and Shan peoples. The Khamu have more than one kind of bamboo-tube zither, with bamboo strings. The ''bring'' is a parallel string zither, used fur percussion. Like other parallel-string percussive bamboo zithers, it has two stings cut from the bamboo, the stings linked together with a thin piece of bamboo, a small hole cut into the tube wall below The connector. The bring is different than many tube zithers, having the two ends of the bamboo tube open. One end is held against the musician's body while playing it, closing that end, and the musician uses a hand to cover and uncover the other hole, changing the sound. They also have zithers designed for plucking.


Indonesia, Java, Sumatra

Early knowledge of Indonesian musical instruments comes from artwork and literature of the Hindu-Javanese civilization, which began with Hindu colonists in the fifth century AD. Because bamboo instruments decay, evidence of them comes through iconography, images in art, and literature. It is likely that the instruments pre-date their first representation in imagery. The instrument is found in the Kinddung Sunda, a work in Middle Javanese which was used in about the 14th and 15th centuries. In that work, it was called the guntang, and is still called that in Bali. The instrument is found in the Kinddung Sunda, a work in Middle Javanese which was used in about the 14th and 15th centuries. It is also present in the "entire archipelago" but under different names, including the ''gumbeng'' or ''bumbeng''. Instruments may be created with single strings, pairs of strings (parallel strings), and with three or more strings (polychordal). The number of strings influences how they are played. Instruments with three or fewer strings are played like drums, the strings beaten with a stick. Instruments with three or more strings may be plucked with the thumbnails. These may also be played with a combination of thumbnail and stick, the player moving back and forth between plucked and hammered notes.


Ensembles, gumbeng and chelempung

A Sundanese ''celempung''. The traditional ensemble music of Indonesia centers around gong and gong-chime based ensembles, called
gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...
s. The music was imitated with other instruments, including bamboo-based ensembles. The ''Gumbeng'' ensemble includes a polychordal bamboo-tube zither with bamboo strings to play melody, a second bamboo-tube zither set up as a parallel-string instrument (strings connected together and sounding together and functioning as "kempul") another string making "kenong beats", a bamboo-tube (not a zither) functioning as "kedang" by beating open ends of the tube with the palms of the hands, a bamboo-tube instrument blown as a gong. The ''chelempung'' ensemble or ''celempung'', found today on Java and in places under Javanese influence (including Sumatra), consists normally of rows of "bonang" kettle bells, in rows of 3 or 5 bells. However, instruments may substitute for the kettle bells, including a single celempung metal-stringed zither or a chelempung orchestra consisting of idiochord-bamboo tube zithers. In this last ensemble, instruments may be named for their function in the orchestra: the ''kendang awi'' (bamboo kendang) replaces the kendang drum; the ''ketuk awi'' (bamboo ketuk) replaces the '' ketuk gong-chime'' part. Another instrument used with this ensemble is the ''celempung renteng'', which refers to a row (reteng) of parallel-string tube zithers (''celempung''). This row has tube zithers of different sizes, each playing a different note, like tone-bars on a xylophone. Strings tuned to higher notes imitate the
gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...
chimes, and lower note strings imitate gongs. Another zither used in the chelempung ensemble is a three-string celempung indung. The instrument is polychordal, with strings played individually to make different notes. Bridges can be placed under the strings in the center of two of the strings, allowing even more notes, on either side of the bridge. The lowest note string has been designed to make a "sustained boom" through the use of a flap, over a hole in the bamboo tubing; the flap vibrates with the string and "this sound/energy is transmitted through the length of the tube through the small hole." The
kendang A ''kendang'' or ''gendang'' (, , , Tausug language, Tausug/Bajau/Maranao language, Maranao: ''gandang'', Buginese language, Bugis: ''gendrang'' and Makassarese language, Makassar: ''gandrang'' or ''ganrang'') is a two-headed drum used by peop ...
drum is imitated by hitting the open end of the tube with the palm of the musician's hand. A player can also influence the pitch of the sound by making the opening on the end of the instrument larger or smaller with the palm of a hand—a completely open hole makes the highest pitch sound, and closing the hole makes the lowest pitched sound.


Philippines

The Philippines have a variety of names and forms for the bamboo-tube zither, and pluck the instruments add use the for percussion, and in modern times have developed a bowed form. The different versions of names may be the result of transcribing them into English, but may also be the versions of names in different dialects or languages. The instruments are made from a tube of bamboo, about 10 centimeters across, with the ends blocked. The ends may be partially open or the instrument may have added holes or be deliberately cracked to help resonance. The instruments are idiochords, with strings cut from the tube, in strips attached at both ends and given tension with wedges placed between tube and string. They may be polychords, with lengthwise rows of stings spaced out around the tube, or parallel stringed with strings in one or two groups of two. The instruments may be played in orchestras of bamboo-zithers, "rural gamelan ensembles," in which the instruments take the place of
bonang The bonang is an Music of Indonesia, Indonesian musical instrument used in the Javanese people, Javanese gamelan. It is a collection of small gongs (sometimes called "kettles" or "pots") placed horizontally onto strings in a wooden frame (''r ...
,
kenong The Kenong is a musical instrument of Indonesia used in the gamelan. It is a kind of gong and is placed on its side. It has the same length and width. Thus, it is similar to the bonang, kempyang, and ketuk, which are also cradled gongs. Kenongs ...
and kempul gongs.


Polychords

The polychordal tube zithers are played on
Northern Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
,
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
island and
Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...
. On Northern Luzon, the zithers include the Ilongot five-stringed ''kollesing'' or ''kulisin'', Bontok ''kolitong'', ''kollitong'', or ''kullitong'', Kalinga six-stringed '' kolitong'' and six or eleven-stringed '' kulibit'', Isneg five-stringed . On
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
the Bagobo call it the ''taw-go'', ''tugo'', or ''padang''. The B’laan or Bilaan, call it , or . The Subanun call their five-string zither the . The Maguindanaon call it the . The Manobo call their seven-stringed zither the , or . The Mansaka call it the ''takul''. The T’boli call it the or . The Tiruray call their eight-string zither the , or . The
Bukidnon Bukidnon (), officially the Province of Bukidnon (; ; ; Bukid language, Binukid and Higaonon language, Higaonon: ''Probinsya ta Bukidnon''), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Northern Mindan ...
Matigsalug name their six-stringed zither the . On
Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...
, it is called the ''pagang''.


Parallel-stringed instruments

Parallel-stringed tube zithers are used on Mindanao by the Maranao, Tiruray, and Manobo, and on North Luzon by the Isneg. A flattened section is created on a length of bamboo, with a hole in the center. Two strings are cut on the either side of the flattened section. A platform is placed to connect the two stings (above the hole) so that they vibrate together. The instruments may have either one or two pairs of strings and may either be plucked or struck with bamboo sticks. The Maranao call their zither . The Isneg call theirs (or variants , and ).


Playing methods

The Kalinga's six-stringed kulibet is held in the player's hands and plucked. The player uses thumbs on two strings and his middle and index fingers for the other four, plucking alternately with each side to sustain a melody. The Isneg play their five-stringed in the same manner, plucking with thumbs and fingers. The Ilongglot have a way for two people to play one instrument, the man holding the five-string in his hands, the woman beating percussion on the strings with bamboo sticks. The subanun play with the holder plucking and the person with sticks tapping the body of the instrument with sticks. The Truray do the same, but it is specifically two women that play with way. For some entertainment, such as dancing, some groups pair the tube-zither with 2-string kudlong lute, including the Bilaan, T'boli, Vukidnon Matigsalug.


India

The Rudra veena (different from the
Saraswati veena The Sarasvatī vīṇa (also spelled Saraswati veena) (, , , Malayalam: സരസ്വതി വീണ) is an ancient Indian plucked veena. It is named after the Hindu goddess Saraswati, who is usually depicted holding or playing the instrume ...
) is a plucked instrument, a wood or bamboo tube that holds strings and fretboard and has 2 gourd resonators. Early forms included the Alapini Vina and Eka-tantri Vina. Organologists have placed the Rudra veena in different positions in their classifications, either as a bar zither or as a tube zither. As a tube zither, there is a historical connection to other tube zithers. Southeast Asia has a wide variety of development for tube zithers and can't be excluded as the developers of this style of instrument. The tube zithers may have moved from Southeast Asia to Northern India by way of overland trade. The more mainstream view shows stick-zithers with gourds (looking much like the Rudra Veena as possibly a pre-bamboo tube form) went from India to Java.


Half-tube zithers

Musicians have to deal with the shape of their instruments. One method was to attach a gourd to rest the instrument on the ground or lap, or press against the musician's chest. Splitting the bamboo tube in half created an instrument that could lie flat stably.


Asian zither

In antiquity, the Chinese
guzheng The zheng (), or guzheng (), is a Chinese List of Chinese musical instruments#Plucked, plucked zither. The modern guzheng commonly has 21, 25, or 26 strings, is long, and is tuned in a Major scale, major pentatonic scale. It has a large, reson ...
may have originally been a bamboo-tube zither. That was what was described in the ''
Shuowen Jiezi The ''Shuowen Jiezi'' is a Chinese dictionary compiled by Xu Shen , during the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE). While prefigured by earlier reference works for Chinese characters like the ''Erya'' (), the ''Shuowen Jiezi'' contains the ...
''. Kurt Sachs pointed out that bamboo large enough to form the body of a guzheng only grew in the far south. It would be redesigned later to imitate and use curved boards like the Se to replace the curved half-tube of bamboo. It was also said to have evolved from the Se. In their current form, both instruments are what are described to be board zithers rather than half-tube zithers. The Japanese Koto is also a half-tube zither. The ancestor of the koto was the Chinese
guzheng The zheng (), or guzheng (), is a Chinese List of Chinese musical instruments#Plucked, plucked zither. The modern guzheng commonly has 21, 25, or 26 strings, is long, and is tuned in a Major scale, major pentatonic scale. It has a large, reson ...
. It was first introduced to Japan from China in the 7th and 8th century. The first known version had five strings, which eventually increased to seven strings. (It had twelve strings when it was introduced to Japan in the early
Nara Period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...
(710–784) and increased to thirteen strings). The Japanese koto belongs to the Asian zither family that also comprises the Chinese (ancestral to the other
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 ...
s in the family), the Kazakh , the Korean , and , the Mongolian , the Sundanese and the Vietnamese .


Parallel-Stringed Half-Tube Zither

The bamboo half-tube
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 ...
found in the Philippines among the
Ifugao Ifugao, officially the Province of Ifugao (; ), is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Lagawe and it borders Benguet to the west, Mountain Province to the north, Isabela t ...
is called , , , or . It has two to four strings which, depending on the style of playing, are plucked with the fingers or struck with small bamboo sticks. Boys and men play the tadcheng for entertainment, often tapping rhythms patterned after those played on the
gongs A gongFrom Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and are circular and fl ...
. The Ibaloi of North Luzon also have a half-tube polychord tube zither which they call the ''kaltsang ''.


Bowed tube-zithers


Mergui Archipelago, Burma and Thailand

The Moken people, who live in the Mergui Archipelago in the southern end of Burma, have a two-string bamboo-tube zither, the which they pluck and bow. The instrument, made from a tube of bamboo about 622 millimeters (24.48 inches) long and 48–52 mm (1.8 — 2 inches) across, was originally strung with plant fibers or gut from sharks or dogs. The Moken have modernized their instrument, using nylon fishing line in place of the plant or gut strings. One long string is folded in half and the folded bight is hooked onto the lower end of the instrument. The two string-ends are each tightened and tied at the top of the instrument. The strings are held off the bottom of the instrument with a bridge. The bow is made of bamboo, with a strip of rattan for a bowstring and bee's wax for rosin. The bamboo tube is closed at the bottom and open at the top, and three holes are burned through the bamboo in the lower half of the instrument. The sound radiates upward, so that the player hears it best. The bow is stored inside the bamboo tube. The instrument strings are tuned "approximately a fourth apart" at "roughly F4 — A#4". The musician plays the instrument by using a bow on the strings, fingers underneath the strings at the top of the instrument. The musician raises and lowers tension on the strings, changing the pitch of the notes, in a roughly "four-tone scale." The higher-pitched string is used to play melody, and the lower-pitched string is occasionally played as a drone, providing "
heterophony In music, heterophony is a type of texture characterized by the simultaneous variation of a single melodic line. Such a texture can be regarded as a kind of complex monophony in which there is only one basic melody, but realized at the same time ...
." The is played as part of the religious life-view of the Moken people. The two strings represent ancestral couples, and the musician, by playing the instrument, has "dialogue with the entities of the mythical past."


Arizona

The White Cloud and San Carlos
Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...
people in
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
developed a bowed-tube zither in the 1800s, called today, the
Apache fiddle The Apache fiddle ( Apache: tsii' edo'a'tl, "wood that sings") is a bowed string instrument used by the indigenous Apache people of the southwestern United States. The instrument consists of a plant stalk, such as that of the agave or mescal p ...
. The instrument was made from the hollowed-out stem of an agave cactus, the top sealed with
piñón pine The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah, with the single-leaf pinyon pine just reaching into southern Idaho. The trees yield edible Pine nut, nuts, which are a sta ...
pitch, a wedge driven up through the bottom of the instrument so that the edge of the wedge supported the weight of the bridge from inside. The instrument and bow were both strung with horsehair, the hair on the fiddle twisted into a tight string, the hair on the bow straight. The tuning peg tightened the fiddle string to "C# below middle C." It may have been played as well by the Yakutat people (part of the
Tlingit The Tlingit or Lingít ( ) are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. , they constitute two of the 231 federally recognized List of Alaska Native tribal entities, Tribes of Alaska. Most Tlingit are Alaska Natives; ...
of the northwest coast of North America. The Diegueno of Southern California had a bowed instrument, as well, and the
Seri people The Seri or ''Comcaac'' people are an Indigenous group of the Mexican state of Sonora. The majority reside on the Seri communal property (), in the towns of Punta Chueca () and El Desemboque () on the mainland coast of the Gulf of California ...
on
Tiburón Island Tiburón Island is the largest island in the Gulf of California and the largest island in Mexico, with an area of . It is uninhabited and it was made a nature reserve in 1963 by President Adolfo López Mateos. Etymology is Spanish language, Spa ...
, although the Seri's traditional fiddle was the enneg. The tone of the instrument was "a faint dry squeak", characterized humorously by Apaches as the "buzz, buzz, sound." They also called it "wood singing."


Related instruments

This list does not attempt to include all variations. Some instruments may be known by more than one name.
Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...
*Tangkong ( Kedayan)
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 ...
* Kong ring, ( Mondulkiri Province) plucked * Bunong people (Mondulkiri Province), plucked 6-string bamboo idiochord * gung treng, Tampuan people ( Ratanakiri Province) 9-stringed tube zither, metal strings, plucked
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
* Alapini vina, historic * Dhutang,
Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
* Eka-tantri vina, historic *Guda ( Thadou),
Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...
*
Kinnari vina The ''kinnari vina'' (Sanskrit: किन्नरी वीणा) is a historical veena, a tube zither with gourds attached to act as resonators and frets. It was played in India into the late 19th century and was documented by two European arti ...
, historic *''Pak-Dol'' or ''Veddur-Dol'' ( Maria Gond people)
Jabalpur Jabalpur, formerly Jubbulpore, is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the 3rd-largest urban agglomeration of the state and the 38th-largest of the country. Jabalpur is the administrative h ...
* Rudra veena modern form
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
:
Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
:* Guntang :
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
:*''Gumbeng'' (
Javanese people The Javanese ( , ; ) are an Austronesian peoples, Austronesian ethnic group native to the central and eastern part of the Indonesian island of Java. With more than 100 million people, Javanese people are the largest ethnic group in both Indo ...
) :
West Java West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...
:*''Celempung indung'' (
Sundanese people The Sundanese (; ) are an Austronesian people, Austronesian ethnic group native to Java in Indonesia, primarily West Java. They number approximately 42 million and form Ethnic groups in Indonesia, Indonesia's second most populous ethnic group. T ...
) (polychordal), percussion :*''Celempung reteng'' (Sundanese people) (parallel), percussion row of instruments :*''Kendang awi'' (bamboo zither playing
kendang A ''kendang'' or ''gendang'' (, , , Tausug language, Tausug/Bajau/Maranao language, Maranao: ''gandang'', Buginese language, Bugis: ''gendrang'' and Makassarese language, Makassar: ''gandrang'' or ''ganrang'') is a two-headed drum used by peop ...
role) :
Rote Island Rote Island (, also spelled ''Roti'') is an island of Indonesia, part of the East Nusa Tenggara Provinces of Indonesia, province of the Lesser Sunda Islands. According to legend, this island got its name accidentally when a lost Portuguese people ...
:* Sasando plucked :
Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
:*''gondang buluh'' (
Mandailing people The Mandailing (also known as Mandailing Batak) people are an ethnic group in Sumatra, Indonesia that is commonly associated with the Batak people. They are found mainly in the northern section of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. They came un ...
) :* Keteng-Keteng ( Karo people) 2-string percussion :* Mengmung(
Toba Batak people The Toba Batak people () are the largest ethnic group of the Batak (Indonesia), Batak peoples of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The general term ‘Batak’ is sometimes used to refer to the Batak Toba people, for one thing because the Toba people a ...
) :* Tanggetong (Toba Batak people) :* also Ogoeng-ogoeng boeloe (bamboo gong) :*Tatabuang ( Halmahera island) :
West Sumatra West Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. West Sumatra borders the Indian Ocean to the west, as well as the provinces of ...
:*''Talempong Botuang'' (
Minangkabau people Minangkabau people (; ; ) are an Austronesian people, Austronesian ethnic group native to the Minangkabau Highlands of West Sumatra, Western Sumatra region on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The Minangkabau's West Sumatera homelands was th ...
) (polychordal) plucked and drummed : Sumba :*Gogah 5-string polychord, plucked with fingers & pick
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
* Benta
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 ...
*''Bring'' (Khamu people)
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
*
Valiha The valiha is a tube zither from Madagascar made from a species of Valiha diffusa, local bamboo; it is considered the "List of national instruments (music), national instrument" of Madagascar. The term is also used to describe a number of re ...
plucked
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
*
Karaniing The karaniing (or kereb among the Temiar people or Senoi people, or pergram among the Jah Hut people) is a type of bamboo tube zither played among the Orang Asli tribal peoples of Malaysia. The pergam variant is made with four strings (in two pa ...
*'' Kereb'' ( Temiar people), 2-string heterochord, plucked *''Lutong'' (
Kenyah people The Kenyah people are an indigenous, Austronesian languages, Austronesian-speaking people of Borneo, living in interior North Kalimantan, North and East Kalimantan, Indonesia and Sarawak, Malaysia. Culture and economy The Kenyah people, ...
) (
Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...
) 4-6 strings * Krem ( Jah Hut people), heterochord, parallel strings, tapped *''Pagong'' ( Penan people), (
Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
). 4-string instrument, plucked. *''Pergram'' (Jah Hut people) idiochord *''Satong'' ( Kejaman-Lasah people) (Kajang people) (Sarawak) * Semang people tube zither (
Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...
) *''Tongkungon'' polychord, 4-8 strings (
Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...
) plucked & percussion
Myanmar 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 has ...
(Burma) *Kayah Karen people tube zither *''Paplaw'' (Sgaw Karen people) *''Tiktung'' (Pa'O Karen people) : Mergui Archipelago :*Kating ga-un ( Moken people) bowed
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
*Bhante Madal. (
Tamang people The Tamang people (; Devanagari: तामाङ; ''tāmāṅ'') are an ethnic group living in Nepal, Northeast India and southern Bhutan. In Nepal, they are concentrated in the central hilly and Himalayan regions and constituted over 1.6 mill ...
) 2-String bamboo drum ( madal). Dendrocalamus hookeri bamboo. *Tunjaai. ( Dhimal people). Tube zithers of Bouquet grass connected together into board zither or raft zither. Picked/strummed with plectrum. *Yalambar / Yalamber Baja ( यलम्बर (बाजा)) (
Kirati people The Kirati people, also spelled as Kirat or Kirant or Kiranti, are Tibeto-Burman ethnolinguistic groups living in the Himalayas, mostly the Eastern Himalaya extending eastward from Nepal to North East India (predominantly in the Indian state o ...
) 2-string bamboo drum
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
:
Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
:* Kolitong ( Kalinga people) polychord 6-11 strings whole tube or half-tube, plucked and percussion :* Kulibit (Kalinga) polychord 6-11 strings :*''Kollesing'' ( Ilongot) :* Takumbo (Kalinga people, Isneg people) parallel-strings, percussion and plucked :*Tambi (Kalinga people) percussion 2-string parallel :
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
:*''Sludoy'', ''salorai'', ''saluray'', ''saluroy'', ''saw-ray'', 5-strings polychord, plucked ( Tboli people, B'laan people,
Manobo people The Manobò (sometimes also spelled Menobò, Manuvù , Menuvù , or Minuvù) are an indigenous peoples from Mindanao in the Philippines, whose core lands cover most of the Mindanao island group, from Sarangani island into the Mindanao mainland in ...
) :*''taw-go, tugo, ''togo'', takul, tankew'', ''tangkel'', polychord, ( Bagobo people, Maguindanao people,
Manobo people The Manobò (sometimes also spelled Menobò, Manuvù , Menuvù , or Minuvù) are an indigenous peoples from Mindanao in the Philippines, whose core lands cover most of the Mindanao island group, from Sarangani island into the Mindanao mainland in ...
, Mansaka people, Tiruray people) :*''padang'', polychord, (Bagobo people) :
Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...
:*''Pagang'', polychord ( Palawan people)
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
*''Kango’ngo’an'' (
Saisiyat people The Saisiyat (; Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''賽夏族(Sòi-hà-tshu̍k)''), also spelled Saisiat, are an indigenous people of Taiwan. In 2000 the Saisiyat numbered 5,311, which was approximately 1.3% of Taiwan's total indigenous population, making ...
) monochord, idiochord, percussion zither
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 ...
*
Maniq people The Maniq or Mani are a Negrito ethnic group of Thailand. They are more widely known in Thailand as the ''Sakai'' (), a controversial derogatory term meaning 'barbarism'. They are the only Negritos in Thailand and speak a variety of related Aslia ...
tube zither
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
*
Apache fiddle The Apache fiddle ( Apache: tsii' edo'a'tl, "wood that sings") is a bowed string instrument used by the indigenous Apache people of the southwestern United States. The instrument consists of a plant stalk, such as that of the agave or mescal p ...
bowed *
Cornstalk fiddle The cornstalk fiddle is a toy, and a type of bowed string instrument played historically in North America. The instrument consists of a Maize, cornstalk, with slits cut into the shaft to allow one or more fibrous sections to separate from the main ...
, idiochord, (''gingara'' or ''dječje guslice'', Serbia) (''cirokhegedű'' or ''kucoricahegedű'', Hungary)
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 ...
* Đàn brố ( Bahnar, Xơ Đăng, Êđê, Gia Rai people and
Giẻ Xtiêng The Stieng people () are an ethnic group of Vietnam 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 northw ...
peoples) plucked * Đàn bầu version made from bamboo tube, 1 string, plucked * Đàn goong (
Bru people The Bru (also Bruu, or Bru-Vân Kiều; ; Lao: wikt:บรู, ບຣູ ; Thai: wikt:บรู, บรู; which literally means "people living in the woods") are an indigenous peoples, indigenous ethnic group living in Thailand, Laos, Vietna ...
) heterochord, plucked * Đàn K'ni (
Bahnar people The Bahnar or Ba-Na ( are an ethnic group of Vietnam and the indigenous people of the Central Highlands (Vietnam), Central Highland provinces of Gia Lai Province, Gia Lai and Kon Tum Province, Kon Tum, as well as the coastal provinces of Bình Đ ...
,
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 ...
, Xo Dang people, 2-string heterochord, 3rd string to player's mouth * Đàn Ta lư bamboo-tube version, 2-string heterochord * Tol alao (
Bahnar people The Bahnar or Ba-Na ( are an ethnic group of Vietnam and the indigenous people of the Central Highlands (Vietnam), Central Highland provinces of Gia Lai Province, Gia Lai and Kon Tum Province, Kon Tum, as well as the coastal provinces of Bình Đ ...
)5-string idiochord, plucked by women


Gallery


Bowed

File:Apache Fiddle.jpg,
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, 2011.
Apache fiddle The Apache fiddle ( Apache: tsii' edo'a'tl, "wood that sings") is a bowed string instrument used by the indigenous Apache people of the southwestern United States. The instrument consists of a plant stalk, such as that of the agave or mescal p ...
,
agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the arid regions of the Americas. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large Rosette (botany), rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Many plan ...
stalk for tube. File:Apache violin, made by Chesley Wilson, 1989 - National Museum of American History - DSC00053.jpg,
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
1996.
Apache fiddle The Apache fiddle ( Apache: tsii' edo'a'tl, "wood that sings") is a bowed string instrument used by the indigenous Apache people of the southwestern United States. The instrument consists of a plant stalk, such as that of the agave or mescal p ...
with bow.


Plucked

File:Musical instrument Bro of Ede people.JPG, Vietnam. Bro with tuning pegs for wire strings, resonator gourd. File:Đàn goong.jpg, Vietnam. Đàn goong with tuning pegs for wire strings. Gourd on bottom. Goong means gong. File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Buisciter van bamboe met klankkast van lontarblad en 22 dubbelsnaren TMnr 1253-1.jpg,
Rote Island Rote Island (, also spelled ''Roti'') is an island of Indonesia, part of the East Nusa Tenggara Provinces of Indonesia, province of the Lesser Sunda Islands. According to legend, this island got its name accidentally when a lost Portuguese people ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
. Sasando bamboo-tube zither with wire strings and leaf resonator. File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Buisciter van bamboe TMnr A-1382.jpg, North Sumatra, Indonesia,
Toba Batak people The Toba Batak people () are the largest ethnic group of the Batak (Indonesia), Batak peoples of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The general term ‘Batak’ is sometimes used to refer to the Batak Toba people, for one thing because the Toba people a ...
, c. 1852. '' Tanggetong''. Also called ''gondang buluh''
Gondang
Indonesian for Ficus variegata
"Buluh," Indonesian for bamboo.
Tube zither with idiochord strings (strings made from the tube itself). Polychord. File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Buisciter van bamboe TMnr 1072-3.jpg, Indonesia. Lamanole Village, East Flores. ''Tatabuang''. Bamboo. These were also made of breadfruit limbs, hollowed out. Polychord. File:"Bagabo Musicians." Philippine Reservation, Department of Anthropology, 1904 World's Fair.jpg, Philippines. Bagabo musicians exhibited at the
Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federa ...
in
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
, 1904. The girls hold tube zithers ossibly saluray and the man holds a kutiyapi lute. File:Salomon roger 39841.jpg,
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
.
Valiha The valiha is a tube zither from Madagascar made from a species of Valiha diffusa, local bamboo; it is considered the "List of national instruments (music), national instrument" of Madagascar. The term is also used to describe a number of re ...
, modern with metal strings. The instrument's soundboard-surface has a modern finish. File:Old Lullaby - Iny Hono Izy Ravorona - Take Him-Her With You O Bird (Bamboo Valiha).ogg, Bamboo strings; valiha plucked or struck with stick, playing folk song, ''Iny Hono Izy Ravorona - Take Him-Her With You O Bird''. File:OldMalagasyFolkSongDiavolanaSteelStringValiha.ogg, Metal strings; valiha plucked, playing a folk song. File:Jaw harps, flutes, and a slit drum from the Maranao, Molbog, and Sama people (Philippines).jpg, Philippines. Not clear if plucked or tapped with stick like a drum. File:Tagbanua musical instrument with inscription of Tagbanua characters.jpg, Philippines. Tagbanua instrument with Tagbanua characters.


Percussion

File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Buisciter met één snaar TMnr 1330-130.jpg, Bali, Indonesia. '' Guntang'' or '' Gintang'', one-string percussion zither, also an idiochorde bamboo-tube zither, a rhythm-piercing percussion instrument in Balinese music, adopted in the music of
Lombok Lombok, is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is rou ...
. File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Buisciter van bamboe TMnr 1071-8.jpg, Indonesia, Maluku Utara, Sula Islands Regency. ''Tuba auyota'' parallel-string percussion zither from the Sula culture. The strings are played in pairs. This instrument has 2 pairs of strings. File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Buisciter van bamboe TMnr 15-410.jpg,
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
, Indonesia. ''Kendang awi'' percussion tube-zither pre-1900 with the drum "
kendang A ''kendang'' or ''gendang'' (, , , Tausug language, Tausug/Bajau/Maranao language, Maranao: ''gandang'', Buginese language, Bugis: ''gendrang'' and Makassarese language, Makassar: ''gandrang'' or ''ganrang'') is a two-headed drum used by peop ...
" as part of its name. Parallel-string percussion zither. The strings are played in pairs, struck on the connector between strings. This was part of an orchestra with anklungs. File:Takumbo.jpg, Philippines. '' Takumbo'' percussion tube-zither. May also be plucked. File:ধুতং.JPG, Dhutang, percussion tube zither from
Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
, India


References


External links


Video, bamboo-tube zither with bamboo strings, played as drum, and plucked with thumb. West Sumatra.Celempung reteng ensemble, with a row of parallel-string celempung retengs (and slit drums as part of that row) and a pair of celempungs with bass string.)Video, Cambodia, bamboo-tube zither with wire strings and gourd resonator.Mondulkiri, tube-zither, tin-can resonator, metal strings.Vietnamese Đàn bầu, electronic siloamplificatioamplification. The instrument starts playing at 1:47.
{{Hornbostel-Sachs instruments Idiochords Bamboo musical instruments