altsoundings

2011 … Ha Noi: Temple of Literature folk music performances

Almost a thousand years ago the Temple of Literature was Vietnams first University.   Recently restored it’s a showcase of Vietnams cultural history & a homage to it’s early graduates.

In one of it’s pavilions … traditional folk instrument performances are presented daily.

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Bamboo Xylophone (đàn T’rưng) – 1.8mins

The Dan t’rung (or just t’ru’ng) is a traditional bamboo xylophone used by the Jarai people and Bahnar people in Vietnam’s Central Highlands.

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Monochord (Dan Bau) – 1.4mins

The Dan Bau’s amazing sound is like a cross between a Theremin and a steel guitar.
While the earliest written records of the dan bau date its origin to 1770, many scholars estimate its age to be up to one thousand years older than that.

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Bamboo ‘Clapophone’ (K’longput) – 1.6mins

The k’longput comes from the Tay Nguyen plateau.   It consists of a set of bamboo tubes.   This beautifully mellow sounding instrument is played by gently clapping in front of the open-ended bamboo tubes.   In Australia & elsewhere in the ‘west’ this instrument is sometimes known as a ‘thongophone’ … due to it being played in a rather less dignified manner by slapping the open-ended tubes with rubber thongs (flip flops).

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Dan t’rung player

Dan t’rung

Dan t’rung

Dan t’rung (xylophone)

đàn tam thập lục (hammered dulcimer)

bamboo K’longput

bamboo K’longput player

Dan Bau (monochord) player

Dan Bau (monochord)

hand percussion shaker