Đàn Nhị
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Chữ Nôm Chữ Nôm (, ; ) is a logographic writing system formerly used to write the Vietnamese language. It uses Chinese characters ('' Chữ Hán'') to represent Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and some native Vietnamese words, with other words represent ...
: 彈二), also called , is a Vietnamese bowed
string instrument String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the ...
with two strings. The word ''nhị'' means "two" in Vietnamese, and means "instrument". Its
sound box A sound box or sounding box (sometimes written soundbox) is an open chamber in the body of a musical instrument which modifies the sound of the instrument, and helps transfer that sound to the surrounding air. Objects respond more strongly to vibr ...
is generally covered on one end with
snakeskin Snakeskin may either refer to the skin of a live snake, the shed skin of a snake after molting, or to a type of leather that is made from the hide of a dead snake. Snakeskin and scales can have varying patterns and color formations, providing prot ...
.''
Garland Encyclopedia of World Music ''The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music'' is an academic reference work. It was initiated by editors at Garland Publishing in 1988 as a 10-volume series of encyclopedias of world music. The final volumes appeared in 2001, but editions have since ...
'': "The đàn nhị or đàn cò ..is a two-stringed fiddle resembling the Chinese erhu."
There is some variation in construction between different forms of the đàn nhị. Instruments colloquially referred to as đàn cò are often more similar to the Chinese
Erxian The ''erxian'' ( 二弦; pinyin: èrxián; literally "two string") is a Chinese bowed string instrument in the ''huqin'' family of instruments. It has two strings and is used primarily in Cantonese music, most often in "hard string" chamber e ...
Khmer tro and Thai
saw duang A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mov ...
, while instruments referred to as đàn nhị are often constructed more similarly to the modern ''
erhu The ''erhu'' (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a ''Southern Fiddle'', and is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two- ...
'' of China. However, in the past, both names referred to what is now generally called the đàn cò. In the past, it was often paired with the
Đàn gáo The đàn gáo ("coconut shell fiddle") is a bowed string instrument, a part of the traditional Vietnamese orchestra. It is similar to the đàn hồ. The instrument originated from South Viet Nam, and is used in entertainment contexts. It ...
, not unlike the pairing of the
Yehu The ''yehu'' () is a bowed string instrument in the ''huqin'' family of Chinese musical instruments. ''Ye'' means coconut and ''hu'' is short for ''huqin''. It is used particularly in the southern coastal provinces of China and in Taiwan. The i ...
and Erxian/
Gaohu The ''gaohu'' ( 高胡; pinyin: ''gāohú'', ; Cantonese: gou1 wu4; also called ''yuehu'' 粤 胡) is a Chinese bowed string instrument developed from the ''erhu'' in the 1920s by the musician and composer Lü Wencheng (1898–1981) and use ...
in Cantonese music, or the pairing of the
Saw duang A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mov ...
and
Saw u The ''saw u'' ( th, ซออู้, , ; also spelled ''saw ou'') is a Thai bowed string instrument. It has a lower pitch than the saw duang and is the lowest sounding of the saw family. Reliable evidence shows that pattern of the Saw U was prob ...
in Thailand, although this pairing is a bit more rare in modern times as the đàn gáo is falling into disuse. As well, the traditional handmade đàn nhị have been replaced by Erhus purchased from China in Nhạc dân tộc cải biên ensembles. It is related to the ''
huqin ''Huqin'' () is a family of bowed string instruments, more specifically, a spike fiddle popularly used in Chinese music. The instruments consist of a round, hexagonal, or octagonal sound box at the bottom with a neck attached that protrudes u ...
'' family of instruments of
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Some
Austroasiatic The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The te ...
groups in Vietnam also have their version of the đàn cò. The Mường have the cò kè, the Chứt have the t'rơbon, the Khua have the karong, and the Khmer have the tro.


References


External links


''Đàn nhị'' page
from DanTranh.com site
''Đàn nhị'' photođàn nhị Video
from YouTube
Đàn nhị video
Đàn nhị played in a more lively fashion by Ngo Hong Quang at the Onder de Stuwwal Festival, the Netherlands, 2011


See also

*
Music of Vietnam Traditional Vietnamese music encompasses a large umbrella of Vietnamese music from antiquity to present times, and can also encompass multiple groups, such as those from Vietnam's ethnic minority tribes. History Traditional Vietnamese music has ...
*
Huqin ''Huqin'' () is a family of bowed string instruments, more specifically, a spike fiddle popularly used in Chinese music. The instruments consist of a round, hexagonal, or octagonal sound box at the bottom with a neck attached that protrudes u ...
Drumhead lutes Necked lutes Huqin family instruments Vietnamese musical instruments Bowed instruments {{huqin-stub