Traditional Vietnamese musical instruments are the

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make 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 who pl ...

s used in the traditional and classical musics of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

. 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 usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

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'' - 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'' (; ja, 月琴, Gekkin; ko, 월금/月琴, Wolgeum; vi, Nguyệt cầm), also called a moon lute or moon guitar, is a traditional Chinese string instrument. It is a lute with a round, hollow soundboard, a short fretted neck, a ...

'' 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 The đàn lục huyền cầm (chữ Nôm: 彈六絃琴) (literally "lute with six strings"), or colloquially đàn ghi-ta phím lõm (literally ghi-ta "guitar", + phím "fret", + lõm "sunken"), is a scalloped Vietnamese adaptation of the French ...

(also called , , or ) - "Vietnamized" acoustic or electric 5-string guitar with

scalloped fretboard The fingerboard (also known as a fretboard on fretted instruments) is an important component of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of material, usually wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument. The str ...

; 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 Tay may refer to: People and languages * Tay (name), including lists of people with the given name, surname and nickname * Tay people, an ethnic group of Vietnam ** Tày language *Atayal language, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan (ISO 639 ...

, 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 or it modifies the sound and transfers it to ...

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") is a Vietnamese stringed instrument, in the form of a monochord (one-string) zither. History While the earliest written records o ...

. File:Ca trù performance.jpg, Man on the right is playing the

đàn đáy The ''đàn đáy'' (Chữ Nôm: 彈𡌠)is a Vietnamese plucked lute with three strings, a trapezoidal wooden body, and a very long wooden neck with ten raised frets. Players formerly used silk strings, but since the late 20th century have gen ...

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 associated ...

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. 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'' (Chữ Nôm: 筲, also called ''sáo trúc'' or "sow trook", pronounced ) is a family of flutes found in Vietnam that is traditionally thought to contain the culture and spirit of Vietnam's countryside. The most common variety is playe ...

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 Jarais ( vi, Người Gia Rai, , or ; km, ចារ៉ាយ, ) are an ethnic group in Vietnam's Central Highlands ( Gia Lai and Kon Tum Provinces, with smaller populations in Đắk Lắk Province), as well as in the Cambodian ...

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 an ...

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 oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

and the Indian

shehnai The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating 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.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 (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

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 (also called ) - bronze drum played by the

Dong Son culture The Dong Son culture or the Lạc Việt culture (named for modern village Đông Sơn, a village in Thanh Hóa, Vietnam) was a Bronze Age culture in ancient Vietnam centred at the Red River Valley of northern Vietnam from 1000 BC until the ...

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 * - 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, 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 ''National Muse ...

. * - Vietnamese bell

References

External links

The traditional music and instruments of Vietnam

Hybrid
{{Vietnamese musical instruments