The ''đàn đáy'' (
Chữ Nôm
Chữ Nôm (, ) is a logographic writing system formerly used to write the Vietnamese language. It uses Chinese characters to represent Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and some native Vietnamese words, with other words represented by new characters ...
: 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
Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...
strings, but since the late 20th century have generally used
nylon
Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups.
Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
.
Usage
It is used primarily in Northern Vietnam, and is one of the accompanying instruments used in ''
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 associate ...
''.
In the late 20th century, a modernized version of the
electric bass guitar
The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
in the shape of the ''đàn đáy'' was developed for use in the neo-traditional music composed and performed at the Hanoi Conservatory. Unlike the ''đàn đáy'', this instrument has a solid wooden body and metal strings, and without raised frets.
Etymology
In the
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese () is an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic language Speech, spoken primarily in Vietnam where it is the official language. It belongs to the Vietic languages, Vietic subgroup of the Austroasiatic language family. Vietnamese is s ...
, ''đàn'' is a classifier used primarily to refer to string instruments, and ''đáy'' means "bottom." Thus, the instrument's name translates literally as "bottom string instrument." However, the instrument's body has no back. According to one online source,
the instrument was originally called ''vô để cầm'', literally "bottomless stringed instrument."
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 ...
*
Traditional Vietnamese musical instruments
Traditional Vietnamese musical instruments are the musical instruments used in the traditional and classical musics of Vietnam. They comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments, used by both the Viet () majority as well as th ...
References
External links
''Đàn đáy'' page
Video
*
Vietnamese musical instruments
Necked lutes
{{lute-stub