Đàn tranh
Đàn tranh ( Han-Nom :彈箏) is in Vietnam played Wölbbrett zither . It is smaller than the Chinese guzheng and the Japanese koto . The sound of the instrument is correspondingly high. Basically, there are two types of zithers in Asia: zithers with a fixed pitch and zithers with movable bridges under the strings. With the đàn tranh , like the koto and the guzheng , the bridges are pyramidal. The sixteen strings of the đàn tranh are tuned pentatonic, for example:
Thu - Re - Fa - Sol - La - Thu (I - II - IV - V - VI - VIII)
The đàn tranh , like the lute đàn tỳ bà, has always been regarded as an "elegant" instrument, because both are said to have emerged directly from Chinese models. It was already used at the court in Hu Hof in various ensembles and, along with the đàn tỳ bà, is one of the first instruments to have a relatively extensive solo repertoire of Central Vietnamese musical traditions. The Chinese guzheng and the đàn tranh , however, differ considerably. The đàn tranh must meet different requirements than the Chinese guzheng in terms of the mobility of pitches, the range and the high-contrast sound .
When playing the đàn tranh , the design of the modal pitches is driven into very fine details that can no longer be realized on other instruments. This starts with tuning the 16 steel strings. In South Vietnamese ensemble music , the đàn tranh is played in four different ways. It can often be observed that a strip of paper or velvet is glued to the vaulted ceiling close to the bridge and parallel to it, which is labeled with the pitch names of the string tuning dây bắc . If the player uses a different string tuning, he "translates" the different pitch names or slides another strip below it. In this way he can orientate himself more easily in the three registers depth, middle and height. Long and stable fingernails on the thumb and forefinger of the right hand are of great advantage for a subtle design, a luxury that only "elegant" people or left-handers can afford. Otherwise, the usual ring picks, preferably made of tortoiseshell, can be used, but they do not reach the quality of a well-groomed human nail. The left hand should not be cold and dry, otherwise noise can easily arise when the strings are pressed. But the consistently warm, humid climate of South Vietnam largely rules out this case. Like most other instruments, the instrument is best played cross-legged, with the "head" laid in the lap like a child and sloping down slightly to the left. The angle of vision and the range of motion for the arms are best in this position. All these practical details, which also include a number of references to the difference between North and South Vietnamese handling, are, by the way, fixed components of masterful teaching lessons and should by no means be neglected. It is not uncommon for the specialist knowledge of a musician to be measured after observing them. They obviously seem to have a lot to do with the quality of the result.
In the game, the techniques of the right hand and those of the left hand form a unit. With a few exceptions, they are not practiced separately, because the understanding of the tonal development of the pitches would suffer considerably from permanent "playing wrong", which would be the result of one-armed tracing exercises.
The đàn tranh is one of the few instruments in Vietnam that is also played as a soloist. However, the notated solo literature for đàn tranh is not very old, which may be due to the fact that đàn tranh itself has been more and more forgotten. Only a few young people are still committed to “old” music, and so more and more knowledge is being lost. At least the “taboo” that only women are allowed to play this instrument is now being broken - and with boys and men who love to play, the đàn tranh is slowly moving back into more households in Vietnam.
