Crocodile zither
The crocodile zither (Chinese 鳄鱼 琴eyuqin; Burmese : mí-gyaùng saung ; Khmer : ក្រពើ , krapeu or តាខេ , takhe ; Mon : ကျာံ , cam / kyam ; Thai จะเข้ , RTGS Chakhe , pronunciation: [t͡ɕàʔkʰêː] ) is one of the Design derived name for three-string zithers in East and Southeast Asia.
distribution
The plucked instrument in Burmese music is called mí-gyaùng saung (also magyaun, megyoung , probably from Sanskrit makara ), has three strings and is only played in folk music in the south by the Mon. Mí-gyaùng means “crocodile” and saung “stringed instrument”, accordingly the harp is called saung gauk . It is a tubular zither carved from a block of wood.
A crocodile zither has also been known in China since the time of the Tang Dynasty at the latest : The New History of the Tang Dynasty reports on the instrument under the name tuóshǒuzhēng鼍 首 筝 (“Chinese alligator head zheng”). During the Qing Dynasty , it was called mí-gyaùng saung “密 穹 总” (miqiongzong) after its Burmese name .
In Thailand the crocodile zither is called chakhe and is played in the ensembles Kruang sai and Mahori . The same instrument was adopted as takhe or krapeu in Cambodian music and belongs there to the ensembles Phleng kar and Mohori . The Thai and Cambodian crocodile zither is a box zither whose shape resembles a lute instrument .
Design
The strings are of pendant swirl hanged. The crocodile zither is played lying in front of the player. The typical shape of the tube is somewhat alienated here, as the zither would otherwise not be playable lying down. Small feet isolate the open back of the sound box from the hard floor.
On the Chinese instrument, eleven frets are evenly placed under the three strings and enable a significant range of notes. The crocodile zither is used as a soloist, but is used even more together with a string instrument and a Chinese yang, a trapezoidal zither. It also serves as a deep string instrument in the orchestra.
literature
- Zeng Jinshou: China's music and music education in cultural exchange with neighboring countries and the West. Bremen 2003 (Diss.) ( Online , section " Burma ")
- Article Eyuqin. In: chinabaike.com ( online )
Web links
- Mi-gyaung (crocodile-shaped zither), Southern Burma (Myanmar), 19th century. Beede Gallery, National Music Museum, University of South Dakota
Footnotes
- ↑ Hans Brandeis: On the symbolism of Philippine boat sounds. ( Memento from January 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Conference report. Bamberg 1998, p. 61
- ↑ http://www.chinabaike.com/article/1/78/437/2007/20070521113775.html , http://d-nb.info/975576887/34