Sueng

Four- string sueng

Various sueng (some with four, others with six strings) in a small museum of musical instruments in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. Also to see: some salo (three-stringed fiddle ) and a drum.

Sueng , also süng ( Thai ซึง ), is a plucked long-necked lute in northern Thailand .

The body is made of teak or other hardwood . The sound is created by plucking the two metallic or brass strings with a pick made of animal bone or horn. The fingerboard has nine bamboo frets.

The sueng is related to the long-necked phin in northeast Thailand and Laos, as well as to the larger Thai krajappi and its Cambodian equivalent, chapey dang veng .

The sueng is typically used as a solo instrument, but sueng ensembles can also be heard occasionally. In the past, the sueng was used as an accompaniment instrument to young men singing while they were in search of girls. Today the sueng accompanies festivities like Loi Krathong and rituals like Bai Sai and funerals.

literature

• Terry E. Miller: Sueng. In: Laurence Libin (Ed.): The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. Vol. 4. Oxford University Press, Oxford / New York 2014, p. 648