Vietnamese Traditional Music

I grew up learning Western music and studying it in school, but it was the folk music of Vietnam which also pulled at my heartstrings. Today I decided to find out more about the principles of Vietnamese traditional music, its modes and patterns, its instruments and its spirit. I'm not talking about Vietnamese style popular music (that grew out of traditional pre-war music themes), but the original Dan Ca Viet Nam.
Vietnamese traditional music is often romantic and sentimental, as anyone who has heard it could tell you. Those wistful, longing tones and flowing melodies stir up nostalgia in the soul. The foundation of Dan Ca Viet Nam is in four words: chan, phuong, hoa, la. These are the qualities that every performer must weave into the music, studying it plainly and simply, "true"(chan) and "straight"(phuong).  When playing the music for others it must be embellished in the spirit and emotion of the piece using flowers, "hoa" and leaves, "la". One can already see how poetic Vietnamese music can be.
Some of the principle instruments found in Dan Ca Viet Nam are:
Dan Tranh or Dan Thap Luc - a 16-stringed zither tuned in the pentatonic scale with a range of 3 octaves. It is typically unaccompanied or played with an orchestra of traditional instruments. The strings can be plucked or pressed and vibrated in various ways to create different sounds and emotions in the music.
Dan Bau - a single-stringed gourd instrument dating from 1770. This is the quintessential sound of Vietnam! A very emotional instrument that produces a plucking sound with a sustained note that can be varied in third and quarter tones by fingering on a thin stem of bamboo known as the spout. The single string is plucked using a sharpened stick of bamboo; the vibrations travel through the bamboo body and the gourd (Bau) placed at the base of the spout to which the string connects in order to amplify the sound. Dan Bau are typically tuned to a C-pitch, and though modern Bau are made of wood with an iron string, the original instrument was bamboo with a silken string.
Dan Nhi - a two-stringed fiddle played upright on the lap. It is traditionally made of rosewood with silk strings tuned in perfect fifths, and the specific notes can be altered by a gauge (Khuyet dan) at the base of the resonator (Bhat nhi). The head of the instrument, similar to the scroll of a violin, is called Thu dan and is attached to tuning pegs. The bow of the Dan Nhi is arced and stringed with horsehair between the two silk strings of the fiddle so that it can be played on either string depending on the pressure or both simultaneously.
Dan Ty Ba - a four-stringed lute instrument resembling the western guitar, but with a short neck and a pear-shaped rounded body which is flat on the string side.  Ty ba is traditionally made from wootung wood.  There are several frets on the soundboard and a longevity character is typically carved into the head where there are four tuning pegs.  The strings were traditionally made from twisted silk and tuned in the intervals fourth-second-fourth.  Ty ba can be played by plucking with a plectrum, producing the techniques of glissando, tremolo and arpeggio. It is a common instrument in traditional orchestras.
Dan Nguyet - a round lute instrument with a long hollow neck resembling the western banjo in shape. Its two strings are either tuned in fifths or fourths, again traditionally made of silk but can be made of nylon nowadays.  Dan nguyet is named for the moon because of its shape and is known for its clear, loud tones, usually used to accompany a singer.
Dan Tam Thap Luc - a Vietnamese 36-stringed chordophone shaped like a trapezium and played by beating with tiny mallets of bamboo with felt tips.  The instrument has a range of three registers tuned to the whole-tone scale, and can be played with a variety of techniques, a truly versatile instrument for solo or accompaniment.
Sao Truc - a flute most commonly associated with Vietnamese music, made from a hollow bamboo rod and pierced with six holes (the modern version with ten holes for more notes). Truc has an arc-shaped blowing hole and is known to represent the countryside in its four seasons.
Dan T'rung - a bamboo xylophone, popular in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. T'rung can have up to 48 bamboo tubes strung up in a vertical curve and played by striking with two short sticks. They are arranged in an uneven pentatonic scale ranging three octaves.
[for more information, visit: TiengHatQueHuong.com]
Well, I don't know about you, but I'm inspired! Before I die, I'd like to learn how to play one of these instruments, most likely the Dan Nhi or Bau. The sooner, the better; after all, life is too short to die...