Vietnamese 16-string board zither (đàn: ‘instrument’; thap lục: ‘sixteen’). It measures 90 to 110 cm in length and, usually, 20 cm in width at one end and 13 cm at the other. It has a convex resonator, and the 16 steel strings, divided into two sections by a series of 16 movable bridges (nhạn), are stretched along a wooden soundboard. At one end the strings wind around 16 wooden pegs (trục), while at the other they pass through 16 holes near the tailpiece where they are attached with small pieces of paper. In performance the musician uses plectra (móng đàn) of tortoiseshell, metal or plastic on the thumb and forefinger of his right hand after the southern Vietnamese tradition (see illustration), or on the thumb, forefinger and middle finger after the central and northern Vietnamese tradition. A performer might also use the fingernails to pluck the strings near the tailpiece. Right-hand techniques consist of single notes, arpeggios and double stops, and left-hand techniques of nhan (pressing), vuot (sliding), rung (vibrating), nhay (jumping) and mo (staccato). The left hand presses with the forefinger, middle finger and ring finger more or less heavily on the section of the strings between the pegs and the bridges to alter the tension and consequently the pitch of the notes. New compositions for đàn tranh often employ new instrumental techniques: tremolo, pizzicato with the strings muted by the left hand, the simultaneous playing of a melody in the right hand with a countermelody or rising arpeggio in the left hand etc. Prominent composers for the instrument include Phạm Thuy Hoan, Quang Hai, Nguyen Van Đoi, Xuan Khai, Trǎn Quang HẢi and Lê Tuan Hùng. Some prominent performers namely Nguyen Vĩnh BẢo, Ba D Tran Vǎn Khê, Phong Nguyen, Nguyen Thị HẢi Phng are the most representative. Innovations in the construction of the đàn tranh have also been undertaken by Phuong Bao. A favourite instrument of young Vietnamese girls in both ancient and modern societies, it can be played solo or as part of the instrumental ensembles of the cẢi lng (reformed theatre) and folk groups, and more recently to accompany the sung poetry ngâm th and the popular music tân nhạc.
See also Vietnam, §2(ii).
Cithare vietnamienne/Vietnamese Zither, perf. Tran Quang HẢi, Playasound PS 65103 (1993)
Việt-Nam: le đàn tranh – musiques d’hier et d’aujourd’ hui, OCORA C 560055 (1994)
Việt-Nam: poésies et chants, OCORA C 560054 (1994)
TRÂN QUANG HAI