Vietnam

By Becky M., Carol H., and Victor D.

Above is a picture taken at one of Victor’s countless traditional Vietnamese performances and he is the one in red playing a larger version of the dan tranh. You can also see that there are 8 dan tranh players in total. The zither on the stand at the back is the Chinese version of a zither (guzheng). The two fiddles in the back is the Chinese Erhu. Behind Victor in the blue is someone playing the sinh tien (clappers).  This group happened to be a mix of Vietnamese and Chinese instruments but the music being played is Vietnamese. Below, Victor is the one in the black; this was before a performance in front of hundreds of people at the 2005 Vietnamese New Year’s Celebration at the Hershey Centre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Musical Style Summary

 

For 10 centuries, the country of Vietnam was under the rule of China. Consequently, Vietnamese music has been heavily influenced by the Chinese, as well as other nearby countries such as Mongolia and Japan.

 

Some major genres of traditional Vietnamese music are theatre music, folk music, and chamber music. Vietnamese theatre draws much of its influence from Chinese opera. Hat cheo is believed to be the oldest form of Vietnamese opera. Flutes, stringed instruments and percussion are most often used for the music in this form, and the audience applauds and responds with drums. Cai luong is a form of opera that began in the 12th century, and remains popular to this very day. This form incorporates folk songs, ancient music, and modern spoken drama. Vibrato is a technique that is used very often in its vocals. Another form that began in the 12th century is water puppetry (Roi nuoc). These shows are performed in waist-deep water with wooden puppets being manipulated by puppeteers behind a bamboo screen. Traditional Vietnamese orchestras provide the background music for these performances. Instruments that are commonly used in these shows include drums, bells, cymbals, their variation of a fiddle, and bamboo flutes. Because of the fifty or so different ethnic groups that reside in Vietnam, Vietnamese folk music is extremely diverse and varies from region to region. Hat chau van was used in religious ceremonies, combining singing and dance. It is very rhythmic, with the main instrument used being the dan nguyet. Ca tru was another kind of folk music very popular in northern Vietnam. It is normally performed by females, and it said to have begun with a female who charmed an enemy with her voice. Similarly to folk music, each region has its own form of chamber music. In the north, poetry and percussion is often used. Central Vietnam’s chamber music is heavily influenced by the music of the royal court. In contrast, instrumental ensemble music is popular in the South, often used in cai luong theatre.

 

In modern times, Vietnamese music has been influenced by Western music and has moved away from traditional sounds. Some of the artists credited with bringing about this change are Trinh Cong Son and Pham Duc Thanh. Nicknamed the ‘Vietnamese Bob Dylan’, Son was known for his anti-war songs written during the Vietnam War era. He often performed with the Vietnamese singer Khanh Ly.

 

Dan Tranh (Sixteen-string zither)

Some traditional instruments from Vietnam include the dan tranh (sixteen-string zither), dan bau, and dan nguyet (often called the moon lute). The dan tranh consists of a long hollow body of wood tapered at one end. Sixteen strings, traditionally made of silk, are drawn from end of the body to the other. The player plucks the strings with his right hand while manipulating the strings’ pitches by pressing down on the strings with their left. Tran Quang Hai is famous for his series of compositions for this instrument. The dan bau, also called the monochord, is made from a long wooden board with one string along the length of the instrument. The player uses a plectrum to pluck the string with their right hand, and again using the left hand to produce different pitches and to add ornamentation. The dan nguyet is similar to a banjo in appearance. It has two strings that run down its length that are plucked by the right hand and manipulated by the left. As mentioned above, this instrument is often used in the form of folk music, hat chau van.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The scales used in Vietnamese music are pentatonic with or without two auxiliary degrees. The most frequently used notes in the scale are C, D, F, G, and A. The notes E and B are not used that often and are weak and mobile meaning they do not harmonically blend in with the other notes. The Vietnamese and Chinese share their set of modes in Vietnamese known as cung dieu, thuong dieu, gioc dieu, vu dieu. In table 1 above, you can see that different areas in Vietnam use different kinds of scales but the one mentioned above is the most common.

 

Important Musical Figure…Tran Quang Hai (13 May 1944- )

 

Tran Quang Hai is a popular Vietnamese musician born in South Vietnam. He was born into a family of five generations of musicians, and began studying music at a young age at the Conservatory of Saigon. At the age of 17, he moved to Paris and studied with his father, Prof. Dr. Tran Van Khe, at the Center of Studies for Oriental Music. Hai has the ability to play some 15 different instruments from Vietnam, China, India, Iran, Indonesia, and Europe, including the dan tranh, a Vietnamese 16-string zither for which he has created a series of compositions. Hai often uses improvisation in his music, and unique instruments such as the Jew’s Harp and the spoons. He is known for improving the technique of spoon playing, introducing the spoons into Vietnamese music and

Tran Quang Hai playing the dan co

establishing its status as a solo instrument. Also, in 1970, he discovered a key to the technique of overtone singing. Ever since, he has been considered the greatest specialist in overtone singing in the world. In Paris, he met his future wife Bach Yen, a fellow Vietnamese musician, and inspired her to start singing traditional Vietnamese music. Together, they have given over 2,000 concerts in 5 different continents, and made 6 albums. He has recorded 15 LPs and 2 CDs, and has composed hundreds of popular songs. Among his many accomplishments, Hai has won more than 20 prizes and international awards. Also, he is the only Vietnamese person to have taken part as a performer or composer in many landmark events, such as the 700th Anniversary of the Birth of Switzerland, the 500th Anniversary of the Discovery of America, and the 1,000 Years of Trondheim in Norway.

 

Discography:

  • Vietnam: Tran Quang Hai & Bach Yen
  • Cithare et chants populaires du Vietnam
  • Music of Vietnam 
  • Vietnam/ Tran Quang Hai & Bach Yen
  • Vietnamese Fân Tranh Music
  • Chansons d'enfants des émigrés
  • Rêves et Réalité
  • Bach Yen – Souvenir
  • Cithare Vietnamienne
  • Landscape of the Highlands
  • Les Guimbardes du Monde
  • 5 commercialized cassettes on pop and folk music of Vietnam 
  • 1 videocassette on Vietnamese Music
  • 1 videocassette "Music of Vietnam"

Musical Analysis

 

Dan Bo Toi (My Head of Cattle)

Vietnamese Opera Style

 

            The melody is sung by the male voice (0:26) and is often doubled by the cello (0:49). The voice’s melody is mostly conjunct and smooth, but has some larger leaps.  The opening sao passage can also be considered as a melody because at that point it is only accompanied by the long notes of the cello. The sao’s melody is decorative and mostly conjunct. This song is in a minor key, or a variation of a minor key.  The sao and the cello accompany the voice by playing small transitional endings after the voice has finished the phrase.  For most of the song, it seems to be either the voice singing and cello playing or the sao and cello playing together. The harmony is implied and not very obvious because of the unison sections and polyphonic texture. The time signature is in 2/4 time, which is very common in Vietnamese music compared to our 4/4 time. There is also a lot of rubato and changes in the tempo during the song. This song is mostly polyphonic because when the sao, cello and voice are all sounding together, each has its own flowing melody. For very brief moments, it is monophonic because all three sound in unison for a few notes before the song repeats (1:50). This brings attention to this part because the rest of the song is polyphonic. The dynamics are flowing and match the expression in the music and the phrasing. There is a softness at the ends of phrases and transitions. There is a crescendo at the important notes of the phrases and the important phrases of Section A and B are louder. The instruments used in this song were sao and cello, along with male voice. The sao is the Vietnamese equivalent of a flute and is made out of bamboo so the sound quality is different from that of a modern flute. The sound of the sao is mellow and does not overpower the other instruments in the song. The cello creates a rich, deep flowing sound that adds to the calm and legato feeling of the song. The song opens with sao and cello, where the sao has the melody and the cello accompanies it. This is the beginning of Section A. There is a change in dynamics as there is a crescendo and a second ornamented sao melody, followed by unison (1:15). This can be considered the beginning of Section B. Because there are two sections, the form is binary. Then those sections are played again. When the first sao and cello passage repeats itself (2:00), it shows that Section A is repeated again, followed by Section B (3:16).

 

Ca Ra Bo

            Vietnamese Modern Folk Opera

 

            The melody is sung by the male voice and is then sung by the female voice (4:27). The melody is rather disjunctive and consists of many leaps. There are also notes bent and a gliss between the different intervals. The melody is in a pentatonic scale, which is used in Vietnamese music. The harmony is made up by the zither and the fiddle. The harmony used is based on a pentatonic scale, created by the constant plucking of the zither and bowing of the fiddle throughout. Once again the time signature is 2/4.  There is also a lot of rubato and changes in the tempo during the song. The texture of the song is polyphonic because each of the voices, the zither and the fiddle has a different melody playing all at once. There is also the occasional change in texture, when drum beat and clacker that plays while the others rest. An example of this situation is at 2:29, where the lyrics sung by the male are evidently comedic and there is a sudden quiet as only the drum and clacker play while the audience laughs. The dynamics are relatively even from beginning to end, though there are moments when instruments stop playing, which creates an immediate decrease in dynamics. The instruments used in were Dan tranh (zither), Dan co (fiddle), Song loan (clacker) and a drum, along with a male and female voice. The tone of the zither is dampened slightly because if it were not you would be able to hear a brighter sound from it. The sound of the Dan co is not the most pleasant sound to the ear but adds a much needed texture to the piece. There is no form for this song because it is an improvised story told through music at the discretion of the singers.

 

Bibliography

 

Encyclopedia

 

“Vietnam.”  The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.  ed.

 

 

Websites

 

“Introduction.” Introduction: What is Vietnamese Music?.  Encyclopedia of Vietnamese Music.  14 Jan 2007 <http://vietmusic.pbwiki.com/Introduction>.

 

“Music of Vietnam.”  Music of Vietnam.  Wikipedia.  13 Jan 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_music>.

 

“Tran Quang Hai Biography.”  VeNguon.  14 Jan 2007 <http://venguon.org/98program/98_TranQHai.htm>.

 

“Tran Quang Hai.”  Tran Quang Hai.  Answers.com.  14 Jan 2007 < http://www.answers.com/topic/tran-quang-hai>.

 

“The World of Bach Yen”  BachYen.  13 Jan 2007 < http://www.bachyen.com/>.

 

“Culture and Music of Vietnam.”  Reference Articles.  SBG Music.  14 Jan 2007 <http://www.sbgmusic.com/html/teacher/reference/cultures/vietnam.html>.

 

Map of Musical Styles