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   TRADITIONAL ART  
   
   
   
 
DAN DA [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
Dan da (The lithophone) is a set of stone slabs of different sizes and shapes fabricated through an elementary technique. These stones are available in the mountainous areas south of Central Vietnam and east of South Vietnam. An examination of the stone slabs found in Dong Nai province has revealed that this instrument may have existed for over 3,000 years.
 
   
   
 
DAN BAU [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
Dan Bau is a musical intrument that touches the heart. The instrument is played solo or to accompany a poetry recital. During recent years, it has taken a role in orchestral accompaniment to cheo and cai luong opera. The dan bau has been performed on major stages in foreign countries. Sting, a well-known singer, owned one on his trip to Vietnam.
 
   
   
 
T'RUNG [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
T'rung is one of the popular musical instruments closely associated with the spiritual life of the Bahnar, TSedan, Giarai, Ede and other ethnic minority people in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. It is made of very short bamboo tubes differing in size, with a notch at one end and a beveled edge at the other.
 
   
   
 
BRONZE DRUM [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
The bronze drum is a reflection of the special cultural characteristics of the ancient Viet people. The first bronze drum was invented in the Red and Black River valleys in northern Vietnam by the Lac Viet, the remote ancestors of the Vietnamese people, and then spread to other parts of Southeast Asia and southern China.
 
   
   
 
WATER PUPPET [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
Water puppets is a Vietnamese traditional art and has a long history. In water puppet shows there is a very effective combination of visual effects provided by fire, water, and the movements of the marionettes. The whole control system of the show is under the surface of the water, concealed from the audience.
 
   
   
 
QUAN HO [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
Quan ho singing is a folk art of a highly collective nature. Those who sing are not entertainers, but all are part of the performance, and anyone is welcome to join. During village festivals, which are held every year, particularly in spring, young men and women gather in the yard of a communal house or pagoda, on a hill or in a rowing boat, and sing quan ho.
 
   
   
 
TUONG [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
Tuong, also called hat boi in the south, is a stage performance that came about during the Ly-Tran dynasty and that became very popular nationwide during the following centuries. During the Nguyen dynasty, 19th century, tuong occupied a good position in the cultural lives of the royals. In tuong, space and time are captured by songs, dancing, and simple music.
 
   
   
 
H'MONG FLUTE [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
The H’mong sao is a single flute with a reed and a colorful timbre. The H’mong call it tra pun tu. The sounds produced are harsh and sweet like whispers. Since it has been played on stage, the H’mong flute has captured the hearts of many audiences. It is being constantly improved to expand its sound capabilities.
 
   
   
 
CAI LUONG [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
The harmonious combination of Vietnamese culture and the characteristics of the Oriental and Western cultures is the art of cai luong, a traditional form of opera of the south of Vietnam, especially Saigon. A study of this art form gives some understanding of the mix of these three cultures.
 
   
   
 
CHAU VAN [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
Chau Van, a traditional folk art which combines singing and dancing, is a religious form of art used for extolling the merits of beneficent deities or deified national heroes. Its music and poetry are mingled with a variety of rhythms, pauses, tempos, stresses and pitches.
 
   
   
 
CHEO [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
Cheo is a form of stage performance that originated in the northern countryside. The word cheo means "lyrics of folk ballads, proverbs". In cheo performances, there is always an exchange between the audience and the performers. The performers, dao (actress), kep (actor), lao (old man), mu (female character) and he (buffoon).
 
   
   
 
GONGS [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
Gongs are musical instruments made of alloy bronze, sometimes with gold, silver, or black bronze added to their composition. In the Kinh language, the word cong identifies convex gongs and the word chieng refers to the flat ones. Gongs vary in size from 20 to 120cm in diameter.
 
   
   
 
KHEN [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
The khen is a musical instrument used by the Mong ethnic minority, who call it the kenh, while the Viet gave it the name Mong Khen (previously Meo Khen). The E De ethnic minority in the Central Highlands use a similar instrument called Ding Nam.
 
   
   
 
K'NI [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
This term, popular among the Ba Na and the E De, is used to name the single-stringed fiddle played by some ethnic groups in the Truong Son-Tay Nguyen region (Ba Na, Gia Rai, E De, Xo Dang, Pako, and Hre, etc.).
 
   
   
 
LY SONG [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
The ly song is one of the special folk songs of the Vietnamese people. It is sung in the northern, central and southern regions of Vietnam. These folk songs, however, are much more developed in the South. The various ly songs of the South contain different subject matters, as well as unique musical characteristics.
 
   
   
 
THEN SONGS [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
The then song is the religious music of the Tay, Nung minorities. This type of song can be considered a religious performance of Long Poems which depict a journey to the heavens to ask the Jade Emperor to settle trouble for the head of the household.
 
   
   
 
XAM SONGS [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
The xam song is one kind of song that was created by the Vietnamese a long time ago, and which is considered a very special performance. People used to walk in a group of two to three or four to five and sing, mainly in residential areas such as a parking lot, a ferry-landing, or a market gate.
 
   
   
 
TAY SON MILITARY MUSIC [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
This type of music is played in military dance ceremonies. The Tay Son Military Music originated in Binh Dinh Province, a place famous for its practice of martial arts.
 
   
   
 
A DAO [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
A Dao - a professional traditional aesthetic form formed from the Ly age (1010-1225), was very popular in the Le dynasties (1533-1788) and developed strongly in the North of Vietnam in the Nguyen dynasty (1778-1945).
 
   
   
 
CHAM [Video clip | Read more | Comment]
Xaranai Oboe, Ka Nhi fiddle, slapping drum Paranung and slapping and beating drum Ghi Nang are very popular musical instruments of the Cham ethnic group in Ninh Thuan province. They are sometimes used separately to accompany ceremonial singing and ordinary singing.
 

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