Vietnam

Vietnamese

Wood, mother-of-pearl, nylon strings, bone
Mid  20th century
Length: 36.5 in, Width: 10 in, Depth: 2.25 in
Chordophones – Lutes

The dan ty ba is a pear-shaped shallow body, four string lute of Vietnam.  It is derived from the Chinese pipa, but smaller. Distinctive from the pipa is the bat figure finial at the top.  The main difference between the Chinese pipa and the Vietnam dan ty ba is that the top six frets are not triangular as they are on a pipa but are the same high strips of wood that are used for the rest of the frets on the body.

The dan ty ba has four pegs for tuning and the strings are plucked with a small plectrum held in the right hand.  It is held in a near vertical position and the playing technique involves frequent bending (glissando) of the tones with the fingers of the left hand.  The dan ty ba is played as a solo instrument, as part of an orchestra or a band, to accompany the singing of melodies (Ca Tru singing), or in cai luong operas. 

Dan is the Vietnamese prefix meaning ‘stringed instruments,’ which is part of the name of most Vietnamese traditional string instruments.

Sources:  “Dan ty ba,”  Tran Quang Hai/Nguyen Thuyet Phong, “The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments,” 2nd Ed., Vol 2, Laurence Libin, Editor in Chief.