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folk arts studies    F O L K · A R T S · S T U D I E S
A research project in the Vietnamese folk arts heritage
Mekong NYC hosts a music class to teach students how to play the đàn tranh (Vietnamese zither). The class is infused with storytelling, especially Vietnamese folk tales and culture, community building through group playing and listening, and group theory, examining traditional Vietnamese and Cambodian songs and pop music.

Lesson: Ly-Con-Sao-Mien-Nam_Melody
for Vietnamese 16-string zither
by Teacher Phan Gia Anh-Thư & Teacher Ngô Thanh Nhàn
Dec 04, 2024 13:14:50
m03_Ly-Con-Sao-Mien-Nam
1 – Ly-Con-Sao-Mien-Nam
Ly-Con-Sao-Mien-Nam • Melody • YWCM •

Tablature to Click and Print:
T H E   S T O R Y:
Lý Con Sáo Nam [Song of the Starling]. A famous folk song of south Vietnam, based on two six-eight syllable couplet:
Ai đem con sáo sang sông
Để cho con sáo sổ lồng bay xa.
Who brought the starling across the river,
And allowed her to break the case and fly away.

The song describes women conditions in the countryside of Vietnam. Then, when she crossed the river, she was free (like a young black teenager Elizabeth Cotton thought of jumping on a train to be free when she wrote the song Freight train). Today, sang sông [crossing the river] means she gets married.

The song is written in the cung oán mourning pentatonic scale, G B C D E, but requires extensive bendings: all C's and G's are to be vibrated, all D's are tapped, and watch out for other prebending and released strings.
The symbols 𝅃    in Phrase #1 are for percussion, meaning tap on the bridge with your right hand index finger.


\nLý Con Sáo NamFolk song from South Vietnam • Folk song from South VietnamA VIETNAMESE FOLK MUSIC STUDY • Ngô Thanh Nhàn • Dec 04, 2024MusicXML source: — MuseScore 3.6.1C54–C45–D46–E47–G48–A49–C510–D511–E5Aiđemconsáosáosangsông...TablatureLý Con Sáo Nam • Part #P1 • Phrase #19111098974789C5C57–G48–A49–C510–D511–E5Chosáosổlồng...Chosáosổlồng...TablatureLý Con Sáo Nam • Part #P1 • Phrase #2911987911987A4F44–C45–D46–E47–G48–A49–C5Sổlồngbayxa,consáosáobayxaTablatureLý Con Sáo Nam • Part #P1 • Phrase #344667987666A4F44–C45–D46–E47–G48–A49–C5Sổlồngbayxa,consáosáobayxa...TablatureLý Con Sáo Nam • Part #P1 • Phrase #444667987666 Circle of FifthsRange: C5 E5 D5 B♭4 G4 C4 F5 A4 E4 F4 \n\nA\n\nE\nE\n\n\n\n\n\n\nB♭\n\nF\nF\n\nC\nC\n\nG\n\nDPitch Classes: 0,1,2,3,4,10,11Circle of Chromatics\n\n\nE\nE\n\nF\nF\n\n\nG\n\n\nA\n\nB♭\n\n\nC\nC\n\n\nDPitch Classes: 0,4,2,10,7,5,9