A Folk Arts Study

Vietnamese Folk Music

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: T01_Exercise-1_dan-tranh-tablature.musicxml
for Vietnamese 16-string zither
by Teacher Phan Gia Anh-Thư & Teacher Ngô Thanh Nhàn
Apr 02, 2025 20:59:38
T01_Exercise-1

Tablature to Click and Print:

T H E S T O R Y:Octave: An octave on the piano has 12 black and white keys. An octave on a đàn tranh has 5 strings, constituting a pentatonic scale.
From E³ to E⁴ is an octave. That is, E⁴ is an octave higher than E³.

Phrase #1 and #3 are played with the index finger. Phrase #2 and #4 are played with the thumb. Phrase #5 is played mixed index and thumb picks.

One should play with a rest stroke: glide on one string and rest on the next.

Note the Á glissando technique, one may try to start from one end, and stop at any string of choice.