red dot Mekong NYC Arts & Music red dot Vietnamese Folk Music
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: m09_Co-La_Tranh
for Vietnamese 16-string zither
by Teacher Phan Gia Anh-Thư & Teacher Ngô Thanh Nhàn
Dec 04, 2024 13:15:11
m09_Co-La
Tablature to Click and Print:
T H E   S T O R Y:
Cò Lả [The easygoing stork]. Con cò is the symbol of a woman working for food in folk culture, together with familiar sceneries in the country side. It's a woman song, responding to a man song. She flies leasurely, observing the sceneries. Tình tính tang, tang tính tình, the rhythm of music, using the homophone tình, romantic love, she asks if he would notice her and remember her, but she would sell away her fortune of seven taels of gold to have money to follow him.

The refrain, Phrases 3-6, 9-12, 15-18, and 21-24, identifies the song genre, điệu Cò lả:

Tình tính tang, tang tính tình,
Anh chàng rằng hỡi anh chàng ơi,
rằng có biết biết hay chăng?
Rằng có nhớ (là) nhớ hay chăng?
Na na na na (Hey Jude)
Oh young lad, have you noticed me, heart breaker
oh young lad, do you miss me, young lover?

The other song melody phrases of two six-eight syllable verses have to be sung slightly differently each time, because of the tones. Which is the characteristics of Vietnamese folk songs.

Con cò bay lả bay la,
bay từ cửa Phủ, bay ra cánh đồng
Look! there's a stork, that flies leisurely
elegantly and effortless
from the gate of the Governor's mansion, to the rice fields.

\nCÒ LẢFolk song of Quan họ Bắc Ninh. Reformatted: YWCM • The easygoing storkA VIETNAMESE FOLK MUSIC STUDY • Ngô Thanh Nhàn • Dec 04, 2024MusicXML source: — MuseScore 3.6.1C4D4C4E4E42–G33–A34–C45–D46–E47–G4Rằng có biết,biết hay chăng?Rằng có nhớ là nhớ hay chăng?TablatureCÒ LẢ • Part #P1 • Phrase #5245〰657〰654245〰6567654 Circle of FifthsRange: G3 C4 D4 E4 G4 \n\n\nE\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nC\n\nG\nG\n\nDPitch Classes: 0,1,2,4Circle of Chromatics\n\n\nE\n\n\n\nG\nG\n\n\n\n\n\nC\n\n\nDPitch Classes: 7,0,2,4