| South East Asia | ATLAS of Plucked Instruments |
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South East Asia For the area of South East Asia we regard here the countries of Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines. For Vietnam see Far
East. For Hawaii and Tahiti
see North America.
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| top | Thailand | |||||||||||||||
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jakhay
The jakhay is an instrument that is also used in other countries of South East Asia. In Cambodia it is called takhe, or charakhe or usually krapeu. In Burma it is called mi-gyaung. Originally it was carved to resemble a crocodile, now it is more a stylized panhandle. Alternative spellings are jakae or jakhae. The jakhay is made from one huge piece of hardwood, carved in the right shape and the back/bottom hollowed out. The bottom (the soundboard) is made from a softer wood, and has (roughly drilled) soundholes in it. It has 3 rounded short legs screwed into the soundboard.
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grajappi
In Thailand they use a similar long plucked instrument
as the chapey dan veng in Cambodia : in Thailand it is called
grajappi or krajappii or krachappi. There
is an old and a new version. The neck and long pegbox are made from one piece of wood and glued to the body wiith a dovel join. The pegbox extents in a very long (flat) curve to the back; this bit can be taken off, and is highly decorated with dark wood and white (ivory looking) plastic. The 13 frets (in a regular seven-to-an-octave scale) are pieces of white plastic, glued to the flat front of the neck.
The strings are probably tuned : FF BB. |
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sueng
The sueng (also spelled sung, or soung or serng or seung) is a plucked instrument that vaguely resembles the yueh qin ("moon guitar") from China. The sueung is made from one piece of hardwood,
including neck and pegbox. The body is hollowed out and covered with
another (round) piece of hardwood, with a small soundhole in the middle. It has 2 double metal strings (the old ones often made
of bicycle brake wire). They run over a loose wooden bridge to pins
at the end of the body.
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sung
lisu / subu
This is a nice small folk instrument, based on the Chinese sanxien and the Thai sueng. It is made by the Lisu, one of the hilltribes in North Thailand. It is locally known as tseubeu, or subu or dsyböö. The Akha tribe calls it deuham, and the Lahu calll it sae mu. Internet shops usually call it sung lisu. It is made in several sizes, from around 300mm to about 750mm. The body of a sung lisu is a small round piece of hardwood, like a bowl. The bottom is pierced with holes and has decoration around the edges. The front is covered with skin, like python or monitor lizard. The straight neck is carved from one piece of hardwood which extents to the pegbox. The pegbox bends back in a sharp curl. There are two round friction pegs on the right side and
one on the left side of the open pegbox. Three metal strings (of the
same thickness) run over a small loose bridge to a wooden pin at the
end of the neck, which goes right through the body.
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phin
An apparently rather new type of instrument, used in modern Thai music groups. The phin is a guitar-like instrument, based
on the Thai sueng.
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chapey
In Cambodia we can find two plucked string instruments : the chapey and the krapeu. The krapeu is very similar to the Thai jakhay, so see Thailand. The chapey dan veng (also chapay veng) is a (very) long neck lute. It is the same instrument that is called grajappi in Thailand. The body is made from a thick piece of wood, hollowed out, with a thin plank on top as soundboard. That body shape is supposed to be a slice of the bodhi tree or of a pineapple. There is no soundhole. The neck and the long pegbox are made from one piece of wood and glued to the body. The pegbox extents in a very long (flat) curve to the back. The frets are pieces of hardwood glued with some black wax to the neck. The pegs, which are long and round, are on both sides of the open pegbox. There are two courses of nylon strings, which can be single, or double or only one double. They run to a string holder which also serves as bridge. The strings are tuned F B. Playing is with a plectrum, mainly to accompany singing.
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| top | Malaysia | |||||||||||||||
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(gitar) gambus As in most Islamic countries, the Arabian oud is also played in Malaysia and Indonesia. This oud is quite similar to the oud used in the Middle East, as it came with Arab workers from Yemen (town of Hadramaut), who carried on their tradition of playing the oud. This oud is here called gambus (or gambus Hadramaut, or gambus Hadramawt, or gambus johor, or gambus Arab, or - mainly in Indonesia - gitar gambus). There is also a local oud-like instrument, which is called gambus Melayu (see under).
The technique of playing the gambus is the same as the oud (with a long plectrum), but here more to accompany arabic singing - often in "orkes gambus".
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gambus Melayu Besides the oud-like gambus (see above) in Malaysia (especially on Sabah), and in Brunei, and on some islands of Indonesia (like Lombok, Riau, etc.) there is a another gambus, which looks quite different. This gambus (gambus Hijaz or gambus Melayu) is closely related to the old qanbus of Yemen and East Africa (see Africa). On Kalimantan it is called panting and played in Panting Banjar music. This traditional gambus
has a (narrow) body and neck carved from a single piece of wood and
a (goat) skin top. Nowadays the front is sometimes (mainly in Brunei
and Sabah) made of thin wood (like on the oud-type gambus)
- less breakable, and it gives a sharper sound. There is nowadays quite a cross-over between the two types of gambus, so the gambus Melayu may be also made from staves, and have 6 double strings and a large single rosette - or three. Also the tuninghead may be bent back, or with a decorated carving. It may even have tuning machines. It is played with a long plectrum, and used for vocal accompaniment of Zapin music. It has a sound similar to the oud but with a more resonant, almost hollow sound.
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sape
The sape (or sapé or sapeh) is one of the largest plucked stringed instruments in the world. It is mainly used on the island of Borneo (which is half Malaysia : Sabah and Sarawak, and half Indonesia : Kalimantan; plus the small independent state of Brunei) The sape is probably made by shipbuilders as
the body resembles very much a ship (however the hollowed out bit is
on the back...). Maybe that is why this type of instrument is known
as "boatlute".
The number of metal strings may vary from 3 to 5 and can be tuned with round wooden pegs from both sides of the peghead. Each string is the same gauge and has its own small bamboo bridge, giving each a different string length. They run over a flat bamboo bridge and go through holes to the back of the instrument. Only the first string has (flat bamboo) frets in a diatonic scale.
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sundatang
This long necked strummed lute is quite rare, and found amongst the Dusunic people of Sabah (the north part of the island Borneo). The sundatang is mainly made of jackfruit wood, with two or 3 brass strings. The body seems to be either rather square or oval-shaped, and is probably build like a guitar, not hollowed out (but I am not sure). The instrument looks very similar to the kudyapi boat-lutes of the Palawan from the (nearby) Philippines (see under). There are just a few (about 5) high frets on the long neck, near the body (like on the Vietnamese Dan Day). The sundatang of the KadazanDusun tribe from Penampang district, the Lotud-Dusun tribe (who call it “gagayan”) and those of the Rungus tribe are more widely played than the one of the KadazanDusuns of Tambunan district. This Tambunan sundatang has a small body and a neck over a meter long. The sundatang can be played for personal entertainment or as a dance accompaniment (in the Tambunan district - the Magarang) and sometimes played in pairs as in Tuaran district.
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Note that in Indonesia you may also find instruments described under Malaysia, like the gitar gambus and the gambus Melayu.
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kacapi
(Batak) The kacapi is a small boat lute from the Bataks on Samosir island in Lake Toba, in North Sumatra. They are now mainly made as woodcarving souvenirs for tourists. The kacapi (pronounced "kachapi") is made from one piece of wood, in a boat-shape. The back is hollowed out. There are 2 metal strings, which can be tuned by round wooden friction pegs on both sides of the open pegbox. The bridge is a raised bit of wood left in the middle of the body. Usually the top of the pegbox, and the end of the body
are nicely decorated.
The kacapi seemed not very popular with players
on Sumatra, |
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kacapi (Sulawesi) This is a special boat lute from the island Sulawesi. It is called kacapi [pronounced "kachapi"] in the south, but also kacaping and katapi. The instrument is made from one piece of wood, with a cavity on the back. This is covered with a separate wooden panel, with several round sound holes in it. The peghead has usually a highly decorated panel, also carved from the same piece of wood. The kacapi has always two strings. They are tuned by small round friction pegs. The strings are pressed down on a row of 5 or 6 high finger posts, carved integrally from the neck and soundboard. The bridge is a similar high post. It is strummed with a long plectrum, for solo music or to accompany songs.
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jungga [1] This is the two-stringed jungga from the island
of Sunda. As it is a boat lute, it looks quite similar to the
sape from Borneo, or the kacapi from Sulawesi. The body and neck is carved from one piece of wood, with a cavity on the back. This is closed with a separate piece of wood, with soundholes in it. The body is wider than the kacapi from the Bataks. It has the high finger posts that serve as frets, and the high bridge, like the kacapi from Sulawesi. It is played to accompany songs.
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jungga [2] This jungga is a four-stringed, locally made guitar from the island of Sunda. Some instruments have a few frets, most are fretless. It is built like a quite primitive guitar, and played with a plectrum.
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keroncong guitar / cak / cuk The keroncong guitar is a small ukulele-type guitar from Java island, Indonesia, mainly used in Keroncong music (pronounced "kron-chong"), which has some Portuguese influence (from the late 19th century).
Both instruments have a raised fingerboard with metal frets. The tuninghead is always flat, with machine tuners from behind. The strings run over a loose bridge to a mandolin-like stringholder. The body and neck are varnished in colour, the soundboard is varnished or painted (sun-burst). The cak is played in 4-beat, with the off-beat strums accentuated; the cuk plays usually arpeggios. Together the cak and cuk form a set with interlocking strums, that gives Keroncong music its characteristic rhythmic sound. The other instruments used in traditional Keroncong (or Kroncong or Krontjong) music are usually the gitar tunggal - (the guitar of local or of western manufacture), the violin, the flute and often a (plucked) cello and a (plucked) contra bass. However, Keroncong music can also be performed using modern instruments like electric guitars, electronic keyboards and a drumkit. This music is also very popular among the Indonesians living in Holland. |
| top | Philippines | |||||||||||||||||
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banduria
The laud, the banduria and the spanish guitar are the instruments used in Spanish Rondalla music, and as the Spanish ruled the Philippine islands for three centuries, this type of music became also popular on the Philippines - and even with Philippinos now living in the USA. See more information on the website of Jayars. The Philippine instruments look quite similar to the Spanish banduria and laud (see Europe west), although the number of strings has increased. From 12 strings in 6x2 courses in Spain, to 14 strings in 6 courses in the Philippines : 6th single, 5th and 4th double, 3th, 2nd and 1st three double. The banduria (sometimes spelt : bandurria, or called banduria guitar) is made like a flat back mandolin. The soundhole is usually round like on a guitar. The tuning head is made like a slotted guitar-head, or flat, with machines from behind - seven on each side. It has a raised fingerboard.
Playing is with a plectrum, often with a mandolin-like tremolo. |
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laud
The Philippine instruments like the laud and the banduria used in the Rondella music look quite similar to the original Spanish banduria and laud (see Europe west).
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octavina
The laud, the banduria and the spanish guitar are the instruments used in Philippine Rondalla music, with sometimes another instrument : the octavina. The octavina is a special Philippine instrument
: it is a guitar-shaped laud, so it has 14 metal strings in
6 courses : 6th single, 5th and 4th double, 3th, 2nd and 1st three double.
Playing is with a plectrum, often with a mandolin-like tremolo.
It is not very clear where the name octavina arrived from - the name is also used for a small spinet (plucked 17th century keyboard). However, in Spain used to be a small guitar-like banduria instrument with 6 double strings, called octavilla; very likely that is the origin of the name.
The black colour of the front of the example is just painted on; others were red or plain. |
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kudlung
/ kudyapi / fagelung On the Philippines the long boat-lute with two strings is still quite popular in some areas. It exists under many different names, although they all look quite similar : kudlung, fagelung, hegalong, hagelung, kudyapi, kutyapi, kusyapi, ketiyapi, etc. It is mainly called kudlung in the south and kudyapi in the north. For the kudyapi used by the Palawan tribe see under. Like all other boat-lutes, the entire instrument (with all additions, except tuning pegs and frets) is carved from one piece of (soft)wood, with the resonator chamber carved from the back, and covered with a thin wooden board, sometimes with a soundhole in it. The sides of the body and neck form a long flowing bulge. The front and the back are flat. The length of the instrument can be from about 1 to even 2 meters. Some instruments are highly decorated and painted.
It is usually played with a small wooden pick, bound to the forefinger. Only the first string is fingered, the second string is only a drone. It is mainly played solo or to accompany singing or dancing. For lots of information see Brandeis and Kipas.
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kudyapi
The kudyapi boat-lute used by the Palawan tribe looks very similar to the sundatang from Borneo. Like all other boat-lutes, the entire body and
neck is carved from one piece of (hard)wood, with the resonator chamber
carved from the back, and covered with a separate thin wooden board
(sometimes with some soundholes in it). The body shape is bulging on
both sides, with a straight top and bottom. The front and back are flat.
The length of the instrument can be from about 1 to far over 2 meters.
The kudyapi is usually played with a small wooden pick, bound to the forefinger. Only the first string is fingered, the second string is only a drone. It is mainly played solo or to accompany singing or dancing. For lots of information about boat-lutes see Brandeis and Kipas. |
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kitara
Primitive guitar from Philippines. It is made like a normal guitar, with no (or just a few) frets and played like the player thinks it should be played.
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