“Do not listen to the music of the dan bau if you are a young woman.”

Such is the romantic and emotional appeal of music played on the dan bau that Vietnamese parents used to warn their daughters against listening to it. For the rest of us, it remains the quintessential sound of Vietnam.

One of only two purely Vietnamese instruments, the dan bau consists of a hardwood frame and a softwood surface, over which a string is stretched and connected to a handle decorated with dried gourd (bau). The first dan bau is believed to have been made in 1770, a simple instrument consisting of a bamboo section, a flexible rod, and a half coconut. Since then it has evolved to become the instrument we know today.

The string, made of iron, is tuned using a bamboo tuning peg and played with the right hand using a pick made of bamboo or rattan. The pitch is varied by pressing, releasing, holding or vibrating the string with the left hand.

The dan bau is usually played solo or to accompany poetry recitals, though in recent years it has been added to the orchestral accompaniment to cheo and cai luong opera. Amplified dan bau are now more common, enabling the player to play to larger audiences while losing nothing in sound quality.

Travel to Vietnam- Vietnam Culture