K'ni
Encyclopedia
The K'ni is a Vietnamese Traditional Instrument
. It is the only Violin
of Jarai
people. It is a bowed chordophone
which uses the musician's mouth as a resonator which enables the instrument to imitate certain qualities found in vocal music.
is found at the upper part of the body, while at the other end of body, there are wooden pins for attaching the strings. The steel strings are attached to tuning pegs and go straight to the attachment pins. One end of the sympathetic string
is closely tied to the main string near the hanging pins, while its other end is fixed after being put through the membrane which is either made of pangolin
's scab or flattened buffalo horn. The bow is a hornless bamboo slab of 40 or 45 cm length and tapered at one end.
Folk artists usually use pentatonic scales. One of pentatonic scales of Giarai is Do1 - Re1 - Fa#1 - Sol1 - La1.
Traditional Vietnamese musical instruments
Traditional Vietnamese musical instruments are the musical instruments used in the traditional and classical musics of Vietnam. They comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments, used by both the Viet majority as well as the nation's ethnic minorities.-Plucked:*Đàn bầu -...
. It is the only Violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
of Jarai
Jarai
The Jarai is an ethnic group based primarily in Vietnam's Central Highlands. The Jarai language is a member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family...
people. It is a bowed chordophone
Chordophone
A chordophone is any musical instrument that makes sound by way of a vibrating string or strings stretched between two points. It is one of the four main divisions of instruments in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification....
which uses the musician's mouth as a resonator which enables the instrument to imitate certain qualities found in vocal music.
Description
The body of K'ni is made from a bamboo tube of approximately 3 cm diameter and 66 cm long. A tuning pegTuning peg
A tuning peg is used to hold a string in the pegbox of a stringed instrument. It may be made of ebony, rosewood, boxwood or other material. Some tuning pegs are ornamented with shell, metal, or plastic inlays, beads or rings....
is found at the upper part of the body, while at the other end of body, there are wooden pins for attaching the strings. The steel strings are attached to tuning pegs and go straight to the attachment pins. One end of the sympathetic string
Sympathetic string
Sympathetic strings or resonance strings are auxiliary strings found on many Indian musical instruments, as well as some Western Baroque instruments and a variety of folk instruments...
is closely tied to the main string near the hanging pins, while its other end is fixed after being put through the membrane which is either made of pangolin
Pangolin
A pangolin , also scaly anteater or Trenggiling, is a mammal of the order Pholidota. There is only one extant family and one genus of pangolins, comprising eight species. There are also a number of extinct taxa. Pangolins have large keratin scales covering their skin and are the only mammals with...
's scab or flattened buffalo horn. The bow is a hornless bamboo slab of 40 or 45 cm length and tapered at one end.
Playing the K'ni
When playing, instrumentalist holds the membrane in their mouth, and stretches the sympathetic string to an appropriate length, and plays the instrument with bow. The bow is prepared with resin. The sounds of the metal string impact on the sympathetic string causing the membrane to vibrate. The musicians mouth becomes the instrument's resonator.Folk artists usually use pentatonic scales. One of pentatonic scales of Giarai is Do1 - Re1 - Fa#1 - Sol1 - La1.