Sáo
Encyclopedia
The sáo is a small transverse flute
used in the traditional music of Vietnam
. The instrument has a slender cylindrical body that is typically made of bamboo
, although it may also be made of hardwood
(which is often inlaid
with intricate mother-of-pearl
designs). It usually has one blowing hole and six finger holes, although in the 20th century some players have added four extra holes to allow for the production of semitone
s.http://www.vnstyle.vdc.com.vn/vim/english/music_instument/airophone_Sao_Truc.html
The sáo is used in the folk music of the Viet
majority as well as in the music of the former royal court music of Huế
.
word zhú (竹), meaning "bamboo."
Transverse flute
A transverse flute or side-blown flute is a flute which is held horizontally when played. The player blows "across" the embouchure hole, in a direction perpendicular to the flute's body length....
used in the traditional music of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. The instrument has a slender cylindrical body that is typically made of bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
, although it may also be made of hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
(which is often inlaid
Inlay
Inlay is a decorative technique of inserting pieces of contrasting, often coloured materials into depressions in a base object to form patterns or pictures that normally are flush with the matrix. In a wood matrix, inlays commonly use wood veneers, but other materials like shells, mother-of-pearl,...
with intricate mother-of-pearl
Nacre
Nacre , also known as mother of pearl, is an organic-inorganic composite material produced by some mollusks as an inner shell layer; it is also what makes up pearls. It is very strong, resilient, and iridescent....
designs). It usually has one blowing hole and six finger holes, although in the 20th century some players have added four extra holes to allow for the production of semitone
Semitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically....
s.http://www.vnstyle.vdc.com.vn/vim/english/music_instument/airophone_Sao_Truc.html
The sáo is used in the folk music of the Viet
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
majority as well as in the music of the former royal court music of Huế
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
.
Etymology
The Sino-Vietnamese adjective trúc derives from the ChineseChinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
word zhú (竹), meaning "bamboo."