đàn bầu

noun  

• Monochord

• đàn bầu (monochord): Đàn bầu consists of a long piece of wood, on which is stretched a silk or brass string, which is fastened at one end to a peg and at the other to a flexible bamboo plate. The string is passed repeatedly through an open dried gourd as sound box. Although having only one string, it can emit all the sounds in the pentatonic scale. The eight notes of Vietnamese music give modulations of greater amplitudes than those obtained by any other single-stringed instrument in the world. Today, Đàn bầu is made very carefully to ensure aesthetic and sound quality. When played in public, it is often used with an electronic amplifier