Dan Bau (Đàn Bầu) of Vietnam

Dan Bau (Đàn Bầu, Độc Huyền Cầm) is a Vietnamese monochord - a traditional one-string musical instrument. Dan Bau is the most unique musical instrument in the world because it has only one string but can deliver wonderful, captivating sound for any notes you like in a tonal range up to 3 octaves. The Dan Bau, played solo, is central to Vietnamese folk music, a genre still popular today in the country. Its other traditional application is as an accompaniment to poetry readings. For modern music, Dan Bau is played as the lead instrument, sharing the same spot light as lead guitar, saxophone, etc.

A popular legend of its beginning tells of a blind woman playing it in the market to earn a living for her family while her husband was at war. Whether this tale is based in fact or not, it remains true that Dan Bau is historically played by blind musicians. At its first appearance, it was a very simple instrument comprised of a bamboo section, a flexible rod, a calabash or half a coconut. After a process of evolution and improvement, the present form of the Dan Bau is a bit more sophisticated, yet still quite simple.

A Dan Bau has 5 components:

1. A sound box trapezium shape around 110cm long.  The larger end is 12cm wide, 10cm high while the smaller end is around 8cm high and 7cm wide.
2. A spout made of bamboo or buffalo horn acts as a super whammy bar
3. A gourd, traditional used to assist the sound box to amplify the sound. It now is only used as decorative in modern Dan Bau, especially now that most modern Dan Bau has built-in magnetic pick-up similar to electric guitar) 
4. One string (metal string from .30mm to .40mm)
5. Tuning peg (or geared tuning machine similar to Western guitar or bass)
   

The very truth is that Dan Bau is a musical instrument that touches your heart. The music of Dan Bau should be solely for the pleasure of its player and people said that you should not listen to it if you are a young woman. It is so-warned because vigilant parents always wish to protect their daughters from the emotional appeal of love songs played on this instrument; this gives an idea of the power and charm of its music.

Now check out this MV to see how charming the sound created by Dan Bau can be:

*For more information and references, please visit the links inserted in this post.