Traditional Vietnamese music at Laney College

February 25, 2010-

Vanessa Vo, a Emmy Award winning musician, presented Vietnamese music played on traditional instruments at Laney College in Oakland, CA. Accompanied by Jason Song, percussionist, and Song-My Tran on the piano and “Dan Bau”, Vanessa Vo put on a stellar performance. Presenting  not only traditional songs, but also the traditional instruments on which they have been played on for generations.

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One such instrument; the “Dan Trung” is made from the same bamboo that traditional homes in Vietnam use. It is played much like an upright xylophone, with the musician hitting different bamboo shingles to create different musical tones.

The “Dan Bau”, is a mono-chord (one-string) instrument made of just 4 parts and played much like a guitar. The musician picks at the strings with one hand while, with the other hand, stretching the string to produce caring pitches of the strummed note.

Another instrument which Vanessa Vo performed with was the the“Dan Tranh”. A zither-like instrument which has 16 strings, each one representing a season in Vietnam. The Dan Tranh is played like a sitar, while the musician sits front of it, strumming its many strings, producing a dreamy sound.

After the show, attendees got a chance to meet Vanessa Vo and play the traditional instruments. The show took place at the Music Department of Laney College. Visit their site to find out when more world-famous musicians are performing at Laney.