Description: The dan-bau is a unique monochord to Vietnam and in Southern China a close relative of the dan-bau is the "Duxianqin". The name Duxianqin, translates from Chinese to English as "single stringed zither" who belongs to the Jing ethnic group of China.
Playing the dan-bau:
When the dan-bau is the musician rests the dan-bau on a table or a flat surface in which creates the sound chamber. Playing the dan-bau involves both hands, the left hand controls the "tremolo bar" and the right hand facilitates the harmonics by the use of a small cylindrical object such as a tooth pick or chopstick. When the tooth pick is dragged underneath the string and the palm of the hand muffles the string near by this creates the desired harmonic in which can be changed by the “tremolo bar” this bar is made from ox-horn or bamboo. Tuning the dan-bau nowadays involves the attachment of a bass machine-gear tuner depending on the pitch to what the dan-bau would be tuned too.
Anatomy of the Dan-Bau:
On the top of the instrument the dan-bau is assembled with a carved wooden surface and mother-of-pearl inlay are also common ornamentation and the side-surfaces of the dan-bau are lacquered. The resonator which is a trapezium in shape. Traditionally the body was constructed to be a single unit from several pieces of wood. Collapse-able dan-bau's are more common today this involves making the dan-bau sections of two both are attached with a door hinge. This allows for the dan-bau to be portable and employ the use of a small carrying case. many of the "portable dan-bau" often have a single coil electric pickup installed, which is a now a common feature available with the dan-bau.