ASSORT11.0 Asian Instrument Assortment Set of 10
Asian Music Card Assortment of 10 Countries
(Note background colors and symbols of the Asian series are taken from the flag of the country.)
Comes as 4 by 6 Note Cards with envelopes and as matted OD. 16 in. by 20 in. prints.
A1.0 The Koto is the national instrument of Japan. It is about 71 inches long and made from kiri wood. It has 13 (or 17) strings with movable bridges. Bridges are adjusted to change string pitch.
Kiri from the Paulownia tree is one of the fastest growing trees in the world, capable of over 7 feet/year as a seedling!
A2.0 Thailand: Ranat means keyboard percussion instruments. The Ranat Ek consists of 21 wooden bars suspended by cords over a boat-shaped trough resonator (made of Rosewood) and struck by two mallets. It is used as a leading instrument in the piphat ensemble (classical music of Thailand). Two types of mallets - The hard mallets create the sharp and bright sound, normally used for faster playing. The soft mallets create the mellow and softer tone, used for slower songs. Several similar Thai xylophones have bars with different materials, such as metal.
A3.0 Veena from India: Four ft long, two resonators, 24 metal frets and an ornamental dragon's head. The four main playing strings above the fretboard are tuned to the tonic and the fifth in two. Three subsidiary drone strings are tuned to the tonic, fifth, and upper tonic cross a curving side bridge leaning against the main bridge, and stretch on the player's side of the neck to three pegs matching those of the main playing strings.
A4.0 Pipa (from China), also called the Chinese lute, has a pear-shaped body. It is plucked, with five small plectra on each finger of the right hand. The Pipa has an extremely wide dynamic range and remarkable expressive power.
Erhu: This 2 stringed fiddle is a popular Chinese instrument. It is used in both traditional and contemporary music.
A5.0 South Korea - Buk Drum: Buk means drum. It is beaten with drum sticks or/and hands. There are 10 common types. Court Music, Folk Music
Nabal: A brass horn playing a single sustained note signaling the beginning or ending. Military procession music, Rural farmers' music.
Daegeum: Bamboo flute used with a buzzing membrane giving it a special timbre. Court, aristocratic, folk music, contemporary classical, popular, and film scores.
A6.0 Indonesia - “Gamelan” is traditional ensemble music of Java and Bali in Indonesia. It uses mostly percussive instruments: Metallophones played by mallets and a set of hand-played drums called kendhang which register the beat. Optionally included are xylophones, bamboo flutes, a bowed instrument called a rebab, a zither, and vocalists.
A7.0 Laos - Khene is a type of mouth organ with a free (brass or silver) reed. It is related to Western free-reed instruments such as the concertina, accordion and harmonica. The pipes, usually made of bamboo, are connected with a small, hollowed-out hardwood reservoir into which air is blown, creating a sound similar to that of the violin.
A8.0 Taiwan - Now part of China, Taiwan's culture is suppressed.
The Tipolo, a double-pipe nose flute used by Amis hunters to warn each other. Yes, this bamboo flute is actually played with the nose – see it on you tube.
Jaw harp has a bamboo frame attached to a metal reed. Held firmly against the performer's lips makes a single pitch. Changing the shape of your mouth, and the amount of air contained in it, different overtones are sounded to make melodies.
A9.0 Vietnam - T'rung: Folk-instrument made of short bamboo tubes with a notch at one end and a beveled edge at the other. Longer big tubes give off low-pitched tones while shorter small ones produce high-pitched tones. The tubes are attached by two strings. A popular musical instrument closely associated with spiritual life.
Dan Day: Three-stringed lute exclusively played by men to accompany female singers. Its sound box has no back surface. The bass instrument has high frets and a very long neck. Its 3 plastic strings produce low sounds.
A10.0 Malaysia - Instruments of Malays (not originated in Malaysia) are in 4 categories: Aerofons - wind instruments (ie. Serunai), Cordofons - stringed instruments (ie. Rebana), Idiofons - struck or shaken percussive instruments (ie. Gong) and Membranofons - drums, the largest group. (ie. Rebab) Four types of drums are beaten with no accompaniment.
