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Instruments
and ensembles
Starting from the Pegu period, most musical instruments were classified from their resounding material, thus the "kye" (brass - cymbals, bells and gongs), the "kyo" (string - harp, violin and zither), the "tha-ye" (leather -drums), the "lay" (wind - flutes, trumpets and oboe) and the "let-khok" (wooden - clappers) instruments. As it makes more sense to distinguish between their use in performance, it seems to be more practical to divide these instruments whether they are used for ensemble or chamber music: Chamber music: o The "saung gauk" harp o The crocodile zither "mi gyaun" o The "pa'tala" xylophone o The "si" cymbal and "wa" clappers Ensemble music: o The "kyizi" gong o The "pat wain" drum circle o The "ci wain" gong cirlce and the "maun sain" gong set o The "h'ne" oboe o The "plaim" flute (Without pictures and descriptions: The main drums "pa ma" and "sakhum" (on a frame), both part of the "hcau laun pa" drum ensembles, where the biggest drum is always positioned on the left side - as well as several flutes, violins and the almost forgotten "Don Minn" zither.) |