Monthly Archive: December 2011
The other day I traveled to Cần Giờ, approximately 40 km south east of Ho Chi Minh City. Taking the motorbike, I left the city early with the first sun rays peaking through the cloudy sky. It seems though, that the people of HCM never sleep. At seven in the morning it feels as busy and crowded in the streets like at any other time of the day.
Finding the way out of the city is the ticky part of the journey. There are no visible signs – or at least none which I was aware of. Leaving the city via district seven (Q7), and taking the fairy, I was out of town on the other side within an hour. On my arrival there it was immediately clear that here the clock of time and life is using a different rhythm. Much less crowded, only a few motorbikes, and incredibly much space, allowing for big, open streets, I travelled almost by myself.
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Tiu cảnh
Tiu cảnh is an instrument of the Viet, which I have also found in the pagodas. It is played in pairs; two different pitches locking into each other in complemetary rhythms. Tiu Cảnh is mainly used in Chầu Vǎn orchestras (ritual songs), Bát âm orchestras (an orchestra consiting of eight different …
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Permanent link to this article: http://www.suzannesoundcreations.com/vietnamese-instruments-part-iii/
For music in pagodas: THE place to be! In Dinh Thanh Pagoda (HCMC, Q.10) lives a master, who knows and teaches about music in Vietnamese pagodas. In the last few days I was able to attend the evening prayer, as well as ask some subject related questions in a private session with the master. …
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In this TEDxPSU talk Mark Ballora translates data sets into audio, and discusses the potential role data sonification plays in understanding the natural world.
Permanent link to this article: http://www.suzannesoundcreations.com/ears-to-see-data-sonification/
Yesterday I visited a beautiful temple, which -in Vietnamese terms- is not called pagoda, but temple. The distinction between both terms is simple. While ‘chua‘ (pagoda or church) is used for the Buddhist pagodas or the church, the word temple describes “religious” places, where a heroic figure or person is worshiped like for example a …
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Permanent link to this article: http://www.suzannesoundcreations.com/ong-bon-pagoda/
Today I have found another really nice pagoda in the south west of HCMC. At Loc Uyen Pagoda it is peculiar that the ‘thay‘ asked for two singing bowls, and removed the woodblock. A young monk, who is specializing in languages, was so kind to play the new Chuông Chùa –as the bowls are …
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Something new in HCMC for every lover of traditional Vietnamese music: concerts of traditional music four times a day at the Independence Palace. The shows are at 10am, 11am, 3pm, and 4pm. Following a short introduction for each traditional instrument, the musicians demonstrate music on a high virtuosic level. The event is crowned by some …
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Permanent link to this article: http://www.suzannesoundcreations.com/vietnamese-instruments-part-ii/
Being back in Vietnam I have also started are more comprehensive research about traditional Vietnamese instruments, many of which are direct copies or slight variations of the originally traditional Chinese instruments, or which derive from the Ethnic Minorities in the mountains. A Book by the brothers Le Huy and Huy Tran offers a …
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Permanent link to this article: http://www.suzannesoundcreations.com/vietnamese-instruments-part-i/
