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Saung
The saung (Burmese: စောင်း, MLCTS caung; also known as the saung-gauk (စောင်းကောက်): IPA: [sáʊɰ̃ɡaʊʔ], Burmese harp, Burma harp, or Myanmar harp), is an arched harp used in traditional Burmese music. The saung is regarded as a national musical instrument of Burma. The saung is unique in that it is a very ancient harp tradition and is said to be the only surviving harp in Asia.
Saung (စောင်း) is the Burmese word for "harp," and is etymologically derived from the Persian word chang, which is the Persian arched harp. The Burmese arched harp is more precisely called saung gauk (စောင်းကောက်, IPA: [sáʊɰ̃ɡaʊʔ]; lit. 'arched harp'), while another indigenous lyre is called byat saung (ဗျပ်စောင်း) or saungbya (စောင်းပြား; lit. 'flat harp').
The Burmese harp is classified as an arched horizontal harp since the resonator body is more horizontal as opposed to the Western harp, which has a vertical resonator. The main parts of the harp are the body, the long curved neck, carved out of the root of a tree, and a string bar running down the center of the top of the body. The top of the resonator body is covered with a tightly stretched deer hide, heavily lacquered in red with four small circular sound holes. The standard dimensions of the saung are 80 by 16 by 16 centimetres (31.5 by 6.3 by 6.3 in). The arch rises about 60 centimetres (24 in) from the body. Smaller harps have been made for smaller players.
The neck terminates in a highly decorated representation of the bo tree leaf. The whole of the harp body is decorated with pieces of mica ("Mandalay pearls"), glass, gilt, and red and black lacquer. The stand is similarly decorated. The ends of the strings on the harp are decorated with red cotton tassels. The saung's strings are made of silk or nylon.
The thirteen to sixteen strings of the harp angle upwards from the string bar to the string bindings on the lower part of the curved arch of the neck. Traditionally, tuning was accomplished by twisting and adjusting the string bindings. Recently constructed harps have machine heads or tuning pegs to make tuning easier. The traditional silk strings have also been supplanted by nylon strings, but silk-stringed harps can still be seen.
The harp is played by sitting on the floor with the body in the lap, and the arch on the left. The strings are plucked with the right hand fingers from the outside. The left hand is used to dampen the strings to promote clarity and produce staccato notes. Stopped tones are produced by using the left thumbnail to press against the string from the inside to increase its tension.
The Burmese harp is a very ancient instrument. Musical researchers theorize that the arched harp came to Burma from Mesopotamia by way of India. Mesopotamia has some of the oldest images of arched harps, including pictographs from circa 3000 B.C.
The saung may have been introduced as early as 500 AD from southeastern India, based on archaeological evidence, namely in the form of Burmese temple reliefs that depict a long-necked harp very similar to depictions found in Bengal.
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Saung
The saung (Burmese: စောင်း, MLCTS caung; also known as the saung-gauk (စောင်းကောက်): IPA: [sáʊɰ̃ɡaʊʔ], Burmese harp, Burma harp, or Myanmar harp), is an arched harp used in traditional Burmese music. The saung is regarded as a national musical instrument of Burma. The saung is unique in that it is a very ancient harp tradition and is said to be the only surviving harp in Asia.
Saung (စောင်း) is the Burmese word for "harp," and is etymologically derived from the Persian word chang, which is the Persian arched harp. The Burmese arched harp is more precisely called saung gauk (စောင်းကောက်, IPA: [sáʊɰ̃ɡaʊʔ]; lit. 'arched harp'), while another indigenous lyre is called byat saung (ဗျပ်စောင်း) or saungbya (စောင်းပြား; lit. 'flat harp').
The Burmese harp is classified as an arched horizontal harp since the resonator body is more horizontal as opposed to the Western harp, which has a vertical resonator. The main parts of the harp are the body, the long curved neck, carved out of the root of a tree, and a string bar running down the center of the top of the body. The top of the resonator body is covered with a tightly stretched deer hide, heavily lacquered in red with four small circular sound holes. The standard dimensions of the saung are 80 by 16 by 16 centimetres (31.5 by 6.3 by 6.3 in). The arch rises about 60 centimetres (24 in) from the body. Smaller harps have been made for smaller players.
The neck terminates in a highly decorated representation of the bo tree leaf. The whole of the harp body is decorated with pieces of mica ("Mandalay pearls"), glass, gilt, and red and black lacquer. The stand is similarly decorated. The ends of the strings on the harp are decorated with red cotton tassels. The saung's strings are made of silk or nylon.
The thirteen to sixteen strings of the harp angle upwards from the string bar to the string bindings on the lower part of the curved arch of the neck. Traditionally, tuning was accomplished by twisting and adjusting the string bindings. Recently constructed harps have machine heads or tuning pegs to make tuning easier. The traditional silk strings have also been supplanted by nylon strings, but silk-stringed harps can still be seen.
The harp is played by sitting on the floor with the body in the lap, and the arch on the left. The strings are plucked with the right hand fingers from the outside. The left hand is used to dampen the strings to promote clarity and produce staccato notes. Stopped tones are produced by using the left thumbnail to press against the string from the inside to increase its tension.
The Burmese harp is a very ancient instrument. Musical researchers theorize that the arched harp came to Burma from Mesopotamia by way of India. Mesopotamia has some of the oldest images of arched harps, including pictographs from circa 3000 B.C.
The saung may have been introduced as early as 500 AD from southeastern India, based on archaeological evidence, namely in the form of Burmese temple reliefs that depict a long-necked harp very similar to depictions found in Bengal.
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