For the article about the band, see Dramyin
For the related dance, see Dramyin Cham, and for the related style of song see Dramyin Choeshay
The dramyin or dranyen (Dzongkha: dramnyen) is a traditional Himalayan folk music lute with 7 strings, used primarily as an accompaniment to singing in the Drukpa Buddhist culture and society in Bhutan, as well as in Tibet, Sikkim and Himalayan West Bengal. Dramyin Cham ( Dzongkha: Dramnyen Cham) is a form of Cham dance - a masked and costumed dance performed in Tibetan Buddhism ceremonies in Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck (either Fretted or unfretted and a deep round back or more specifically to an instrument from Drukpa (disambiguation The Drukpa ( Tib. འབྲུག་པ / ’brug pa) Druk ~ "dragon" pa ~ "person" — or Drukpa Kagyu The Kingdom of Bhutan (buːˈtɑːn is a Landlocked nation in South Asia. Definitions of Tibet See also Definitions of Tibet Name In English The English word Tibet, like the word for Tibet in most European Sikkim ( Nepali:, also Sikhim) is a Landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayas It is the least populous state in India West Bengal ( Bengali: পশ্চিমবঙ্গ Poshchim Bônggo poʃtʃim bɔŋgo is a state in eastern India. It is often used in religious festivals of Vajrayana Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism, like the Tsechu. Vajrayana Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayana, Mantranaya, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including Tsechu (literally "day ten" are annual religious Bhutanese festivals held in each district or Dzongkhag of Bhutan on the tenth day of a month of the The instrument is played by strumming, fingerpicking or (most commonly) plucking. A strum is the act of brushing one's fingers over or strumming, the strings of a String instrument such as a Guitar. Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the Guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips fingernails or picks attached to fingers as opposed to [1]
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Structure
The dramyin is a long-necked, double-waisted and fretless lute. The neck is the part of certain String instruments that projects from the main body and is the base of the Fingerboard, where the fingers are placed to stop the strings The Waist is the part of the abdomen between the Rib cage and hips. A fret is a raised portion on the neck of a Stringed instrument, that extends generally across the full width of the neck [1] It is usually hollowed out of a single piece of wood and can vary in size from 60 cm to 120 cm in length. A centimetre ( American spelling: centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one hundredth Unlike a contemporary guitar, the dramyin does not have a round sound hole in the wooden sounding board, and instead has rosette shaped ones like a lute. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles A sound hole is an opening in the upper Sounding board of a stringed Musical instrument. The sounding board or soundboard is the part of a String instrument that transmits the vibrations of the strings to the air greatly increasing the Loudness
Of its seven strings or thags, only six continue to the pegbox. A pegbox is the part of certain stringed Musical instruments ( Violin, Viola, Cello, Double bass) that houses the Tuning Thus, six tuning pegs are located in the pegbox, while one (typically corresponding to the string which is third from the left) is located in the neck itself. A tuning peg is used to hold a string in the Pegbox of a stringed instrument. Strings were originally made from animal gut, but are presently made from synthetic material like nylon (similar to the progression in usage of guts in racquet sports). Overview Nylon is a Thermoplastic silky material first used commercially in a nylon- Bristled Toothbrush (1938 followed more famously by A racquet (or racket) is a sports implement consisting of a handled frame with an open hoop across which a network of cord is stretched tightly The seven strings occur in two double courses, and one triple course. A course is a pair or more of adjacent strings tuned to unison or an octave and usually played together as if a single string These become three double courses by the time they reach the pegbox. [1]
Traditional dramyins are equipped with a single bridge. A bridge is a device for supporting the strings on a Stringed instrument and transmitting the Vibration of those strings to some other structural component Resonance is achieved with a taught, thick animal skin. Certain older forms of the dramyin possessed sympathetic strings and under-strings to produce more resonance.
Some dramyins come with a plectrum attached to the base for plucking. Often called a pick or plec, a plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. Plectrums were traditionally made of bone, but are now made of plastic or wood. [1]
Shape of the Dramyin
It is often ornately and colourfully painted or carved with religious symbols and motifs, and its pegbox is often impressively carved into a "C" shape resembling a chusing - a sea monster. Tassels may be hung from the horns of the chusing to give the instrument a more frightening look. For other uses see Hilt and Maize. A tassel is a binding of Plaited or otherwise gathered threads from which at one [1]
Playing the Dramyin
The triple (usually middle) course of the dramyin typically contains the half string on the left, which is usually tuned an octave above the middle unison strings. One of the other two courses are typically tuned an octave apart. The courses are normally plucked in unison during playing. Typically a single note is played at a time, making for melodic music and not harmony. In Music, a melody (from Greek μελῳδία - melōidía, "singing chanting" also tune, voice, or In Western music, harmony is the use of different pitches simultaneously and chords actual or implied in Music. Dramyins may also be played to keep time, in a rhythmic fashion. Rhythm (from Greek ῥυθμός - rhythmos, "any measured flow or movement symmetry" is the variation of the length and accentuation of [1]
One standard tuning for the Dramyin is: g G c' c c f f. [1]
The standard way of plucking a course is down - up. One of the two strings in the course is plucked in a downward motion, and the other in the upward motion. The downward motion is typically louder than the other. [1]
The Dramyin in Himalayan Buddhist culture
Dramyins are often used as accompaniment while narrating stories for providing ambience and keeping time, as shown in the Bhutanese film Travellers and Magicians
Dramyins are notably used in the performance of Dramyin Cham - a Cham dance of subjugation performed by Drukpa monks and during the singing of Dramyin Choeshay - a religious song. Travellers and Magicians (ཆང་ཧུབ་ཐེངས་གཅིག་གི་འཁྲུལ་སྣང is a 2003 Bhutanese Dzongkha Dramyin Cham ( Dzongkha: Dramnyen Cham) is a form of Cham dance - a masked and costumed dance performed in Tibetan Buddhism ceremonies in The Cham Dance, associated with some sects of Buddhism, is a lively dance which employs dancers wearing masks and ornamented Costumes. Drukpa (disambiguation The Drukpa ( Tib. འབྲུག་པ / ’brug pa) Druk ~ "dragon" pa ~ "person" — or Drukpa Kagyu These are performed at religious festivals called Tsechus - banned in Tibet, but enjoying great prominence in Bhutan. Tsechu (literally "day ten" are annual religious Bhutanese festivals held in each district or Dzongkhag of Bhutan on the tenth day of a month of the The Dramyin music in the cham is notable as it is one of the very few instances of stringed instruments in monastic music in Bhutan, or for that matter in Tibetan Buddhism in general. A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including A Dramyin player leads the dance and keeps time for the dancers by plucking the instrument. In many chams, the place of the dramyin is taken by a percussion instrument, usually the cymbals. Cymbals are a modern percussion instrument Cymbals consist of thin normally round plates of various Cymbal alloys; see Cymbal making for a discussion of their [1]
The Dramyin in mythology
The Dramyin is generally regarded as a secular instrument, and the performance of a Dramyin Cham or Dramyin Choeshay are one of the few instances when Dramyin is allowed to be played inside a monastery or a Dzong. Secularity ( adjective form secular) is the state of being separate from Religion. This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. For the life inside monasteries and its historical roots see Monasticism. Dzong architecture (from Tibetan རྫོང་ Wylie rDzong) is a distinctive type of fortress architecture found in the former and present However, dramyins are often depicted on thongdrels (Tibetan: thankas) and given as offerings to deities. A Thongdrel (alt throngdrel) is a large Tapestry unveiled during Tsechus ' (religious festivals in Bhutan. The guardian king of the Eastern direction - Sharchop Gyalpo (identified with Dhritarashtra of Hindu mythology) is associated with a dramyin in religious iconography. In the Mahābhārata Dhritarashtra ( Sanskrit: धृतराष्ट्र dhritarāshtra) was the son born to Vichitravirya 's first wife Hindu mythology is the large body of Mythology related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and Iconography is the branch of Art history which studies the identification description and the interpretation of the content of images [1]
The Dramyin's melodious sound is supposed to attract demons, and the role of the carved chusing on the pegbox is to apparently ward off demons. The Dramyin is in fact associated with a guardian deity in the Dramyin Cham. [1]
The Dramyin in popular culture and modern variants
Rigsar is a popular music form in Bhutan, and the Dramyin was extensively used as an accompaniment in Rigsar. Rigsar is a Music genre,the dominant type of popular music of Bhutan. The traditional dramyin has been modified into the rigsar dramyin by a Bhutanese musician Sonam Dorji, for use in such popular music. The rigsar dramyin has 15 strings, two bridges and an extra set of tuning keys. [2]
External links
- A photograph of a Dramyin on Flickr
- A video which briefly illustrates Dramyin playing, on Youtube
Notes
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