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There are 7 main harmonic positions on Dan Bau that a player normally touches while playing.  These are the locations that divided the string on Dan Bau into: 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/7 and 1/8 of its original length.  The harmonic note that the right hand will generate by plucking the string while touching at those location are:

When a string vibrates, it generate a sound with a fundamental frequency and many harmonic frequencies (frequencies 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc. higher than the fundamental frequency).  By touching the string at specific harmonic positions (1/2 to 1/8 string length), the player actually emphasizes the harmonic frequency at that location and creates more overtones of that harmonic frequencies.  The result is a note different than the fundamental notes and rich of its own harmonic frequencies.  This makes Dan Bau sounds full, rich, lots of overtones and captivating; a sound that cannot be duplicated by any other instrument in the world.

It is very difficult to play a proper note on Dan Bau (even with no left hand) so make sure you give it a lot of practice.  Also, make sure that you touch the string at the desired harmonic location first and then pluck the string while releasing it at the same time.

In the beginning it is very useful to measure the string length (the total of the portion that can vibrate) and put some stickers on the sound box to identify those harmonic locations.

Dan Bau can be played using the index or middle finger or fingernail; however, most musician normally use a pick, either a short pick around 5cm to 10cm (hold with the thumb and the index fingers) or a long pick 10cm to 15cm (hold with 4 fingers) made of wood, bamboo or plastic (some even use pencil as a long pick for Dan Bau).

The player normally plucks the string from the outside toward himself/herself and slightly upward.  The pick should be near 90 degrees from the string when plucking.

Left Hand

Left hand bends the spout to change the pitch

While the right hand is plucking the string, the left hand is holding and manipulating the spout to:

1. Get the desired note
2. Provide ornaments to the sound

With only 7 main harmonic positions (could be more but not practical as the string will then becomes too short), how would a Dan Bau player generate all the notes in 3 octaves range?  The answer lies in the left hand technique. 

Since the string is attached to the spout, the tension on the string can be manipulated dynamically.  The player can increase the tension of the string to raise the fundamental note or decrease the tension of the string to lower the fundamental note.  The player increase the tension on the string by pulling it away from the tuning peg (pull the pitch up) using the thumb and decrease the tension on the string by pushing it toward the tuning peg (push the pitch down) using the rest of the hand.

The spout is very flexible allowing the player raise or lower the pitch up to a fifth (e.g., from C to G). Let take a look at how all the notes are played on Dan Bau:

From the table above, we can play a same note differently at different harmonic location by pushing the spout instead of pulling.  Which method used to play a note is a matter of preference (some player may prefer pushing from pulling) or convenient depending on the previous or the subsequent notes.  An accomplished Dan Bau player normally plays multiple notes with one pluck at the string and uses the spout to glide from the first notes to the subsequent notes.

Since the left hand has micro control of the tension of the string, it can generate any notes in any scale (just intonation, equal temperament - this scale is used in modern western music, mean tempered, etc.)

Beside creating the note, the left hand also add ornaments to the sounds.  The techniques are: glide (push or pull) the spout from one note to another, vibrating the spout, stroke on the spout (up stroke and down stroke).

While the right hand is important in making the sound, it is the left hand technique that really distinguishes an accomplished Dan Bau musician.  One of the most important aspect of playing Dan Bau is the sounds it generates so the left hand techniques need to be constantly practiced and improved by all Dan Bau musician.

Playing Western Music

Since Dan Bau can generate all notes in any scale, it can be used to play any western song; however, for best, richest sound quality, the song should be in a scale that includes the fundamental notes C and/or G.  This means that Dan Bau play best in songs with up to 2 #'s (sharps) and up to 5 b's in the key signature.  That would include C major/A minor, G Major/E minor, D Major, F major/D minor, Bb major/G minor, Eb major/C minor, Ab major/F minor, Dd major/Bb minor.  The following table shows the 12 possible key signatures with the ones played best by Dan Bau highlighted (contain one or both of the fundamental notes C and G). 

For songs other key signatures (white lines above), beginners may want to transpose them to C major/A minor key or any other keys highlighted above or to simply retune the fundamental note of Dan Bau to the appropriate keys as indicated in the following table:

Special Techniques

Instead of making the string 1/3 the original length, the player can also make the string 2/3 of the original length. This will generate the same G note but sound differently. This apply for all ratios of the string length (but harder to generate the notes for smaller ratios).  In fact, these touching points are on the opposite sides of the center of the string and are mirror images of each other.