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| Dan Nhi Tuning Pegs |
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Tuning Dan Nhi, Dan Co, Dan Gao and Dan Ho (Erhu)
Similar
to Dan Bau, it is very easy to tune Dan Nhi as it has only two strings.
Furthermore, Dan Nhi has a String Adjuster (a short piece of silk or
nylon string along the neck) which tightens and pulls the 2 strings
toward the neck, to further micro tune its strings.
To tune Dan
Nhi, one normally move the String Adjuster to the desired position
along the neck: nearer the top for longer fingering space and large
pressure range (for example for someone with large, strong fingers),
and nearer the sound box for smaller fingering space and small pressure
range (for example for a child) and then tune the 2 strings using the 2
tuning pegs at the top of the neck. It is the effective length of the
string (the portion of the string that vibrates between the bridge and
the String Adjuster) that determines the fingering space. For
comparison, the effective string length of a full size violin is around
33 cm and a 1/4 violin is around 25 cm. Without a finger board, Dan Nhi
may need slightly longer effective length for a better margin of error.
An effective string length of around 35 cm for an adult and 27 cm for a
child may be preferable for Dan Nhi (or if you prefer, try the same
effective string length as your favorite violin)
Once Dan Nhi is
tuned, further micro pitch adjustments can also be done by moving the
String Adjuster along the neck. Move the String Adjuster down to
shorten the vibration portion of the string to increase the pitches and
move the String Adjuster up to decrease the pitches. The more modern
option is to use a violin fine tuner (the type that can be attached to
the string only) attached between the String Adjuster and the tuning
peg for micro tuning. Furthermore, there is auxiliary device which can
be clipped and moved along the neck to shorten the length of the
effective strings (the portions of the strings that vibrate) to change
the key of the performance without having to learn new fingering
pattern.
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| Dan Nhi String Adjuster |
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| Dan Nhi Sound Box and Bridge |
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| Dan Nhi Sound Box and Bow |
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Similar to the strings of a violin, the 2 strings of Dan Nhi are tuned in a perfect fifth interval. In South East Asia traditional music, there are 4 main combinations one normally tunes a Dan Nhi, for example in F Major Pentatonic: F3-C4 (first string F3, second string C4, for Dan Gao), G3-D4 (for Dan Nhi), C3-G3 (for Dan Gao Tre) and D3-A3 (Dan Co Chi, a version of Dan Nhi with a smaller cylindrical sound box). Please note that for other scales such as C Major Pentatonic, the equivalent is C4-G4 for Dan Gao and D4-A4 for Dan Nhi.
Similarly, Erhu, the Chinese cousin of Dan Nhi is normally tuned in D4-A4.
For modern western musicians, it is recommended to tune the 2 strings of Dan Nhi to G3-D4 (the two lowest strings of a violin, to cover most of the modern songs with the lowest note at G3) or D4-A4 (the two middle strings of a violin, to cover all the modern songs that can be played on a guitar but need to transpose the songs up 1 octave to have the lowest note at D4) or A4-E5 (the two highest strings of a violin). This way, a competent violinist does not have to re-learn any new fingering position and can focus on perfecting the new techniques unique to Dan Nhi (for example string pressure). Depending on the range selected, you may have to change to the appropriate string thickness.
That's said, since Dan Nhi has only 2 strings, tune it to any 5th interval when you are experienced enough to explore new possibilities of this wonderful instrument. Remember that you are likely among the pioneers using Dan Nhi in modern music as even thought Dan Nhi very popular in traditional music, it is not that well-known in popular music. So once you are comfortable with the instrument, be brave, tune it the way you like it and show us what you can do with this simple yet marvelous instrument.
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