A traditional Himalayan folk musical instrument, sgra-snyan
The dramyin or dranyen (Tibetan: སྒྲ་སྙན་, Wylie: sgra-snyan; Dzongkha: dramnyen; Chinese: 扎木聂; pinyin: zhamunie) is a traditional Himalayan folk music lute with six strings, used primarily as an accompaniment to singing in the Drukpa Buddhist culture and society in Bhutan, as well as in Tibet, Ladakh, Sikkim and Himalayan West Bengal. It is often used in religious festivals of Tibetan Buddhism (cf. tshechu). The instrument is played by strumming, fingerpicking or (most commonly) plucking. The dramyen, chiwang (fiddle), and lingm (flute) comprise the basic instrumental inventory for traditional Bhutanese folk music.
The dranyen is a long-necked, double-waisted and fretless lute. It is usually hollowed out of a single piece of wood and can vary in size from 60 cm to 120 cm in length. Unlike a contemporary guitar, the dranyen does not have a round sound hole in the wooden sounding board, but rather rosette-shaped ones like a lute.
For 6 string dranyen all six strings continue to the pegbox. They run in 3 double courses. This is a common Tibetan style. 7 string dranyen are a common Bhutanese style. Of this styles's seven strings, or thag, only six continue to the pegbox. 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. Strings were originally made from animal gut, but are presently made from synthetic material like nylon (similar to the progression in usage of guts in racquet sports). The seven strings occur in two double courses, and one triple course. These become three double courses by the time they reach the pegbox.
Traditional dranyens are equipped with a single bridge. Resonance is achieved with a taught, thick animal skin. Certain older forms of the dranyen possessed sympathetic strings and under-strings to produce more resonance.
Some dranyens come with a plectrum attached to the base for plucking. Plectrums were traditionally made of bone, but are now made of plastic or wood.
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 type of sea monster. Tassels may be hung from the horns of the chusing to give the instrument a more frightening look.
#sgra-snyan#Bhutanese instruments#Traditional instruments#Music creation#Songdio AI
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