The kong ring or gung treng (Khmer: គង់រេង) is a Cambodian tube zither, in which a tube of bamboo is used as a resonator for stings that run along the outside of the tube, lengthwise.[1][2] It has the same musical purpose as the "bossed gongs" (circular gongs that have a rounded bump in the center, like a shield boss) and may substitute for them and accompany singing.[3] Although it is a traditional instrument with a long history, it has been improved on in modern times. The kong ring is represented by similar instruments in other countries of South Asia and the Pacific.
Styles
There are two different syles; the traditional uses bamboo to make the sounding strings, and a more modern style uses new materials.[4]
Traditional
Originally, the strings played were created by cutting the outer layer or crust of the bamboo, to separate 7 strings (leaving them attached to the tube at each end), and placing a bridge pressed underneath at each end.[4][2] Resonance holes were cut under the strings, long and narrow.[2]
New materials
Instead of creating strings from bamboo, metal strings can also be used, attached with pegs.[2][5] A resonator gourd may also be added; this may be less a resonator than a way to stabilize the instrument as it is held against the chest.[3]
Asian and Pacific variants
Variants of the Kong ring can be found Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Madagascar and the Philippines.
Madagascar valiha player with his instrument. This instrument has features found on both the old and new kong ring. Like the new, it uses metal strings. Like the old it uses bridges to tighten the strings, rather than pegs. Like the dinh goong it has the ends of the strings secured inside the bamboo tube.
In Vietnam, a variant exists today, the Đàn goong, that looks like the modern Cambodian instrument, with as many as 17 metal strings and pegs.[6][7] With instruments made with steel strings the Vietnamese instruments have one end secured inside the bamboo tube, the other wrapped around a peg on the opposite end, to add string tension and to lift the stings off the bamboo tube.[7]
In Thailand, it can be found among the Karenni Kayan people, where it may have as many as 8 bamboo strings cut from the resonator.[8] Among the Kareni, it is used for love songs, providing a "delicate rhythmic accompanyment."[8]
Variants in Malaysia, Madagascar and the Philippines resemble the older style of kong ring, with strings cut from the bamboo tube and bridges placed under the strips of bamboo turned into strings.[9] Placement of the bridges, and the ability to move them, allows for the Valiha to be tuned to different scales.[7]
In Madagascar the instrument is called valiha. In East Timor it is the "lakado."[10] In Malaysia it is called karaniing and krem. It is used widely in the Philippines and goes by multiple names including kolitong and kulibit.[9]
Similar tube zithers are believed by some to be the origin of the Chinese Guzheng[11]
^ abcdKhean, Yun; Dorivan, Keo; Lina, Y; Lenna, Mao. Traditional Musical Instruments of Cambodia(PDF). Kingdom of Cambodia: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. p. 59.
^ ab"Tube Zither From the Philippines". Museum of Arts And SciencesMuseum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Ultimo NSW 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2018. Made in Mindanao, Philippines...This tube zither is representative of music making and instrument making in the Philippines, in Southeast Asia...widespread throughout the Philippines and is known by many names..strings of the tube zither are made from bamboo and are cut from the tube of the instrument and remain attached to it at each end. Image of a tube zither from Mindanao, Philippines((cite web)): External link in |quote= (help)
^Kaufmann, Walter (1976) Musical References in the Chinese Classics. Detroit Monographs in Musicology. Harmonie Park Press. p. 101. "According to the Shuo Wen the cheng was a bamboo-tube zither. […] The bamboo tube eventually was replaced by a larger curved wooden board and while in one or two zither types fixed or movable bridges were used, the noble ch'in remained an unfretted instrument. Despite the fact that the cheng is not mentioned in the Classics, it is mentioned here because of its old age. The movable bridges which allowed variable tunings linked the cheng securely with popular music. It still exists side by side with the distinguished ch'in and se. Since the fourth or third centuries B.C. there existed another form of the se, a zither with five (to thirteen) strings, called chu (M 1375). The instrument is not mentioned in the Classics."
External links
Kong ring tube zither being played at Mondolkiri Memorial at Bou Sra Waterfall Waterfall in Cambodia
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