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In
Vietnamese music, there is, however a concept of “happy”
and “sad” tunings or scales which is found in
major-minor concept in the West. For the instruments, there
are several tunings and scales. There is no fixed basic pitch
to which the instruments are tuned. The pitch of the HÒ
fundamental tone of the scale can take any pitch. If the HÒ
takes the pitch of the DO (C), the Vietnamese pentatonic basic
scale will be as follows:
HÒ
XU XANG XE
CÔ'NG
L U
S
X C
Do
re fa sol
la
C D
F G
A
1
tone 1 ½ tone 1 tone
In
these five notes, the fixed notes are:
HO
XANG XE
L S
X
Do
fa sol
C F
G
XU(U) (ré) (D) and CONG (C) are auxiliary
notes – literally “changing tones”
These two notes are to be regulated by the
requirements of the Mode, specific composition and play.
The XU (U) (ré) (D) can be raised
to the pitch of the Mi (E) and the CONG (C) to that of the
Si (B).
It should be noted that the pitch of the
XU (U#) (y) and CÔNG (C#) (oan) is slightly lower –
about 1 coma – than that of the Mi (E) and the Si (B).
The pitch of the XU (U) (y) varies between
the Re # (D sharp) and Mi (E) while CÔNG (C#) (oan)
varies between the Sib (B flat) and the Si (B)...
IV.
THE SCALES
There
are several scales depending on the specific composition,
genre, and tradition.
BAC MODE SCALE - Scale used for playing happy melodies.
HÒ XU XANG
XÊ CONG
L U
S
X C
Do
re fa sol la
C D F
G A
This scale has the same aspect as the black keys Do ré
fa sol la (C D F G A) on a piano keyboard but different in
pitches.
