Kong ring explained

Kong ring គង់រេង
Image Capt:	Musician sings and plucks the strings of his kong ring គង់រេង (tube zither), in Mondulkiri Province, Cambodia.
Background:	string
Classification:	String instrument Plucked string instrument
Hornbostel Sachs:	312.11 312.122
Hornbostel Sachs Desc:	Idiochord tube zithers Heterochord tube zithers with extra resonator.
Related:	Đàn goong, Vietnam

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.

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]

External links

• Video showing kong ring being played.
• Sound clip of Vietnamese dinh goong playing.
• Kayaw tube zither being played with singing, lament over lost love.
• Page has photo of bowed version of a tube zither.

Notes and References

1. Web site: អីយ៉ា!!! ប្លែកអារម្មណ៍ទៀតហើយ! តោះមកមើលឧបករណ៍ភ្លេងនិងបទចម្រៀងរបស់ជនជាតិព្នងវិញម្ដងមើល!!, [Wow !!! Feeling strange! Let's see the Bunnai Music Instruments and Songs!]]. ឆានុន [Chan |access-date=21 October 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181017011556/http://maorm.com/pagedetailfull.php?article=239 |archive-date= 17 October 2018|quote=Article from a blog by ឆានុន. <br>[https://web.archive.org/web/20181021232148/http://maorm.com/img/5737886E-1A9E-4D18-892D-6B3A97E532C5.png Image showing modern Kong ring.].
2. Book: Khean. Yun . Dorivan. Keo. Lina . Y. Lenna. Mao. Traditional Musical Instruments of Cambodia. Kingdom of Cambodia. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 59 .
3. Web site: MusiKoleksyon, Notes and instruments from a private collection. [not stated] . Earle. 19 August 2011. 17 October 2018.
   Picture of Kong ring..
4. Web site: [History of kong ring]]. 6 July 2010. 19 October 2018. Text for this source and its images originate from Koh Santepheap Daily, June 21, 2010. The article describes two types of Kong Ring, one made completely of bamboo (including the strings) the other with artificial strings wrapped around chopsticks that were inserted into the tube as pegs.
   Image of Kong ring with strings cut from the bamboo resonator.
   Image of the Kong ring as a bowed instrument..
5. Web site: អីយ៉ា!!! ប្លែកអារម្មណ៍ទៀតហើយ! តោះមកមើលឧបករណ៍ភ្លេងនិងបទចម្រៀងរបស់ជនជាតិព្នងវិញម្ដងមើល!! [Wow !!! Feeling strange! Let's see the Bunnai Music Instruments and Songs!]]. . maorm.com . 17 October 2018 . [images 4-6 are pictures of the Gung treng.].
6. Web site: The instruments The tube zither Dinh Goong. . 19 October 2018. ...tube zither Dinh Goong is an instrument of the GioRai people from the western central mountains of Vietnam...
   Picture of Dinh Goong .
7. Web site: Chorophone . . 13 August 2008. phase.com. 19 October 2018. The Dinh Goong is a tube zither from Vietnam belonging to the GioRai minority. The basic bamboo is bound to a resonating gourd and can fix up to 17 strings.
   Image: shows how the strings are held inside the Dinh Goong without pegs .
8. Web site: Golden Triangle and Bronze drums, Musical instruments of the Golden Triangle, Kayaw tube zither, Karen Kayaw . . 8 May 2010 . 21 October 2018.
   Image of a Kareni Kayaw tube zither..
9. Web site: Tube Zither From the Philippines . . Museum of Arts And SciencesMuseum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Ultimo NSW 2007 . 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.
10. Web site: Vandaluna Media, THE WORLD THROUGH MUSIC AND CULTURE, ET5 . Bakkalapulo . Maria . mariabakkalapulo.com. 2 January 2013 . 21 October 2018. Image showing a Lakido tube zither, with sound hole in back.
11. [Walter Kaufmann (composer)|Kaufmann, Walter]