The origin of "Rach Gia String Instruments"
Initially, the Vọng Cổ song was accompanied by the two-stringed đàn kìm, a traditional Vietnamese folk instrument. Later, around 1930-1935 in the provincial capital of Rạch Giá, now Rạch Giá ward, An Giang province, a teacher named Tiên (Teacher Tiên) used the mandolin, a type of instrument imported from Italy with four double steel strings, to play Vietnamese music, specifically the Vọng Cổ song in 16-beat rhythm.
Many amateur artists in the provincial capital of Rach Gia enthusiastically responded, forming groups to perform the 16-beat Vong Co song, which was later increased to 32 beats and became popular throughout the southern provinces and cities.
A performance at the 2023 Kien Giang Provincial Traditional Music and Singing Competition. Photo: DOAN THE HANH
"Rach Gia string instrument" refers to a type of tuning on the mandolin: E (string 1), A (string 2), D (string 3), G (string 4) for playing Vong Co songs. However, the mandolin has flat frets, and the musical notation wasn't very good when played. Gradually, the artisans innovated and improved, perfecting the tuning step by step.
From the "Rach Gia String" with its 16-beat and then 32-beat rhythms, artisans in Saigon, Long An, Sa Dec, Bac Lieu , and other provinces in the Mekong Delta created many different tuning styles on the Guitar-Mando (Octavina) to play the Vong Co song better, gradually perfecting the Vong Co style, such as: "Bac Lieu String", "Long An String", "Saigon String", "Ngan Giang String", "Xe String", "hybrid String"... or directly naming the person who adapted the tuning style such as: "Van Vi String", "Van Gioi String", "Hoang Thanh String", "My Chau String"...
"Rach Gia strings" originated from artisans in Rach Gia, who were the first to perform 16-beat Vong Co songs on the mandolin, and later on the guitar-mando. This confirms that without "Rach Gia strings," there would not have been the creative tuning techniques used for nearly 100 years, the most common of which today is the "hybrid stringing."
"Hybrid strings" are used to play 32-beat Vọng Cổ melodies and all Tài Tử and Cải Lương songs that have reached their artistic peak today. The unique thing about "hybrid strings" is that they can still play 16-beat Vọng Cổ melodies on a concave-fretted guitar.
Throughout the history of the formation and development of the current concave-fretted guitar, the "Rach Gia Strings" have made a significant contribution. According to Meritorious Artist Huynh Khai, former Head of the Department of Traditional Music at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music, the "lo" sound of the "cong" strings is very convenient when playing the three-stringed "ho" melody that My Chau sings now. Currently, every musician uses the scale of the "Rach Gia Strings".
Discussing the contributions of the "Rach Gia String" which was created nearly 100 years ago, Meritorious Artist Huynh Khai said: "Thanks to the 'Rach Gia String,' we only need to lower the first string by one semitone to get the 'hybrid string.' In the process of forming various string types, there is the 'Four-Month String.' If we know the 'hybrid string,' then we only need to raise the fourth string by one semitone to get the 'Four-Month String.' Thus, combining the 'Four-Month String' with the 'Rach Gia String' results in the 'hybrid string'..."
Conservation policies are urgently needed.
Currently, the number of musicians playing the 16-beat mandolin style is dwindling, and most of them do not play according to the musical notation of the Rach Gia people of the past. Unfortunately, there is currently no document that accurately states the origin of the "Rach Gia Stringed Instrument" and the year it was created. The information in this article, as mentioned above, is the result of musicians collecting and researching from the people, enthusiasts, and elderly artisans in Southern Vietnam. Through research, musicians and artisans all indicate that the musical notation of the "Rach Gia Stringed Instrument" no longer exists.
Many researchers, traditional music artists, especially amateur and cải lương (Vietnamese traditional opera) performers in the region and province, wish to research and search for the "Rach Gia String Instrument" in folklore to preserve and conserve it. Meritorious Artist Huynh Khai believes that organizing research, collection, and preservation of the "Rach Gia String Instrument" would be invaluable.
However, currently, the scales of "Rach Gia Strings," the playing styles, and the sounds of "Rach Gia Strings" are still being used by many musicians, such as Meritorious Artist Van Gioi, who, when playing the three-stringed folk song that My Chau often sings, still uses "Rach Gia Strings" because of the "hard" sound.
Next is musician Văn Dần, although he uses a "hybrid string" style, the pitch and scale still follow the "Rạch Giá String" style. Or musician Khải Hoàn; if you are interested in the musical notation, you will also notice that the scales, modes, and melodies played on the strings using the hybrid style still have the same sound as the "Rạch Giá String" style.
Playwright Nguyen Thien Can - former Chairman of the Kien Giang Literature and Arts Association - shared: "It's not just about collecting and researching, but the important thing is that the research results need to be used to teach and widely disseminate them among the people. If we delay, it will be very difficult because the artisans who understand 'Rach Gia String Instruments' are elderly, and many have passed away."
As someone who has taught traditional Vietnamese folk music and cải lương (reformed opera) to many generations, Meritorious Artist Nguyễn Hoàng Vũ - Chairman of the former Kiên Giang Provincial Traditional Music Club - expressed his concern: “Research and collection at a time when the ‘Rạch Giá string instrument’ is facing the risk of disappearing is very necessary. In my opinion, there are still many artisans among the people who occasionally play the ‘Rạch Giá string instrument’ or perform it at parties. When searching for and collecting the most authentic players, experts will restructure the instrument to standardize the scales and modes, serving the work of preservation and conservation, treating it as an intangible cultural heritage.”
Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/doc-dao-day-don-rach-gia--a426106.html
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