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The music of Myanmar is a mixture of many regional varieties, including Chinese music, Indian music and Thai music.
Traditional music from Myanmar melodious, and generally without harmony, an is usually in 4/4 time (nayee se) or 2/4 (walet se) or 8/16 (walet amyan).
Musical instruments
Musical instruments include the brass se (which is like a triangle), hne (a kind of oboe) and bamboo wa, as well as the well-known saung, a kind of harp. Instruments are classified into five groups:
These instruments are played in a musical scale consisting of seven tones, each associated with an animal that is said to be the producer of the tone. Each tone can be played raised, lowered or natural (corresponding to sharp, flat or neutral), resulting a possible twenty-one combinations. The Pat Waing drum circle, for example, consists of twenty-one drums, one tuned to each tone in each possible combination.
- The Usabha tone, produced by the bull
- The Phevata tone, produced by the horse
- The Chajja tone, produced by the peacock
- The Gandhara tone, produced by the goat
- The Majjhima tone, produced by the crane
- The Panzama tone, produced by the cuckoo
- The Nisada tone, produced by the elephant
The Myanmar harp is of special significance. It dates back to the 9th century, though it has changed quite a bit since then, expanding, for example, from three strings to sixteen. During the Konbaung period (1752-1885), courtly musicians included Ma Mya Galay, a queen, Myawaddy Mingyi U Sa, a minister, and Nat Shin Naung, King of Taungoo.
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