Tools for IThnika: vargan

In the last article I told about the flute, bagpipes and tambourine. Today I want to answer the question "What about the vargan?".

It’s boring to tell about the vargans we are used to. I can only say that the Altai komus is closer to me from ordinary vargans:


It is most pleasant both to the touch, and at game. For sensitive teeth this is the best option.
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Double Vietnamese vargan (dan mine)

It is also interesting because it was made not by bending a metal thick wire, but it was turned from a piece of metal (usually brass):


A little heavy in terms of both weight and absorption. Quickly changing the vargans during the game is complicated, so I advise him only to those who have been playing the harps for a long time.

It sounds like this: files.ethnicmusicstore.com/samples/danmoi/danmoimassivedouble.mp3

Triple Chinese Vargan (Kou Xiang)

Very unusual thing even for my collection. The sound is almost electronic. The number of petals is usually from 3 to 5:


It sounds good even if you just hold it in your fingers. Very dynamic and positive tool.

Sound example: www.ethnomusic.panfiloff.com/media/4ersetmessing.mp3

Bamboo vargan (geng gong)

This is a variant of the Indonesian vargan. Large enough (about 25 cm) and with a characteristic "wooden" sound:


It must be said, it is pleasant to hold it both in the hands and in the teeth, unlike the metal ones.

Sound: drymba.org.ua/podpress_trac/web/93/0/geng-gong.mp3

There are a lot of kinds of vargan, actually. There are, for example, Vargans with a double or triple tongue. At a time when the vargans were not yet so common, my friend made himself a vargan monster. Huge (about 20 cm) with a deep low sound. On such a good it was to play along with metal teams.