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EntityQ339306· pop 15· linked from 61 articles

Also known as saung-gauk, Burmese harp, Burma harp, Myanmar harp

The saung (Burmese: စောင်း, MLCTS caung; also known as the saung-gauk (စောင်းကောက်): , Burmese harp, Burma harp, or Myanmar harp), is an arched harp used in traditional Burmese music. The saung is regarded as a national musical instrument of Burma. The saung is unique in that it is a very ancient harp tradition and is said to be the only surviving harp in Asia.

Key facts

Instrument.name
Saung
Instrument.image
Saung-Gauk.jpg
Instrument.caption
Saùng-Gauk, 19th century
Instrument.background
string
Instrument.classification
String instrument (plucked)
Instrument.hornbostel_sachs
322 322.1 Open harps – The harp has no pillar. 322.11 Arched harps.
Instrument.hornbostel_sachs_desc
The plane of the strings lies perpendicular to the resonator's surface, the neck curves away from the resonator.

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Country of origin
Myanmar
Image
A little lunchtime music (10845286724).jpg
Show 2 more facts
Hornbostel-Sachs classification
322.11
Commons category
Saung
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~11 min read

Encyclopedic overview

11 sections
Contents
  • Etymology and terminology
  • Description
  • History
  • Music and musicians
  • In film
  • See also
  • Notes
  • References
  • External links
  • Audio
  • General

The saung (Burmese: စောင်း, MLCTS caung; also known as the saung-gauk (စောင်းကောက်): , Burmese harp, Burma harp, or Myanmar harp), is an arched harp used in traditional Burmese music. The saung is regarded as a national musical instrument of Burma. The saung is unique in that it is a very ancient harp tradition and is said to be the only surviving harp in Asia.

== Etymology and terminology == Saung (စောင်း) is the Burmese word for "harp," and is etymologically derived from the Persian word chang, which is the Persian arched harp. The Burmese arched harp is more precisely called saung gauk (, ; ), while another indigenous lyre is called byat saung () or saungbya (; ).

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “saung” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.