Đàn tam

A đàn tam shown here in the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi.

The đàn tam (chữ Nôm: 彈三) is a three-stringed ("tam" means "three") fretless plucked Vietnamese musical instrument. It has a long fingerboard, and the body is traditionally partially covered by a snake skin stretched over a rounded rectangular resonator. It is similar to the Chinese sanxian. It is used in tuồng theatre as well as nhã nhạc.[1]

References

1. Leiter, Samuel L. (2007). Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre: Vol. 1, A-N, p.448. ISBN 9780313335297. "In tuong, the orchestra leads the action, using several drum types (trong cau, trong com, and trong chien), clackers, slit drum, two-string violin (don co), three-string lute (dam tam), flutes, reed instruments (cay ken), gong, and cymbals (chap ..."