Themangtong (Chinese:芒筒;pinyin:mángtǒng) is a Chinese end-blownfree reed wind instrument. It is used primarily by theMiao andDong ethnic groups of the southern Chinese provinces ofGuizhou andGuangxi, although it is sometimes used in contemporary Chinese compositions for thetraditional instrument orchestra.
The instrument consists of abamboo-free reed pipe without finger holes, which is fitted with a metal free reed; the instrument's playing pipe is placed inside a bamboo resonator of larger diameter. Themangtong is made in several different sizes, with the largest up to two meters in length. As themangtong produces only a single pitch, severalmangtong are normally played together inhocket.Mangtong are often played together with an ensemble of free reed mouth organs calledlusheng, serving as thebass instruments of that ensemble.
A modernized version of themangtong, calledgǎigé mángtǒng (Chinese:改革芒筒;lit. 'reformedmangtong'), was developed in the 20th century.[1]
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