Y Krang Tor - the person who "breathes life" into M'nong musical instruments

Y Krang Tor was born in 1972, the second child in a family of three brothers. His father was a talented craftsman, good at making musical instruments, tuning gongs and knowledgeable about M'nong folk songs. But of the three children, only Y Krang inherited the intense love for traditional music . Ever since he was a little boy, he was fascinated by following his father into the forest, listening to the echoing sound of gongs, attentively observing each meticulous step as his father made flutes, instruments, etc.

At the age of 20, Y Krang made his first flutes and instruments. He did not stop there, he diligently studied, researched and created dozens of musical instruments such as: phung puot (ding nam), flute bau, harp, flute tube, bamboo lute, Tlak Tlo... Each musical instrument is a "work" that requires sophistication in every detail, especially the tuning stage, which is considered the most complicated and difficult stage.

Artisan Y Krang Tor blows and burns a clay pot he made himself.

The main materials for making musical instruments are wood, bamboo, reed, and rattan... which must be carefully selected, of the right age, free of worms, and free of cracks. To find reeds of the right age, he must travel more than 10 km, and spend half a day in the forest. Therefore, each year, he only goes to collect materials once to save for making. After being brought back, the bamboo, reed, and rattan must go through a process of drying in the shade for 7 days - soaking in water for 3 days - then drying in the sun for another 3 days to reach the right "ripeness". However, according to Mr. Y Krang, the most difficult step is adjusting the sound for each type of musical instrument, which must go through many trials to achieve the most standard tone.

Among traditional musical instruments, the phung puot is the most difficult to make. This instrument requires a combination of a dried gourd, bamboo, beeswax and a thin bronze reed. If the reed is placed just a millimeter off or the hole is drilled, the sound will be distorted and unusable. Sometimes it takes him a whole week to complete a standard phung puot.

Or like the Tlak Tlo instrument, it looks simple but requires high skills in choosing the right type of wood, drying, drilling holes, and tuning. Each sound emitted must achieve the characteristic resonance, resonance, and high and low tones.

Not only is Y Krang good at crafting, he is also one of the few people in Lak district who can tune gongs - a special skill that requires both musical ability and many years of experience. Thanks to this talent, he has helped many M'nong Gar families restore their "correctly tuned" gong sets to serve important ceremonies.

Preserving the profession is difficult, teaching it is even more difficult. For many years, Mr. Y Krang has been anxiously looking for a successor. There have been classes opened in the village, and young people have come to study, but most of them have dropped out halfway. “Young people today are fond of modern music, few are still interested in traditional musical instruments. Even the children in the family do not want to learn,” he confided.

Artisan Y Krang Tor performs the Tlak Tlo instrument at the local Cultural Festival.

Therefore, every time the commune, district, or province organizes a cultural festival, Y Krang personally brings musical instruments and gongs to perform. In the village, he opens a free gong class for teenagers, patiently instructing each movement and each gong beat correctly. To him, the sound of the great forest is not just a melody, but the cultural soul, the origin of an entire nation.

With over 30 years of dedication to traditional music, artisan Y Krang has crafted over 100 musical instruments of all kinds. His “brainchildren” are not only used in ceremonies and performances, but are also sought after by many people who come to order or borrow them for practice. He only sells each instrument for 100,000 - 200,000 VND, an insignificant amount compared to the effort put in. He is even willing to give them away to those who are truly passionate and love traditional musical instruments.

Mr. Hoang Thanh Be, Chairman of Dak Phoi Commune People's Committee, said that artisan Y Krang Tor is one of the two rare people in the commune who are capable of making traditional musical instruments. His efforts and contributions have made an important contribution to preserving, conserving and promoting the traditional cultural values of the local M'nong ethnic group.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/van-hoa-du-lich-van-hoc-nghe-thuat/202506/y-krang-tor-nguoi-thoi-hon-cho-nhac-cu-mnong-7c8149d/