THE MUSIC OF  SOUTHEAST ASIA:                                                                                                                                                                                                   www.musicofasia.info

                                                           >Home: Map<        Instruments             Videos             Articles             Links              Biography         Contact          Disclaimer                                      

 
Preface
Articles
>Instruments<
Musicians
Books + CDs
Links
_______________________


 
Instruments
The mouthorgan Sompoton
The  "Sompoton" from Borneo belongs to the "Dusun" and
"Kadazan" poeple in Sabah.  It is used for private amusement
or played in ensembles during ceremonies and celebrations.

This mouthorgan is made of eight bamboo pipes in parallel rows, inserted in the gourd containing the reeds. It has five finger holes, one on the back, one in front and three on the right tube.

Players use different positions to perform:

Normally, the left hand uses index finger and thumb for the playing holes while the right hand closes or opens the top of the pipes without fingerholes on the right.  This is most common to do it in a vertical position, but players sometimes use a horzintal position or even turn the instrument upside down, in order to close the longest pipe on the thigh if bigger or longer instruments are used.

o Video (Youtube)



<- back to the list of instruments