Burmese Musical Instrument : Pattla Or Myanmar Piano
I have a Mexican friend who plays the guitar and piano very well. Whenever we had an appointment to talk about business, I noticed that he would arrive early in the hotel lobby and play the piano. One day, he said to me, “I am interested in playing the Myanmar musical instrument Pattla. I would like to have as much as you can during your working days while you are still in Yangon. If it is convenient, please introduce me to a Pattla teacher.”
While talking, he got up to the place where the betel leaves were, and placed two sticks wrapped in cloth on top of the betel leaves and followed the rhythm of doremifah. “I’ll investigate and get back to you. Thank you for your interest in our Myanmar instruments.” I just had to say that I searched the internet, wondering if I had as much knowledge about patala as he did. I had to look at the Burmese encyclopedia. Our behavior is less inquisitive, so sometimes I feel that I am not enough to know about Myanmar from foreigners. The information about Patala written in the Burmese encyclopedia is quite extensive and complete. I also understand the basics. I wrote down some of the interesting things that you should know and remember so that you can tell others about it.
Battala From Pattala
It is said that the combination of Sanskrit and Mon language came from the word “battala” which means “box-shaped drum instrument” and became “pattala” in Burmese.
I have a Mexican friend who plays the guitar and piano very well. Whenever we had an appointment to talk about business, I noticed that he would arrive early in the hotel lobby and play the piano. One day, he said to me, “I am interested in playing the Myanmar musical instrument Pattla. I would like to have as much as you can during your working days while you are still in Yangon. If it is convenient, please introduce me to a Pattla teacher.”
While talking, he got up to the place where the betel leaves were, and placed two sticks wrapped in cloth on top of the betel leaves and followed the rhythm of doremifah. “I’ll investigate and get back to you. Thank you for your interest in our Myanmar instruments.”
I just had to say that I searched the internet, wondering if I had as much knowledge about patala as he did. I had to look at the Burmese encyclopedia.
Our behavior is less inquisitive, so sometimes I feel that I am not enough to know about Myanmar from foreigners. The information about Patala written in the Burmese encyclopedia is quite extensive and complete. I also understand the basics. I wrote down some of the interesting things that you should know and remember so that you can tell others about it.
Pattala house
The bamboo house is made according to the shape and proportion of the house according to the position of the house. Some of them work by painting the wooden frame with varnish. Some of them are gold plated. The best wood to make a house is teak wood, it is more sound and lighter.
The depth of the pattala house is six and a half inches. It shall not be shallower than seven inches. So you can growl with a good sound.
The top of the house follows the position of the leaves, and if the left tip is ten and a half inches wide, the right tip is seven and a half inches wide. If the root and tip are together, the sound of the fingers will often be nested.
The tips of pattala leaves are washed with wood and then painted with mercury. Navy red paint is hard to dry. It is easy to dry after mixing mercury with varnish. If you brush the leaves with oil, the color is beautiful, but it often needs to be sprayed. If you rub the silk with just enough oil residue, it won’t take long to get a beautiful color.
