Chapei dang veng

[1][2] The top and bottom strings are typically tuned to G and C respectively, with the 12 frets having notes 1 D, 2 E, 3 F, 4 G, 5 A, 6 B, 7 C, 8 D, 9 E, 10 F, 11 G, 12 A. Chapei Dang Veng also encapsulates in a broader scale a musical tradition closely associated with the life, customs and beliefs of the Cambodian people.

Song lyrics range from the educational and a type of social commentary, to satire while incorporating traditional poems, folk tales or Buddhist stories.

Apart from musical talent, skills required to be a chapei player include wit, the ability to improvise and be a good storyteller.

Transmitted orally within families and informal master-apprentice relationships, today the art form is practised by few performers and even fewer masters exist.

The Khmer Rouge regime severely affected the bearer population and disrupted transmission of the practice with long-term implications as communities now face the prospect of a tradition that could potentially disappear.