Prices of Myanma traditional musical instrument drums vary on specification, design

The prices of Myanma traditional musical instruments vary depending on the design and specification, said Ko Hein Htet, a traditional drum maker in Mandalay.
“The prices of drums used in Myanmar traditional orchestra move in the range of K600,000 to K1 million depending on the specification. The drums are exported to Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei. As Myanmar musicians working abroad offer to buy them, we sent them to foreign markets. The drums used in the traditional orchestra are different from other purposes,” he elaborated.
Myanmar’s traditional orchestra (Saing Waing) is composed of a circle of 21 drums.
“The makers also offer personalized items. It takes about two months to purchase an order. The makers usually search gum-kino timber for raw materials. Gum-kino timber is worth K3 million to K4.5 million per tonne. As the price of raw materials is exorbitantly high, the markers hunt them in the forest instead. The drums made of gum-kino timber is of high quality rather than those made of Albizia lebbek,” he explained.
Furthermore, the price of the leather used in drums depends on China’s market. The leather is purchased from a butchery. If Chinese traders buy the leather, the price will rise. At present, the price of leather is pretty low due to lack of Chinese demand,” he added.— Lu Lay/GNLM