Music & Culture
སྒྲ་སྙན།
Dramnyen Notation
A web-based notation editor for composing traditional Tibetan music with authentic dramnyen (Tibetan lute) sounds.
Try Dramnyen Notation
The Instrument
The Dramnyen (སྒྲ་སྙན།།) is a traditional Tibetan lute
with a long neck and six or seven strings, commonly used in
Tibetan folk music and religious ceremonies.
About
Dramnyen Notation is a simple, beautiful notation editor that bridges traditional Tibetan music with modern technology. The platform lets anyone compose melodies using the traditional Tibetan scale, hear authentic dramnyen sounds in real-time, and share their compositions with others.
The app features authentic audio samples recorded from a real dramnyen instrument, processed through a 7-stage audio effects chain to capture the instrument's characteristic warm, nasal tone with natural room ambience.
Animal-Sound Notation
Traditional Tibetan scale with animal associations
The Tibetan musical scale uniquely associates each note with an animal sound, creating a beautiful connection between music and nature.
| Note | Tibetan | Romanized | Animal Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | དུག་སྐྱེ | Drug-kye | Peacock cry |
| 2 | འབྲང་སོང | Drang-song | Bull lowing |
| 3 | ས་ཟིན | Sa-zin | Goat bleating |
| 4 | བར་མ | Bhar-ma | Heron call |
| 5 | ང་དེན | Nga-dhen | Cuckoo call ↓ |
| 6 | ལོས་སེལ | Los-sel | Horse neighing |
| 7 | ཁོར་ཉེན | Khor-nyen | Elephant trumpeting |
Tibetan Musical Genres
From 17th century court music to folk traditions
Classical (17th Century)
Nangma
Elegant leisurely music from the 5th Dalai Lama era. Four six-syllable verses with refined courtly style.
Gharlu
Prestigious formal court music. 74 traditional compositions performed for aristocrats and nobility.
Traditional
Toeshey ⭐
Energetic circle-dance music from Western Tibet. 133 BPM is the authentic tempo confirmed from traditional recordings.
Folk (Regional)
Herding Songs
Pastoral contemplative songs of shepherds
Farming Songs
Work rhythms of agricultural communities
Celebration
Fast joyful music for festivals
Devotional
Slow reverent songs for prayer
Re-entrant Tuning
La-Re-Sol (D3-G3-C3) authentic tuning
The app uses authentic dramnyen re-entrant tuning, where Note 5 (Sol) drops lower in pitch instead of continuing upward—a characteristic feature of the traditional instrument.
Key Feature:
Note 5 (Sol) drops lower in pitch instead of continuing upward—this is the authentic re-entrant tuning characteristic of the dramnyen!
Technical Stack
Astro 5.15
SSR framework
React 19
UI components
Tone.js 15
Audio synthesis & playback
Tailwind CSS 4
Styling
Audio Processing Chain
7-stage effects chain for authentic dramnyen sound: High-pass filter → 3-band EQ → Brightness EQ → Nasal EQ → Chorus → Reverb → Output
Credits
Created by
Thupten Chakrishar
Tibetan Cultural Technologist
Sound Samples by
Tenzin Norbu "Tenor"
Former Artist, Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA)
Start Composing
Experience the beauty of traditional Tibetan music. Compose your own melodies with authentic dramnyen sounds.