Ty ba (traditional mandolin) is a Vietnamese stringed musical instrument. According to several studies, the ty ba made its first appearance in China and then in many other Asian countries.

According to research by Professor Dr To Ngoc Thanh, the ty ba, which originated in Egypt and was later brought to China by a merchant on a trading mission, was offered to a Tang Emperor (seventh century). To mark this event, the Emperor named the musical piece after the merchant, whose name was 'Pypa.'

The ty ba came to Vietnam a long time ago and it has been transformed into a Vietnamese instrument. It can profoundly and delicately express the Vietnamese soul and sentiment in its own style.

Since the Ly Dynasty (1010-1225), the ty ba has been included in the musical bands, with eight instruments, namely the huan (earthen flute), the phach (two wooden pieces for percussion tied to each other by means of a string), the ho cam (two-string zither), the sao (bamboo flute), the ty ba (traditional mandolin), the khien (pan-pipes), the xap xoa (cymbals) and the ong tieu (flute).

At Phat Tich Pagoda in Bac Ninh Province, you can find stone pedestals formerly used to support the pillars, whose four sides were engraved in bas-reliefs of the figures of musical bands of the phach, nhi (two-stringed zither), sao, tranh (16-stringed zither), ty ba, tieu, nguyet (moon-shaped lute), and trong (drum). So for a thousand years now, there have existed musical bands, with delicate instruments, including the ty ba.

The ty ba is an instrument in the shape of half a pear. Its neck and sound box are made from the same piece of hollowed hard wood, with its sound board also of raw wootung wood, on which a bridge is set for the strings. Its curved head is engraved with the figures of bats, with four pegs for the strings. The total length of the instrument is 100 cm. Its neck is fixed with four curved bits known as "tu thien vuong". Its sound board is set with 10 bamboo frets under a system of seven equal pitches. The four strings that formerly used to be of waxed woven silk are now of nylon. When playing the ty ba, the musician picks on the strings with a plectrum or thimble of turtle shell or plastic. The instrument produces a pure and clear sound. Each pitch of the sonic scale can be made sweeter and gentler thanks to the ties. In Vietnam, the ty ba has long been included in the royal musical troupes at the court, the zen musical groups of Buddhism and the amateur musical groups in the south. Today, its presence is a "must" in the traditional musical orchestras for group or solo performances. Contemporary ty ba artists, such as Mai Phuong, Mai Hue, Kim Hanh, Tuyet Mai, Bich Kim, Nam Ha and Hoai Thu, through their performance, have a great contribution to propagating and confirming with the world the difference between the Vietnamese ty ba and that of other countries.