Dongbra can play solo, and is also the accompaniment instrument when Akon plays and sings. This form of playing and singing has been handed down to this day.

When playing, sit in a seated position, place the piano case on the right leg, place the piano body obliquely in the arms, with the piano bar inclined to the upper left, hold the piano with the left hand to press the strings, and pluck the strings with the right hand on the upper part of the panel.

When pressing the strings with the left hand, the index finger and thumb are mostly used, followed by the middle finger and ring finger, and the little finger is rarely used. The right hand mainly uses the middle finger and thumb to pluck the strings or pick the pick, and the other three fingers are used sparingly. Fourth or fifth tuning: d, g or c, g. Sound range c-d2 or d-d2, two octaves.

The sound is bright and soft. The left-hand skills include pressing, sliding, overtones and chords, and the right-hand skills include playing, picking, sweeping, whisking, legato, pizzicato and rounding. Generally, the melody is played on the outer strings, and the chords are used as a foil for the inner strings.