Southeast Asian Music
Vocal and Instrumental
Music of
THAILAND
LAOS
VIDEO PRESENTATION
✔ is officially the Kingdom of
Thailand
✔ formerly known as Siam
✔ is a country at the center of the
Indochinese peninsula in
Mainland Southeast Asia
✔ is known for being the sole
nation in Southeast Asia that
has never been ruled by a
Western power
✔ is also called “Muang Thai”,
which means “Land of the
Free”.
✔
✔
✔
✔
Borders:
North: Myanmar and Laos
East: Laos and Cambodia
South: Gulf of Thailand and
Malaysia
✔ West: Andaman Sea and
Myanmar (southern extremity)
✔ However, European and
American music have
become extremely
influential as well as the
Asian music. There are two
popular styles of traditional
Thai music.
✔ First is the ‘lukthung’
which is developed in the
mid-20th century whose
music usually tells about
daily trials and tribulations
of rural Thai.
✔ The second one is ‘mor
lam’ which is dominant folk
music that speaks about
the poor conditions in rural
areas.
THREE
ENSEMBLES IN
THAILAND
1. PIPHAT
✔ performs with a hard and
padded mallet on occasions
like funerals, cremation
ceremony and during the
holding of shadow puppetry.
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
khongwong (gong circles)
renat (Thai xylophones)
klong (different kinds of drums)
klui (recorder)
diddley bow (a large singlestringed instrument that
sounds like a bass)
✔ kaen (reed mouth organ)
✔ picnai (oboe-like instrument)
KHONG WONG
Classification:
Membranophone
Definition:
is a circle with gongs
used in the music of Thailand.
It has 16 tuned bossed
gongs in a rattan frame and is
played with two beaters.
The player sits in the
center of the circle.
KLONG
Classification:
Idiophone
Definition:
is a Thai barrel drum. Song
na means "two faces", and the drum
has two heads that are played with
the hands.
It is used primarily in the
piphat ensemble.
RENAT
Classification:
Idiophone
Definition:
(also xylophone") is a Thai
musical instrument in the percussion
family that consists of 21 wooden
bars suspended by cords over a boatshaped trough resonator and struck
by two mallets.
It is used as a leading
instrument in the piphat ensemble.
2. KHRUEANGSAI
✔ combines percussion and wind
instruments for indoor
performances used to
accompany the stick-puppet
theater.
✔ saw duang (a high-pitched twostring bowed lute)
✔ saw u (the lower-pitched bowed
lute)
✔ jakhe (the three-string plucked
zither).
✔ khlui (vertical fipple flute) in
several sizes and ranges
✔ goblet drum (thon-rammana)
✔ a small hammered Chinese
dulcimer
3. MAHORI
✔ traditionally played by court
women which prefer small-sized
instruments combined from
Piphat and Khrueangsai
instruments during special
occasions.
✔ At present, a regular-sized
instrument is used.
Music of Thailand flourished in
spite of occasional oppression
from monarchs.
Piphat is a popular ensemble
which features string, wind, and
percussion instruments as
enumerated:
PI SO
Classification:
Aerophone
Definition:
A single free reed pipe
which will sound by blowing the
top end of the instrument at an
oblique angle to cover the reed.
KRACHAPPI
Classification:
Chordophone
Definition:
A long-necked plucked
lute which has four strings.
JHAKAE
Classification:
Chordophone
Definition:
A string instrument
which is approximately 20 cm
high and 140 cm long.
It has two strings
made of silk and another two
strings made of brass.
CALUNG
Classification:
Idiophone
Definition:
It consists of multiple
bamboo tubes which are
struck at the base to produce
a woody sound.
THON AND RAMMANA
Classification:
Membranophone
Definition:
They are hand drums
played as a pair.
It consists of two
drums: thon goblet drum with
ceramic or wooden body and
ramana, a small rebana-typed
frame drum.
QUESTIONS…
1. Describe how the:
(a) Piphat
(b) khrueang sai
(c) mahori musicians play their instruments.
2. Are their instruments made of wood or
metal?
Southeast Asian Music
Vocal and Instrumental
Music of
LAOS
✔ is officially the Lao People’s
Democratic Republic.
✔ is a landlocked country in the
heart of the Indochinese
peninsula of Mainland
Southeast Asia.
✔ The traditional music of Laos
has similarities with that of
Thailand and Cambodia.
✔ This is also true in the names of
their musical instruments.
✔ During Buddhist Holidays,
performances of Laotian music
can be observed.
✔ The term ‘Lao’ is derived from
‘penglaodeum’ which refers to
the traditional songs that
describe royal court music.
✔ Historical records indicate that
these songs are influenced by
ancient Khmer traditions and
the mountainous ethnic groups.
✔ Laos Classical Music and
Dance is highly influenced by
India, Cambodia, and Thailand.
✔ Laos Music Themes are drawn
from Hindu mythology, the
Buddhist Jatakatales, and local
legends.
✔ Royal Entourage of Lao Kings
traditionally included musicians,
and a typical orchestra
improvised songs with sets of
tuned gongs, xylophones, a
bamboo flute, and other wind
instruments.
LAO ORCHESTRA CATEGORIES
1. Sep Nyai
✔ is similar to the piphat of
Thailand with
instruments that are
strictly percussive but
also integrates the use
of an oboe
LAO ORCHESTRA CATEGORIES
1. Sep Nyai
✔ is ceremonial and
consists of two sets of
gongs (kong vong), a
xylophone (lanat), an
oboe (pei or salai), two
kettle-drums, and
cymbals (xing)
LAO ORCHESTRA CATEGORIES
2. Sep Noi
✔ is also known as the mahori of Thailand
✔ is more relaxed and popular in feel
✔ incorporates the use of several khene
Ensembles of Laos typically include two
singers composed of a male and a female.
It also involves a khene player and other
musical instruments enumerated as follows:
KHENE
Classification:
Aerophone
Definition:
A large mouth
bamboo organ with pipes that
are usually made of bamboo.
The pipes are
connected with a small,
hollowed-out hardwood
reservoir into which air is
blown.
KONG
Classification:
Membranophone
Definition:
It is a drum made from
hardwood and animal’s skin.
It has a frog shape on
the drum head which people
believe that when it is played it
can bring out rain.
PHIN
Classification:
Chordophone
Definition:
It is one of the types
of lute with a pear-shaped
body.
It has two or three
metal strings that are plucked
by a pick held in the right hand
while playing.
RANAT
Classification:
Chordophone
Definition:
A boat-shaped
instrument which consists of
21 wooden bars.
It is played by striking
the instrument using the two
mallets.
KHIM
Classification:
Chordophone
Definition:
It is a hammered
dulcimer or zither.
It has bass strings
which will sound by striking
the strings with bamboo
hammers.
QUESTIONS…
1. What is the importance of music in terms of
historical, geographical and cultural background of
Thailand and Laos?
2. Are musical elements important to the music of
Thailand and Laos?
QUESTIONS…
1. What is the importance of music in terms of
historical, geographical and cultural background of
Thailand and Laos?
2. Are musical elements important to the music of
Thailand and Laos?