Roneat ek

Xylophone
Drum
Sralai
Ching
Roneat thung
Roneat dek

Gamelan
Gamelan is the traditional ensemble music of Java and Bali in Indonesia, made up
predominantly of percussive instruments

Pasindhèn
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A pasindhèn (informally sindhèn; also called waranggana) is a female solo singer who sings with
a gamelan. They may perform in unaccompanied music, dance, or wayang performances.
The pesindhèn may sing together with a gerong (male chorus), but their styles and words will be
different. The part of the sindhen is largely improvised within strict parameters (similar to
instrumental cengkok). The sindhen is also allowed a much freer rhythm, similar to
the rebab and suling, instead of the strict rhythm of the gerong.

Music of Malaysia
Music of Malaysia is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres in
Malaysia. A great variety of genres in Malaysian music reflect the specific ethnic groups of
multiracial Malaysian society consisting
of Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Dayak, Kadazandusun, Eurasians and other groups.
In general, music of Malaysia may be categorised as classical, folk, syncretic (or acculturated
music), popular and contemporary art music. Classical and folk music emerged during the pre-
colonial period and exists in the form of vocal, dance and theatrical music such as Nobat, Mak
Yong, Mak Inang, Dikir barat, Ulek mayang and Menora. The syncretic music developed during the
post-Portuguese period (16th century) and contains elements from both local music and foreign
elements of Arabian, Persian, Indian, Chinese and Western musical and theatrical sources. Among
genres of this music are Zapin, Ghazal, Dondang Sayang, Mata-
kantiga, Joget, Jikey, Boria and Bangsawan.[1]
he music of Thailand reflects its geographic position at the intersection of China and India, and
reflects trade routes that have historically included Persia, Africa, Greece and Rome. Thai musical
instruments are varied and reflect ancient influence from far afield - including the klong
thap and khim (Persian origin), the jakhe(Indian origin), the klong jin (Chinese origin), and the klong
kaek (Indonesian origin). Though Thailand was never colonized by colonial powers, pop music and
other forms of modern Asian, European and American music have become extremely influential. The
two most popular styles of traditional Thai music are luk thung and mor lam; the latter in particular
has close affinities with the music of Laos.
Aside from the Thai, ethnic minorities such as
the Lao, Lawa, Hmong, Akha, Khmer, Lisu, Karen and Lahu peoples have retained traditional
musical forms.

Thai classical music is synonymous with those stylized court ensembles and repertoires that
emerged in their present form within the royal centers of Central Thailand some 800 years ago.
These ensembles, while being influenced by older practices and repertoires from India, are today
uniquely Thai expressions. While the three primary classical ensembles, the Piphat, Khrueang
sai and Mahori differ in significant ways, they all share a basic instrumentation and theoretical
approach. Each employs small ching hand cymbals and krap wooden sticks to mark the primary
beat reference. Thai classical music has had a wide influence on the musical traditions of
neighboring countries. The traditional music of Myanmar was strongly influenced by the Thai music
repertoire, called Yodaya (ယယယယယယယယ), which was brought over from the Ayutthaya Kingdom. As
Siam expanded its political and cultural influence to Laos and Cambodia during the early
Rattanakosin period, its music was quickly absorbed by the Cambodia and Lao courts. As Frédéric
Maurel explains:
"From the close of the eighteenth century and through the nineteenth century, a number of Khmer
pages, classical women dancers, and musicians studied with Thai ajarn (masters or teachers) in
Cambodia. The presence of this Thai elite in Cambodia contributed to the development of strong
Thai cultural influence among the Khmer upper classes. Moreover, some members of the Khmer
royal family went to the Thai court and developed close relations with well-educated Thai nobility, as
well as several court poets. Such cultural links were so powerful that, in some fields, one might use
the term 'Siamization' in referring to the processes of cultural absorption at the Khmer court at that
time." [1]
Several kinds of small drums (klong) are employed in these ensembles to outline the basic rhythmic
structure (natab) that is punctuated at the end by the striking of a suspended gong (mong). Seen in
its most basic formulation, the classical Thai orchestras have a very strong influence on the
Cambodian (Khmer) pinpeat and mahori ensembles, and structurally similar to other orchestras
found within the widespread Southeast Asian gong-chime musical culture, such as the large
gamelan of Bali and Java, which most likely have their common roots in the diffusion of Vietnamese
Dong-Son bronze drums beginning in the first century.
Traditional Thai classical repertoire is anonymous, handed down through an oral tradition of
performance in which the names of composers (if, indeed, pieces were historically created by single
authors) are not known. However, since the beginning of the modern Bangkok period, composers'
names have been known and, since around the turn of the century, many major composers have
recorded their works in notation. Musicians, however, imagine these compositions and notations as
generic forms which are realized in full in idiosyncratic variations and improvisations in the context of
performance.

Piphat[edit]
Main article: Piphat
The most common and iconic Thai classical music that symbolizes the dancing of the Thailand's
legendary dragons, a midsized orchestra including two xylophones (ranat), an oboe (pi), barrel
drums (klong) and two circular sets of tuned horizontal gong-chimes (khong wong lek and khong
wong yai). Piphat can be performed in either a loud outdoor style using hard mallets(Piphat mai
khaeng; ปี่ พาทย์ไม้แข็ง) or in an indoor style using padded hammers (Piphat mai nuam; ปี่ พาทย์ไม้นวม).
There are several types of piphat ensembles ranging in size and orchestration, each kind typically
being associated with specific ceremonial purposes. The highly decorated piphat ensemble that
features the ornately carved and painted semicircular vertical gong-chime is traditionally associated
with the funeral and cremation ceremonies of the Mon ethnic group. Different versions of the piphat
ensemble are employed to accompany specific forms of traditional Thai drama such as the large
shadow puppet theater (nang yai) and the khon dance drama.

Khrueang sai[edit]

Schoolgirls and boys playing khrueang sai in front of a temple

Main article: Khrueang sai

The khrueang sai orchestra combines some of the percussion of wind instruments of the piphat with
an expanded string section including the saw duang (a high-pitched two-string bowed lute), the lower
pitched saw u (bowed lute) and the three-string chakee (a plucked zither). In addition to these
instruments are the khlui (vertical fipple flute) in several sizes and ranges, a goblet drum (thon-
rammana) and, occasionally, a small hammered Chinese dulcimer (khim). The khrueang sai
ensemble is primarily used for instrumental indoor performances and for accompanying the Thai
hoon grabok (stick-puppet theater), a genre deeply influenced by Chinese puppetry styles.
Accordingly, the addition of Chinese-sounding string instruments in the khrueang sai ensemble is
imagined, by the Thai, to be a reference to the probable Chinese origins of this theater form.

Mahori[edit]
Main article: Mahori

The third major Thai classical ensemble is the Mahori, traditionally played by women in the courts of
both Central Thailand and Cambodia. Historically the ensemble included smaller instruments more
appropriate, it was thought, to the build of female performers. Today the ensemble employs regular
sized instruments—a combination of instruments from both the Khrueang sai and Piphat ensembles
but excluding the loud and rather shrill oboe pi. The ensemble, which is performed in three sizes—
small, medium and large—includes the three-string saw sam sai fiddle, a delicate-sounding, middle-
range bowed lute with silk strings. Within the context of the Mahori ensemble, the so sam sai
accompanies the vocalist, which plays a more prominent role in this ensemble than in any other
classical Thai orchestra.
While Thai classical music was somewhat discouraged as being unmodern and backward looking
during Thailand's aggressively nationalistic modernization policies of mid-20th century, the classical
arts have benefited recently from increased governmental sponsorship and funding as well as
popular interest as expressed in such films as Homrong: The Overture (2003), a popular fictionalized
biography of a famous traditional xylophone (ranat ek) performer.

A Thai orchestra in 1900

Luk thung[edit]
Main article: Luk thung

Luk thung, or Thai country music, developed in the mid-20th century to reflect daily trials and
tribulations of rural Thais. Pongsri Woranut and Suraphol Sombatcharoen were the genre's first big
stars, incorporating influences from, Asia. Many of the most popular artists have come from the
central city of Suphanburi, including megastar Pumpuang Duangjan, who pioneered electronic luk
thung. The late 90's saw a commercial resurgence of Luk Thung, and the modern electrified, pop-
influenced version of the genre remains the country's most popular music form.

Mor Lam[edit]
Main article: Mor lam

Mor lam is the dominant folk music of Thailand's north-eastern Isan region, which has a mainly Lao
population. It has much in common with luk thung, such as its focus on the life of the rural poor. It is
characterized by rapid-fire, rhythmic vocals and a funk feel to the percussion. The lead singer, also
called a mor lam, is most often accompanied by the khaen, also known as khene.
There are about fifteen regional variations of mor lam, plus modern versions such as mor lam sing.
Some conservatives have criticized these as the commercialization of traditional cultures.
See also: Music of Laos

Kantrum[edit]
The people of Isan are also known for kantrum, which is much less famous than mor lam. Kantrum is
played by Khmer living near the border with Cambodia. It is a swift and very traditional dance music.
In its purest form, cho-kantrum, singers, percussion and tro (a type of fiddle) dominate the sound. A
more modern form using electric instrumentation arose in the mid-1980s. Later in the
decade, Darkie became the genre's biggest star, and he crossed into mainstream markets in the
later 1990s.

The Lao classical orchestra can be divided into two categories, Sep Nyai (or Mahori)
and Sep Noi. The Sep Nyai is ceremonial and formal music and includes: two sets of
gongs (kong vong), a xylophone (lanat), an oboe (pei or salai), two large kettle drums
and two sets of cymbals (xing).