Thai Arts : Musical Instrument (1)

Traditional Thai musical instruments (Thai: เครื่องดนตรีไทย) are the musical instruments used in the traditional and classical musics of Thailand. They comprise a wide range of wind, string, and percussion instruments played by both the Thai majority as well as the nation's ethnic minorities.

In the traditional Thai system of organology, they are classified into four categories, by the action used in playing:

1. Blowing (Thai: เป่า), (wind instruments)
2. Plucking (Thai: ดีด), (plucked string instruments)
3. Bowing (Thai: สี), (bowed string instruments)
4. Striking (Thai: ตี), (percussion instruments and hammered dulcimer)

Wind Instruments

The khlui (ขลุ่ย) is a vertical duct flute

from Thailand. It is generally made of bamboo, though instruments are also made from hardwood or plastic. The khlui is very similar to the Cambodian khloy, though there are differences in tuning between the two instruments.

It comes in three sizes: khlui lib

(ขลุ่ยหลิบ; small) gives the highest pitch, khlui phiang aw (ขลุ่ยเพียงออ; medium) usaullys call only khlui, and khlui u (ขลุ่ยอู้; large) so gives the lowest pitch.

The khlui once had a buzzing membrane similar to the Chinese di mo

, but this is not used today.

Pi (Thai: ปี่) is the generic term for any of a variety of quadruple reed oboes used in the traditional music of Thailand. It is very similar in construction and playing technique to the Cambodian sralai.

Pi nok

The pi nok is smallest among Pi nok, Pi klang and Pi nai. Pi noks have been played since the ancient times. Length is 31 cm. Width is 3.5 cm.

Pi klang
The pi klang is most often heard in film scores. Its length is 37 cm and its width is 4 cm.

Pi nai
The pi nai is commonly seen in Thai literature such as Pra Aphaimani. Length is 41-42 cm. Width is 4.5 cm

Pi cha nai
The pi cha nai is Pi song ton(ปี่สองท่อน) (pi that consists of two parts). Body part is called Lao pi(เลาปี่). Mouth part is called "Lumpong"(ลำโพง). Both parts are made from wood or ivory. It is presumed that the Thai obtained this musical influence from India, as in India the shehnai is very similar. Pi have been used in Thai since the Sukhothai period. At present, it is played together with the pi chawa in parades.

Pi chawa
The pi chawa is Pi song ton(ปี่สองท่อน)(Pi that consist of two parts) like the pi cha nai, but longer. It is made from wood or ivory. Presume Thai take in Pi chawa as same time as Glong khaek. From some evidence,used Pi chawa in Krabuan Prayuhayardtra(กระบวนพยุหยาตรา)(military march) in Pre-Ayudthaya.

Pi mon
The pi mon is Pi song ton (ปี่สองท่อน)(Pi that consist of two parts) like Pi chawa but bigger and longer. Lao pi(เลาปี่)(the body of Pi) is made from wood. Lumpong (ลำโพง)(the mouth of Pi) is made from metal. Pi mon is played usually in Piphat mon ensemble or in the old called Piphat raman ensemble

The khene (also spelled "khaen", "kaen" and "khen"; Lao: ແຄນ, Thai: แคน) is a mouth organ of Lao origin whose pipes are connected with a small, hollowed-out hardwood reservoir into which air is blown. Today associated with the Lao of Laos and Northeast Thailand, similar instruments date back to the Bronze Age of Southeast Asia. It is also played in some parts of Cambodia. The Chinese adopted mouth organs at an early point, and the now-obsolete yu may have been similar in construction to the modern khaen. The Chinese today call their most widely used mouth organ sheng.

The most interesting characteristic of the khene is its free reed, which is made of brass or silver. It is related to Western free-reed instruments such as the harmonium, concertina, accordion, harmonica, and bandoneon, which were developed beginning in the 18th century from the Chinese sheng, a related instrument, a specimen of which had been carried to St. Petersburg, Russia.

The khene uses a pentatonic scale in one of two modes (thang sun and thang yao), each mode having three possible keys. The khaen has five different lai, or modes: Lai Yai, Lai Noi, Lai Sootsanaen, Lai Po Sai, and Lai Soi. Lai Po Sai is considered to be the oldest of the Lai Khaen and Lai Sootsanaen the "Father of the Lai Khaen." Khaen can be played as a solo instrument(Dio Khaen), as part of an ensemble(Ponglang), or as an accompaniment to a Lao or Isan Folk Opera Singer mor lam.

Mythological origin
According to Lao legend, the khene was created by a woman who was trying to reproduce the sound of the garawek bird which she heard while on a walk one day. The journey was long and difficult, so she decided to invent an instrument that would bring the sound to her. When she returned to her village, she experimented with many different instruments, including percussion, wind and plucked and bowed strings. Finally she cut a piece of bamboo and inserted a reed into it. Upon playing it, she realized that it sounded much like the garawek bird. She continued to improve the sound until she felt it was worthy for the king's ears. When she was ready, she went to the palace and began playing for the king on her newly invented instrument, which was at this point nameless. At the end of the first song, she asked the king if he liked the piece. He said it was fair, and instructed her to continue playing. After her last song, she again asked the king if he was pleased. His reply was "Tia nee kaen dae," which means "This time it was better." He then instructed her to call the instrument, according to his words, the kaen.

Players
In Thailand, one of the top virtuoso khaen soloists is the blind musician Sombat Simla. The instrument has also attracted a few non-Asian performers, including University of San Diego professor Christopher Adler, who also composes for the instrument; English musician Clive Bell (UK); Vancouver-based composer/performer Randy Raine-Reusch (Canada), who played khaen on Aerosmith's Pump (1989), Cranberries' To the Faithful Departed (1996), and Yes's The Ladder (1999); and Jaron Lanier (United States). Since the early 21st century, the California-born khaen player Jonny Olsen has achieved notoriety in Laos and Thailand by appearing on numerous Thai and Lao TV Shows and performing live concerts in Thailand and the U.S. Jonny Olsen is the first farang (foreigner) to win a khaen championship in Khon Kaen 2005.

Tuning
It has seven tones per octave, with intervals similar to that of the Western diatonic natural A-minor scale: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. A khaen can be made in a particular key but can't be tuned after the reed is set and the pipes are cut. If the khaen is played along with other instruments the others have to tune to the khaen.

Thank you to http://www.wikipedia.org/ and http://www.tv5.co.th/ for information.