music of thailand — smt 1

qtr 2, smt 1

duple

the meter of thai music

thai scale

extraordinary, composed of 7 notes

• these notes are equidistant from each other, w/ no half steps

five-tone scale / pentatonic scale

some thai scales are based on this

do re mi so la

notes of the pentatonic scale

monophonic texture

…

homophonic texture

…

polyphonic texture

heterophonic

texture of thai music, basic melody is played in variations by other musical instruments & is elaborated by the embellishing instruments

melodic & linear

structure & form of thai music

melodic / rhythmic / stringed / wind

types of thai traditional music instruments

ranat thum

wooden bars struck by a padded mallet

placed on the floor, player sits

khong wong

“circle of gongs,” national instrument

plays principal melody

ching chap

similar to a pair of cymbals, smaller

made from a thick metal, tea-cup-shaped

thon

bowl-shaped ceramic drum

made of various skins

played w/ one hand

ramana

shallow drum, like a tambourine

head’s diameter is larger than the body’s

jakhae

most important stringed instrument

crocodile-shaped

saw sam sai

triangle-shaped, w/ a spiky leg

coconut shells & calf skin

three strings, no frets

pi nai

since ancient times

quadruple reed oboe

made of hardwood / marble

• reed comes from a small circular piece of palmyra leaves, tied to a small tube

khaen

most important folk instrument of laos & northern thailand

made up of 14 thin, 4ft long bamboo tubes