Chapter 6: Music of Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia Music: Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia
Regional Overview
Geographical Divisions: Southeast Asia is broadly divided into two regions:
Mainland Southeast Asia: Includes Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Singapore, an island nation, is geographically considered part of the mainland.
Malaysia is partly island, but culturally discussed with mainland countries.
Island (Maritime) Southeast Asia: Includes Indonesia, The Philippines, Brunei, and East Timor.
Dominant Religions:
Mainland: Predominantly Buddhism, except for Malaysia, which is Islamic.
Island: Mostly Muslim, with a strong Christian presence in some areas (e.g., The Philippines).
Hinduism: Found as an influence on Buddhist practices and as the main religion on the island of Bali, Indonesia.
Climate:
Monsoons: Wet monsoons occur from May to September.
Temperature: Hot and humid most of the year.
Northern Mainland: Can experience cooler temperatures, even freezing in some upland areas.
Staple Food & Economy:
Rice: A staple food and crucial economic production.
Varieties: Jasmine and glutinous (sticky) rice are most common.
Sticky Rice: Particularly common in Laos, eaten with hands, formed into a scoop.
Musical Instrument Materials:
Bamboo and Bronze: Widely utilized in instrument making.
Bronze: Used for numerous percussion instruments (e.g., Indonesian gamelan), also prominent in mainland traditions (Burma, Thailand, Cambodia), and for Buddha statues.
Bamboo: Used for flutes and many percussion instruments, also commonly used as scaffolding in construction projects across South and East Asia.
Music of Vietnam
Cultural Divisions:
Upland Culture: Mostly rural hill tribe minorities with diverse cultural practices.
Lowland Culture: Comprised primarily of farmers cultivating rice, with several cities; predominantly Viet. Heavily influenced by China due to "1000" years of being a Chinese colony.
Historical Context (Vietnam War):
Occurred from approximately 1964 to 1975.
A civil war between the Communist North and the US-supported South.
Escalated throughout the 1960s, leading to significant protests in the US.
Kent State Incident: On May 4, 1970, four students were killed during a protest at Kent State University in Ohio.
Gong Ensembles (Upland Vietnamese Culture)
First Impressions: Repetitive ringing sound from metallic gongs.
Oral Analysis:
Interlocking Construction: Each musician plays a single gong, coordinating with others to create the melody, similar to a bell choir. Performers wait for their specific note.
Gong Types: Some are flat, others have a boss (bump/knob) in the center.
Performance: Struck with a beater or the side of a fisted hand. Manner and context depend on ethnic group and musical use.
Social Reflection: Requires cooperation, with each person contributing equally, reflecting communal social organization (often cited by ethnomusicologists).
Context:
Found among many upland Vietnamese ethnic groups; not typical of lowland Viet populations.
Often accompanied by animistic dance traditions, usually group performances, strengthening community cohesion.
Strong connection to the spirit world; played for ritual activities like funerals and buffalo sacrifices (common throughout Mainland Southeast Asia).
Tai Tu Ensembles (Lowland Vietnamese Culture)
First Impressions: Flexible feeling due to frequent bending of tones in the melody.
Achieved by pressing on strings to change tension, particular to zithers and plucked lutes (high frets, loose strings encourage ornamentation).
Guitars are sometimes modified for this technique.
Oral Analysis:
Instrumentation: Primarily string instruments:
\textit{Dan kim} (lute).
\textit{Dan tranh} (zither).
\textit{Dan co} (fiddle).
\textit{Song lang} (slip drum clapper) marks the rhythmic cycle (e.g., 16 beats in the audio example). This starts after a short introduction in free rhythm.
Phonic Structure: Heterophonic – each instrument simultaneously plays the same melody with variations.
Comparable to Chinese Sizhu (silk and bamboo) chamber ensembles.
Meaning: "Music and songs of talented persons," implying near-professional skills or amateur's music.
Skill Levels: Heterophonic structure allows musicians of various skill levels to participate; beginners can play the basic melody while advanced musicians ornament it.
Performance Contexts: Most common in entertainment, often accompanying vocalists; also found in theater and for ritual occasions.
Music of Thailand
Historical & Geographical Context:
Name: Known as Siam (often pronounced like "Siam" in the West) until 1932 when it transitioned from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy.
Capital: Bangkok, with a population of approximately 9,000,000 as of February 2011; Central Thai traditions dominate the educational system.
Lanna: Northern region, meaning "a million fields" (referring to rice fields).
Isan: Northeast region, refers to cultural traditions of a predominantly Lao population, sharing much with Laos.
Religion:
Theravada Buddhism: Dominant, but includes prominent elements of Hinduism and animistic traditions.
Animistic Spirits: Strong belief in ancestors and spirits; rituals typically framed within Buddhist ceremonies.
Language:
Tonal: Thai has five tones (common, low, falling, high, rising).
Singing: Melodic contour must follow the basic tonal contour of the language to preserve word meaning.
Bipat Ensemble (Classical Thai Music)
Name Origin: "\textit{Phi}-" (referring to the reed aerophone) and "-\textit{phat} " (a reference to hitting, i.e., percussion instruments).
Historical Association: Formerly associated with the royal court, like much classical music globally.
First Impressions: Often described as chaotic by new listeners, but has a sense of order from the steady ching pattern and consistent rhythm of the lead xylophone.
Identifying Characteristics: Timbre of the \textit{phi} (melodic kazoo-like), ching (small hand cymbals), and bright timbre of the xylophone.
Instrumentation:
\textit{Phi nai} (reed aerophone) is the only non-percussion instrument.
Melodic Percussion: Xylophones (\textit{ranat}) and gong circles (\textit{kong wong yai}).
Rhythmic Percussion: Drums, cymbals, etc.
Other Classical Ensembles:
Mahori: Replaces the \textit{phi} with a \textit{khlui} (flute) and adds stringed instruments.
Khrueang Sai: Does not include melodic percussion (no xylophones or gong circles), but adds stringed instruments and uses the \textit{khlui}.
Thai Tuning System
Octave Division: Divides the octave into seven equidistant steps, unlike the Western 12-semitone system.
Perception: Some divisions fall between piano keys, potentially sounding "out of tune" to Western ears.
Bipat Instruments in Detail
\textit{Kong Wong Yai} (Gong Circle): Made of tuned bronze gongs.
\textit{Ranat ek} (Lead Xylophone): Has wood or bamboo keys, played with hard or soft padded mallets.
\textit{Phi nai} (Reed Aerophone): A quadruple reed instrument.
\textit{Khlui} (Fipple Flute): Held vertically, found primarily in Mahori and Khrueang Sai ensembles.
\textit{Thon} and \textit{Ramana} Drums: Played together, create the underlying rhythmic cycle.
Other Rhythmic Percussion: Mark the basic pulse.
Polyphonic Stratification (Thai Heterophony)
Definition: The Thai style of heterophony, where the melody consists of layers or variations of a basic melody, with each instrument playing in its own style.
Instrument Roles:
Gong Circle: Plays the basic melody.
Lead Xylophone: Plays in octaves with a thicker rhythmic density.
\textit{Phi nai}: Adds frequent ornamentation and tone bending.
Drums and Small Percussion: Mark the rhythmic framework.
Rhythmic Structure:
Each cycle follows a duple meter, generally "4" pulses, accenting the final (fourth) beat.
End-Accented: Emphasis is on the last pulse of a phrase, contrasting with Western music's typical first-beat emphasis.
Maintaining Tempo:
Musicians listen to drums for the rhythmic cycle, but the \textit{ching} (cymbals) is most important for maintaining tempo.
Much Bipat music accelerates towards the end; performers rely on the \textit{ching} player to articulate the beat and tempo.
Dancers are particularly attuned to the drums and \textit{ching}.
Visual Analogy (Thai Temple):
Foundational Rhythm: The temple's foundation.
Layered Heterophonic Melody: The colorful decorations and tiered roofs (focus for audience).
Central Role of \textit{Ching}: The main beam conducting the basic beat.
Tiered Roofs: Symbolic of Buddhist belief in reincarnation.
Wai Kru Ceremony
Meaning: "\textit{Wai}-" is a greeting (hands together, slight bow); "\textit{kru} " means teacher (derived from Sanskrit "\textit{guru} "). Thus, "greeting teacher ceremony."
Purpose: Honors all teachers (living, deceased, mythological).
Context: Performed at various educational institutions; those for music and dance instruction are particularly elaborate.
Rituals & Offerings:
Altar displays masks representing first teachers (many with Hindu associations).
Musical instruments are blessed; students are initiated with a brief lesson.
Portraits of honored, typically deceased, teachers.
Offerings: Food, drink, flowers, incense to spirits.
Music as Offering: Crucial for structuring the ceremony, with specific pieces performed at key points.
\textit{Saothong}: Opening music for Wai Kru ceremonies, meant to invite spirits.
Music of Laos and Northeast Thailand (Isan)
Cultural Similarities: Laos and Northeast Thailand (Isan) share cultural similarities in economic subsistence, language, and music.
Economic Context:
Laos: Former French colony, landlocked, one of the world's poorest nations.
Isan: Was and is Thailand's poorest region; characterized as "backwards" until the 1990s.
Migration Impact: Increasing migration of Isan farmers to urban areas (especially Bangkok) has brought positive attention to Isan culture, food, and music.
Lam (Mok Lam / Morlam)
First Impressions: After vocal improvisation, singers adopt a speech-like delivery, akin to reading poetry.
Instrumentation: \textit{Khaen} (Bamboo Mouth Organ):
A free-reed bamboo mouth organ, similar to a harmonica.
16 tubes, each with a small hole that must be covered to produce sound.
Performance Elements: Melody, chords, and drone.
Breathing: Player can inhale or exhale; circular breathing is common (used for aerophones throughout Thailand).
Vocal Performance (Morlam):
Each entrance begins with a meaningless, freely rhythmic, highly melismatic phrase.
Shifts to a steady beat and syllabic text setting, improvising poetry called "\textit{lam} " in a mock courtship style.
\textit{Morlam} (Professional Singer): Unlike a \textit{khaen} musician (amateur), \textit{morlam} are professionals.
Repertoire: Must memorize vast amounts of poetry on topics like religion, politics, geography, history, and sometimes sex-oriented topics (expressed via double entendre, often sung at weddings).
Improvisation: Poetic verse order is improvised stream-of-consciousness style, inspired by context and interaction.
Performance Contexts: Typically associated with temple festivals (e.g., New Year), or entertainment for specific temple rituals. Performances usually last all night, starting in the evening.
Luk Thung (Child of the Field)
Meaning: "\textit{Luk} " means song, "\textit{thung} " literally translates to child of the field.
Sound: Often an unsophisticated pop sound, with inexpensive synthesizers and a basic drum beat.
Modern Adaptations: Many modern performers incorporate mainstream pop trends like electric guitars, drum machines.
Primary Traditional Instruments: \textit{Khaen}, electric \textit{phin} (lute), drum set, electronic keyboard, \textit{chap} (small hand cymbals).
\textit{Phin}: Often adorned with a serpent head (naga); unevenly spaced frets correspond to pentatonic scales common in Isan music.
\textit{Saw U} (Fiddle): (similar to \textit{saw duang} pictured in slide, but with a coconut shell resonator) appears infrequently today.
Language Mix: Performed in both Northeastern (Isan) and Central Thai languages, switching back and forth.
The switch is evident in melodic content and rhythmic density of text setting.
Vocal Style: Much derived from traditional Lam Khong singing.
Origins & Societal Role:
Began in response to \textit{Luk Krung} ("child of the city"), a popular music genre of the 1940s in Bangkok.
Modernized form of \textit{lam} singing, popular by the 1970s as Thailand's economy prospered and Isan people migrated to Bangkok for work.
Combined a modern urban sound with nostalgic connection to the rural roots of the new workforce.
Modern Performances: By the 1980s, artists like Sayan Sanya attracted large audiences.
Today, shows feature musicians, one or more troupes of onstage dancers in colorful costumes, and huge amplification systems.
Artists like Tai Orathai perform internationally for Thai communities worldwide.
Music of Indonesia (Gamelan)
Geographical & Demographic Context:
Comprised of over 13,000 islands, but most are uninhabited.
Over half of the 230,000,000+ inhabitants live on the island of Java.
Background image for the section is rice paddies in Bali.
Religious Landscape:
Islam: Predominant religion.
Animistic Traditions: Many persist.
Hinduism: Great influence, especially on Bali.
Buddhism/Christianity: Also present but less common.
Language:
Bahasa Indonesia: Official language.
Dutch and English: Widely spoken due to colonization.
Cultural Diversity: Numerous islands foster significant cultural diversity (e.g., Smithsonian Folkways has a 20-volume CD series on Indonesian music).
International Recognition:
Gamelan music was featured at the 1889 Paris World Exposition, inspiring scholars and composers.
Influenced Composers: Claude Debussy, John Cage, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Lou Harrison.
Ethnomusicologists: Jaap Kunst (Java), Mantle Hood (Java), Colin McPhee (Bali).
Most common world music in US academic institutions, alongside West African polyrhythmic drumming and Caribbean steel drum performance.
Javanese Gamelan
First Impressions:
Strong Style Sections: Heavy gongs and metallophones create a metallic timbre.
Soft Style Sections: Flutes, fiddles, and voices (when present) are highlighted, creating a misty, free-floating quality.
Oral Analysis (Instrumentation):
Three Basic Metallophone Types:
Hanging gongs (e.g., \textit{gong ageng}).
Rack gongs (e.g., \textit{bonang}).
Metal-keyed instruments (e.g., \textit{gender}).
Non-Idiophones: Flutes (\textit{suling}), zither (\textit{siter} or \textit{celempung}), fiddle (\textit{rebab}).
Rhythmic Percussion: Drums (\textit{kendang}).
Quieter instruments play a more prominent role during soft style performances.
Colotomic Structure:
Music organized into cycles defined by periodic punctuation.
Instruments converge at these melodic points and diverge between them.
Principal Melody: Most easily heard.
Hanging Gongs: Mark key points in the rhythmic cycle; the \textit{gong ageng} (largest hanging gong) is most important, marking the end of a phrase.
Heterophonic Embellishment: Small metallophones embellish the principal melody with greater rhythmic density, filling space between main melodic pitches of larger gongs and metallophones.
Cultural & Spiritual Context:
Court Music: Java is predominantly Islamic, with a Sultan regarded as having a spiritual connection to animistic traditions. Court music is for the king and spirits.
Function: Entertainment and strengthening the connection between material and spiritual planes.
Tranquility & Balance: Key notions in Javanese spirituality, reflected in the music's slow, stately manner.
Symmetrical melodic phrases and inner groupings (e.g., four groups of four beats, two pairs of phrases).
Balanced texture achieved by all instruments sounding throughout.
Solos are not pronounced separations, maintaining equilibrium.
Javanese Court Dance: Reflects tranquility; dancers move slowly with focus on graceful movements and subtle gestures (e.g., raised little finger, upturned toes).
Balinese Gamelan (Kebyar)
Musical Characteristics:
Sudden musical flourishes and abrupt silences are frequent, creating a constant sense of shifting mood.
Still based on a colotomic structure, but the tranquil equilibrium of Javanese style is largely absent.
Contrast with Javanese Gamelan:
Different sections of instruments often perform solos while other melodic instruments are silent.
The embellishment element, subdued in Javanese Gamelan, is often highlighted in Balinese performance.
Thick Rhythmic Density & Superhuman Speed:
Produced by two performers interlocking their melodic pitches with another performer.
The resultant melody is played at a density faster than one person could achieve.
Most frequently occurs on the \textit{gender} and \textit{bonang}.
Shimmer Effect:
Created by identical instruments with keys tuned slightly apart.
Overlapping sound waves produce a subtle wavering or pulsating volume.
Requires four performers working together (e.g., two pairs of \textit{gender}) to achieve both shimmer and superhuman speed.
Skilled ensembles practice many hours.
Cultural & Spiritual Context:
Hindu Temples: Numerous on Bali.
Music as Offering: Often performed as an offering to Hindu deities.
Festivals: Occur year-round, marking important agricultural cycle dates.
Balinese Dance: Contrasts sharply with Javanese; very abrupt and angular.
Small gestures (eye movements) are important.
Subtle grace replaced by energetic activity.
Wayang Kulit (Shadow Puppet Theater)
Common Context: For Gamelan performance in both Java and Bali.
Epic Stories: Commonly tells the Indian epic "\textit{Ramayana} " and "\textit{Mahabharata} ".
Performance Setup:
Puppeteer and musicians sit behind a white screen.
A light cast from behind projects shadows of puppets onto the screen for the audience on the other side.
Spiritual Role: Puppets act as a medium to the spirit world, bringing characters to life through shadows.