World Music Unit

The Music of Thailand

Where is Thailand?

Thailand is located in the centre of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is surrounded by Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. Thailand means “land of the free”.

The country was originally called Siam and officially changed to Thailand on the 11th May 1949. Siam had changed its name to Thailand before, in 1939. Due to being under a military dictatorship the anti-Axis powers refused to recognise the new name after Siam allied herself with the Japanese and in 1942 declared war on the United States and the United Kingdom.

The capital of Thailand is Bangkok and has a population of 8,280,925.

The Flag

The flag of Thailand was adopted in September of 1917. It is made up of five horizontal stripes.

The colours are said to stand for:

Red: the land and the people White: Buddhism

Blue: the Monarchy

Religion

Theravada or Hinayana Buddhism is the national religion in Thailand. However, the population is completely free to follow whichever religion they choose. Religion is a very important element of Thai life. It is considered to be an essential pillar of society contributing to the moulding of tolerant, freedom-loving, individualistic people for many centuries.

The Music

Thai music takes its influences from the Chinese, Indians and Indonesians. It is characterised by the layering of rhythms and pitches and to a Western ear, sounds a bit strange, but not unpleasant. This is because main stream Western music is governed by harmony, chord progressions and melodies. Danis Segaller, the writer of Traditional Thailand: Glimpses of a Nation's Culture, has written the following about the Thai musical scale:

"...And the Thai musical scale is indeed different -- for the intervals between all notes are exactly the same. This means that almost all the notes are slightly different in pitch from those on the western scale. Only the interval between a note and its octave, eight notes higher up the scale, is the same as in the west. This is what gives Thai classical music its unfamiliar sound, its 'otherness' to western ears."

Thailand was introduced to Western music in the 1900s. Western music was widely accepted by the Thai people and many modern Thai music groups now combine both pop and traditional Thai music. A traditional musical competition is held annually in August in Bangkok to determine the best traditional band or the most expert musician on traditional instruments. Although traditional music is still viewed as important cultural heritage, popular music is taking over and making traditional music more obsolete.

Music, particularly singing, was and still is an important part of Thai culture and is the principal means of expression in entertainment. Music is written to suit particular occasions.

There are many types of music in Thailand:

> Ritual Songs: These are usually passed on/learnt aurally.

- Suod: a chanting of religious verses used to worship spiritual and supernatural beings

- Thes: a form of ritual song performed with improvisation. It is used in poetry, reading, recitation and speech.

> Entertainment/secular songs

- Used to tell of customs and traditions

> Sebha

- A solo song that is popular in central Thailand. It is also a combination of three communication aspects : singing, speaking and praying. A pair of wooden stick called Krab and used to hold the rhythm.

> Hae Reua

- A boat song, sung following the rhythm of the oarsmen

> Aeuklosaw

- A song, sung with the string instruments called saw as the accompaniment.

> Sangkhara

- A beggars song that has been adapted from the puppet play called Hun Krabork.

Traditional Instruments

Thai musical instruments can be divided into four categories

Plucked Bowed string Percussion Woodwind

Western musical instruments can also be divided into four categories

Strings Woodwind Brass Percussion

Here are some traditional instruments:

Tapone – drum played with hands

Ranat Thum – 17 key wooden xylophone

Ranat-ek – 21 key wooden xylophone

Khong Wong Yai – 16 gong chime circle

Pi – oboe like instrument

Ching and Chap – small and large cymbals

Khene – long bamboo pipes

Piphat

Piphat is the most common Thai music ensemble that symbolizes the dancing of the Thailand's legendary dragons. The ensemble usually consists of two xylophones (ranat), an oboe (pi), barrel drums (klong) and two circular sets of tuned horizontal gong-chimes. The music is performed in either a loud outdoor style using hard mallets or in an indoor style using padded hammers. There are several types of piphat ensembles ranging in size and orchestration and each kind is associated with specific ceremonial purposes. The 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 accompany different forms of traditional Thai drama.