Southeast Asia

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Southeast Asia

• Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia

2
Southeast Asia Map
3
Background Preparation

• Mainland and Island
• Buddhism - Islam
• Tropical climate
• Rice
• Bamboo bronze

4
Vietnam

• Site 1 Upland Bronze Gongs
• Site 2 Tài T? Chamber Music

5
Arrival Vietnam

• Upland - Lowland Culture
• Chinese influence
• Vietnam War

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Site 1 Upland Bronze Gongs

• First Impressions
• Repetitive ringing
• Aural Analysis
• Interlocking construction
• Strong tonal center
• Simple duple meter

Musicians of the Stieng minority in Vietnams
Highlands
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Cultural Considerations

• Large cooperative ensembles
• Particular to upland ethnic groups
• Often accompanies dance
• Common at festivals and funerals

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Site 2 Tài T? Chamber Music

• First Impressions
• Flexible feeling
• Aural Analysis
• Small string ensemble
• Frequent tone bending
• Heterophony

Notice the scooped frets on this Vietnamese
guitar
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Cultural Considerations

• Entertainment music
• Often includes vocalist
• Talented amateur music

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Thailand

• Site 3 Classical Piphat
• Site 4 Lam Klawn
• Site 5 Phleng Luk Thung

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Arrival Thailand

• Formerly Siam
• Cultural regions
• Central (Bangkok)
• North (Lanna)
• Northeast (Isan)
• South
• Predominantly Buddhist
• Thai is a tonal language

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Site 3 Classical Piphat

• First Impressions
• Organized chaos
• Duck call and ching
• Aural Analysis
• Melodic rhythmic percussion
• Pi (quadruple reed aerophone)
• Seven equidistant tones per octave

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Thai Classical Instruments
Khong wong yai (gong circle) Ranat ek (leading
xylophone)
Thon ramana (goblet frame drums) Chap lek
(large cymbals) Krap sepha (wood clappers) Ching
(small cymbals)
Left 2 Pi (reed aerophones) Right 3 Khlui
(flutes)
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Temple Analogy

• Layered Roof
• Melodic percussion pi
• Pillars
• Ching - aural conductor
• Foundation
• Drums, small percussion

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Cultural Considerations

• Wai Khru - Teacher Honoring Ceremony

Above A wai khru altar with studentsinitiated
by an elder teacher Right A wai khru ceremony in
Bangkok
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Arrival Northeast Thailand

• Culturally Lao
• Rice economy
• Isan influence

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Site 4 Northeast Thai Lam Klawn

• First Impressions
• Peppy poets
• Happy harmonica
• Aural Analysis
• Khaen - mouth organ
• Lam - poetic song
• Repartee

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Cultural Considerations

• Maw lam
• Professional poets
• Festival and ritual entertainment

Left Maw lam perform onstage to khaen
accompaniment. Right Khaen (free-reed mouth
organ)
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Site 5 Phleng Luk Thung

• First Impressions
• Old-fashioned country pop
• Aural Analysis
• Mix of modern and traditional instruments
• Derived from lam

saw bip (fiddle)phin (lute)khaen (mouth organ)
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Cultural Considerations

• Traditionalcrossover music
• Bangkok boom
• Stage shows

A pop concert of luk thung
Luk Thung pop stars
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Indonesia

• Site 6 Javanese Court Gamelan
• Site 7 Balinese Gamelan Gong Kebyar

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Arrival Indonesia

• More than 13,000 islands
• Most populous Islamic nation
• More than 300 languages
• Focus for manyethnomusicologists composers

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Site 6 Javanese Court Gamelan

• First Impressions
• Metallic music with misty interlude

• Aural Analysis
• Mostly metallophones
• Soft Strong styles
• Colotomic structure

Above Metallophones of the Javanese
gamelan. Right Gender (metallophone with bamboo
resonators)
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Colotomic Structure

• Principal Melody
• Rack gongs andlarge metallophones
• Periodic Punctuation
• Marked by Hanging Gongs
• Embellishment
• Small metallophones
• Mist of the music

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Cultural Considerations

• Islam
• Court Music
• Tranquility
• Dance

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Site 7 Balinese Gamelan Gong Kebyar

• First Impressions
• Dynamicshifts of mood
• Aural Analysis
• Starts and stops
• Sectional solos
• Superhuman speed
• Shimmer effect

A pair of gender wayang
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Cultural Considerations

• Hindu
• Offeringto deities
• Dynamic dance
• Shadow puppets

A young boy dances to gamelan accompaniment
Wayang Kulit (shadow puppet theatre)