1. Southeast Asia A Land of Bamboo and Bronze
Chapter 6 takes us to Southeast Asia, where we examine some music from regions in Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Vietnam
Thailand
Indonesia
© Taylor & Francis

2. UPDATE MAP Southeast Asia Map
Southeast Asia is divided into two basic regions: Mainland and Island (or Maritime) Southeast Asia.
© Taylor & Francis

3. Background Preparation
Mainland SE Asia includes the countries of Burma (known today as Myanmar), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore. The latter is an island nation, but considered part of the mainland, while Malaysia is considered partly Island SE Asia as well, but usually discussed with mainland countries geographically.
Island SE Asia includes Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, and East Timor.
Buddhism dominates the mainland, though Malaysia is an Islamic nation. Most of island SE Asia is Muslim, though Christianity has a strong presence in some areas, i.e., Philippines. Hinduism is still found, mostly as an influence on Buddhist practices, but also as the main religion of the island of Bali in Indonesia.
Wet monsoons occur throughout this region, usually from May to September. It is hot and humid most of the year, though the northern areas of mainland SE Asia can get quite cool, even freezing in some upland areas.
Rice is a staple food throughout SE Asia and an important economic production. A large variety of rice exists, though jasmine and glutinous (or “sticky”) rice are most common. Sticky rice, most common in Laos and not much known in the west, is eaten with the hands and formed into a “scoop” to pick up other foods and eat.
With regards to music, many instruments are made utilizing bamboo and bronze. Bronze is used for numerous percussion instruments, the most famous of these being the gamelan from Indonesia, but is also prominent in mainland traditions, particularly in Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia. Bronze Buddha statues are also a major use of the material. Flutes and many percussion instruments are commonly made from bamboo, which has numerous uses throughout Asia. One of the most common, but peculiar for Westerners, is the use of bamboo as scaffold for construction projects. This occurs in South and East Asia as well.
Mainland and Island
Buddhism – Islam
Tropical climate
Rice
Bamboo & bronze
© Taylor & Francis

4. Site 1: Upland Bronze Gongs Site 2: Tài Tử Chamber Music
Vietnam
Our first two music sites are from Vietnam.
Site 1: Upland Bronze Gongs
Site 2: Tài Tử Chamber Music
© Taylor & Francis

5. Arrival: Vietnam Upland–Lowland Culture Chinese influence Vietnam War
Upland culture consists mostly of hilltribe minorities and is very rural with a great diversity of cultural practices. Lowland culture is comprised mostly of farmers (cultivating rice), though several cities as well. Predominantly Viet, lowland culture has much influence from China as Vietnam was essentially a Chinese colony for a thousand years.
Americans are most familiar with this country due to the Vietnam War (roughly 1964–1975). This civil war between the north (Communist) and the south (US supported) escalated throughout the 1960s and inspired numerous protests throughout the United States as more and more Americans were sent overseas as soldiers. The most noted of these protests was at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, where four students were killed on May 4, 1970.
© Taylor & Francis

6. Site 1: Upland Bronze Gongs
First Impressions
Repetitive ringing
Aural Analysis
Interlocking construction
Strong tonal center
Simple duple meter
[PLAY AUDIO EXAMPLE, CD 1.9]
First Impressions: The repetitive ringing sound is due to the majority of instruments being metallic gongs.
Aural Analysis: Each musician has a single gong that he plays in coordination with the other gongs to create the melody. This interlocking construction works similar to a bell choir, each performer waiting for their “note” in the melody before ringing the bell. Some gongs are flat and others have a “boss” or bump/knob in the center. The gong is struck with either a beater or the side of a fisted hand. The type of gong, manner of performance and contexts for performance all depend on the ethnic group and the particular use of the music.
Members of the Jarai ethnic group in Vietnam’s Central Highlands
© Taylor & Francis

7. Cultural Considerations
Large cooperative ensembles
Particular to upland ethnic groups
Often accompanies dance
Common at festivals and funerals
The interlocking construction requires that each musician “cooperate” with the other performers. Each person contributes equally to the overall group. Ethnomusicologists often cite such interdependent musical production as reflective of communal social organization.
Gong ensembles are found among many upland Vietnamese ethnic groups but are not typical of the lowland Viet population.
Dance traditions, often animistic in nature, are frequently performed along with such ensembles. The dances are usually group performances as well, strengthening the social cohesion of the community.
Gong ensembles are often considered to have a strong connection to the spirit world. They are played for various ritual activities, i.e., funerals, as well as the “Buffalo Sacrifice” that is a common ritual found throughout mainland Southeast Asia.
© Taylor & Francis

8. Site 2: Tài Tử Chamber Music
First Impressions
“Flexible”feeling
Aural Analysis
Small string ensemble
Frequent tone bending
Heterophony
[PLAY AUDIO EXAMPLE, CD 1.10]
First Impressions: The “flexible” feeling is due to the frequent bending of tones in the melody. This is accomplished by pressing on the string to change the tension and is particular to the zither and plucked lutes (see below). The latter have high frets and loose strings to encourage such ornamentation. The neck on the guitar pictured in the slide has been modified to achieve a similar construction that allows for this performance technique.
This type of ensemble primarily includes stringed instruments: đàn kim (lute), đàn tranh (zither) đàn cò (fiddle)
The song lang (“slit drum” clapper) marks a rhythmic cycle (sixteen beats in the audio example). This begins after a short introduction in free rhythm.
The phonic structure is heterophonic as each instrument simultaneously plays the same melody, but with variations. Compare this example with the Chinese sizhu (silk & bamboo) [CD 1.17], which also uses a heterophonic structure.
Notice the “scooped” frets on this Vietnamese guitar
© Taylor & Francis

9. Cultural Considerations
Nhac tài tử translates in two ways: as “music and songs of talented persons,” implying near-professional skills, as well as “amateurs’ music.” As with Chinese silk & bamboo chamber ensembles, the heterophonic structure allows for musicians of a variety of skill levels to participate. As long as a beginner knows the basic melody, he can participate with a group of advanced musicians capable of ornamenting the melody in more elaborate and creative ways.
Tài tử ensembles are most common in entertainment contexts, often accompanying a vocalist, but are also sometimes found in theatre and for ritual occasions.
“Talented”amateur music
Entertainment settings
© Taylor & Francis

10. Site 3: Classical Piphat Site 4: Lam Klawn Site 5: Phleng Luk Thung
Thailand
Site 3: Classical Piphat
Site 4: Lam Klawn
Site 5: Phleng Luk Thung
Our examples from Thailand introduce music from the three main categories of classical (piphat), folk (lam klawn), and popular (luk thung) music.
© Taylor & Francis

11. Arrival: Thailand Formerly Siam Cultural regions
Central (Bangkok)
North (Lanna)
Northeast (Isan)
South
Predominantly Buddhist
Thai is a tonal language
Thailand was known as Siam until 1932 when the absolute monarchy became a constitutional monarchy. Bangkok is the capital city and seat of government with a population of roughly nine million people (2011). Consequently, central Thai traditions dominate the educational system and most of the country. The north region is known as Lanna, meaning “a million fields,” implying rice fields. Isan translates as “Northeast” and refers to cultural traditions of this population, which is predominantly Lao and has much in common with its northern neighbor, the country of Laos.
Theravada Buddhism dominates the religious scene, though prominent elements of Hinduism and animistic traditions are included. Thais have a strong belief is animistic spirits and ancestors, but these religious rituals are typically framed within the context of Buddhist ceremonies.
The Thai language has five tones (common, low, falling, high, and rising). The inflection of the voice can thus significantly alter the meaning of a word. This is important for singing as the melodic contour must follow the basic tonal contour of the language.
© Taylor & Francis

12. Site 3: Classical Piphat
First Impressions
Organized chaos
“Kazoo” aerophone and “ching”
Aural Analysis
Pi nai (quadruple reed aerophone)
Melodic & rhythmic percussion
Seven equidistant tones per octave
Piphat refers to the classical ensemble: pi, referring to the reed aerophone, and phat, a reference to “hitting,” i.e., percussion, instruments. This music was formerly associated with the royal court, as is much classical music around the world.
[PLAY AUDIO EXAMPLE, CD 1.11]
First-time listeners often describe Thai music as “chaotic.” Yet, the steady pattern of the ching and consistent rhythm of the lead xylophone give it a sense of order. The timbre of the pi (reed aerophone), which has a timbre somewhat like a melodic kazoo and ching (small hand cymbals), along with the bright timbre of the xylophone, are probably the the most obvious clues for a listener to recognize this music as Thai classical piphat.
The pi nai (full-name of the reed aerophone) is the only non-percussion instrument of piphat. The remaining instruments are either melodic percussion (xylophones and gong circles) or rhythmic percussion (drums, cymbals, etc.). Mahori and Khruang Sai are other classical ensembles, which replace the pi with a flute (called khlui) and add stringed instruments. The latter does not include any melodic percussion (no xylophones or gong circles).
The Thai tuning system divides the octave into seven equidistant steps, instead of twelve as in Western music. Some of the divisions thus fall “between the keys” on a piano and may make the music seem “out of tune” to listeners familiar with a different system.
© Taylor & Francis

13. 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)
The gong circle (khong wong yai) is made of tuned bronze gongs. Xylophones (ranat ek, ranat thum) have either wood or bamboo keys and are played with either hard (mai khaeng) or soft padded mallets (mai nuam).
The pi is a quadruple reed aerophone. The khlui is a fipple flute held vertically that is found primarily in mahori and khruang sai ensembles. The thon (pronounced “tone”) and ramana drums are played together, sounding out the underlying rhythmic cycle of a performance. Other rhythmic percussion mark the basic pulse.
Left 2: Pi (reed aerophones)
Right 3: Khlui (flutes)
© Taylor & Francis

14. Temple Analogy Polyphonic Stratification Layered Roof Pillars
Melodic percussion & pi
Pillars
Ching – aural conductor
Foundation
Drums, small percussion
Ethnomusicologists describe the Thai style of heterophony as polyphonic stratification. This refers to the melody, which consists of “layers” or variations of a basic melody. Each instrument has its own “style” of playing a melody. The gong circle plays the basic melody. The lead xylophone plays in octaves with a thicker rhythmic density. The pi adds frequent ornamentation and tone bending to its variation of the same basic melody.
The drums and small percussion mark the rhythmic framework. Each cycle follows a duple meter, generally four pulses, accenting the final (4th) beat. Thai music is “end-accented” in that the emphasis is on the last pulse of a phrase, rather than the first as it tends to be in Western music.
While musicians often listen to the drums for the basic rhythmic cycle, the ching is most important for maintaining the tempo. Much piphat music accelerates toward the end and the performers, both rhythmic and melodic, rely on the ching player to articulate the beat and tempo. Dancers are particularly attuned to the drums and ching when performing with a piphat ensemble.
The visual analogy of a temple helps to articulate these basic parts: foundational rhythm, layered (heterophonic) melody, and the central role of the ching to “conduct” the basic beat. While the ching and rhythm are essential, the “focus” for an audience is primarily on the melody, as with the colorful decorations of Thai temple roofs.
The tiered roofs of Thai temples are considered symbolic of the Buddhist belief in reincarnation.
© Taylor & Francis

15. Cultural Considerations
Wai Khru – Teacher Honoring Ceremony
Wai is a greeting used in everyday meetings throughout Thailand. The hands are placed together in a prayer-like gesture along with a slight bow to the directed recipient of the greeting. Khru means “teacher” and is derived from the word “guru” in Hindi. A wai khru ceremony is thus translated as a “greeting-teacher” ceremony, but it is intended to honor all teachers, living and deceased, as well as mythological.
Although wai khru are performed at a variety of educational institutions, wai khru ceremonies associated with music and dance instruction tend to be very elaborate. Atop the altar are masks representing the first teachers of knowledge in various arts and other disciplines. Many have Hindu associations. Musical instruments are blessed during such ceremonies, and students are initiated into their studies with a brief lesson on their instrument type. Portraits of well-known teachers (deceased) are also given honor by being placed on the altar. Offerings, such as food, drink, flowers, and incense, are also found on the altar as offerings to the spirits. The music itself is considered an offering as well and is important for structuring the ceremony with specific pieces performed at key points in the ritual.
Sathukan (CD 1.11), for example, is the opening music for wai khru ceremonies and is meant to invite the “spirits” to attend the ritual.
Above: A wai khru altar with students initiated by an elder teacher
Right: A wai khru ceremony in Bangkok
© Taylor & Francis

16. Arrival: Northeast Thailand
Laos and Northeast Thailand are culturally similar (economic subsistence, language, music, etc.). Laos, a former French colony, is one of the world’s poorest nations and is land-locked. Northeast Thailand (Isan) was/is the poorest region in Thailand, characterized until the 1990s as “backwards.” But the increasing migration of Isan rice farmers to urban areas, mainly Bangkok, has brought much positive attention to the region’s culture – food and music being the most visible.
Culturally Lao
Rice economy
Isan influence
© Taylor & Francis

17. Site 4: Northeast Thai Lam Klawn
First Impressions
Peppy poets
Happy “harmonica”
Aural Analysis
Khaen – mouth organ
Lam - poetic song
Repartee
[PLAY AUDIO EXAMPLE, CD 1.12]
First Impressions & Aural Analysis: After some initial vocal improvisation, the singers fall into a relatively speech-like vocal delivery, as if they were reading poetry to their audience (which indeed they are).
The khaen, a free-reed bamboo mouth organ, sounds similar to a harmonica, also a free-reed instrument. Each of the sixteen tubes has a small hole that must be covered to make the reed sound. Khaen performance consists of three elements: melody, “chords,” and drone. The player can inhale/exhale to play, though many use a circular breathing technique (discussed in Chapter 4, Site 1: Aboriginal song), which is commonly used for aerophones throughout Thailand.
Each entrance usually begins with the meaningless phrase “Oh la naw” in a freely rhythmic fashion using a highly melismatic text setting before moving to a steady beat. At this point, the text setting shifts to a syllabic style, improvising poetry (lam) in a “mock courtship” repartee.
© Taylor & Francis

18. Cultural Considerations
Maw lam
Professional poets
Festival and ritual entertainment
Unlike a khaen musician, who is considered an amateur, a Maw Lam is a professional singer. He or she must memorize vast amounts of poetry on a variety of topics, i.e., religion, politics, geography, or history. Some texts deal with sex-oriented topics, though expressed through double entendre; these are often sung at wedding celebrations. During performance, the order of the poetic verse is improvised in a sort of “stream of consciousness” inspired by the context and interaction with other performers.
Lam klawn performance contexts are typically in association with temple festivals, i.e., New Year, but may be entertainment for specific rituals (often associated with the temple). Performances typically start in the evening and last all night.
Left: Maw lam perform onstage to khaen accompaniment.
Right: Khaen (free-reed mouth organ)
© Taylor & Francis

19. Site 5: Phleng Luk Thung First Impressions Aural Analysis
“Country” pop
Aural Analysis
Mix of modern and traditional instruments
Derived from lam
[PLAY AUDIO EXAMPLE, CD 1.13]
Phleng (pronounced “pleng”) means “song,” while luk thung (pronounced “look toong”) literally translates as “child of the field.” The music often has an unsophisticated “pop” sound with inexpensive synthesizers and basic drum beat, though many modern performers have adapted to recent trends in mainstream pop music, including electric guitars, drum machines, etc. The primary traditional instruments present in a luk thung ensemble include the khaen and electric phin (pronounced “pin”), drum set, electronic keyboard, and chap lek (small hand cymbals). The phin is usually adorned with the head of a serpent (naga) and has unevenly spaced frets that correspond to the typical pitches used in pentatonic scales common to Isan. Other instruments, such as the saw u (fiddle, similar to saw bip [pictured] but with coconut shell resonator) appear infrequently in today’s luk thung performance.
Sung in both the Northeastern (Isan) and Central Thai languages, the performer switches back and forth between the two. Certainly, it’s not possible to follow the switch (unless, of course, you speak Thai), but there is an obvious switch in melodic content and the rhythmic density of the text setting when the changes occur. Follow the listening guide from the textbook to note the changes. Much of the vocal style is derived from traditional lam klawn singing (see Chapter 6, Site 4).
saw bip (fiddle) phin (lute) khaen (mouth organ)
© Taylor & Francis

20. Cultural Considerations
Traditional “crossover” music
Bangkok boom
Stage shows
Luk thung began in response to Luk krung popular music (“child of the city”), first popular in the 1940s in Bangkok. This modernized form of lam singing became the rage by the 1970s as Thailand’s economy prospered and many Isan peoples migrated to Bangkok in search of better jobs. The luk thung sound combined a “modern” urban sound with a nostalgic connection to the rural roots of this new workforce. By the 1980s, artists, such as Pompuang Duangjan, were attracting audiences as large as their mainstream musical counterparts. Today luk thung “shows” involve not only musicians but one or more troupes of onstage dancers in colorful costumes and huge amplification systems that draw large crowds even in rural areas. Some artists, such as Tai Orathai, travel internationally to perform for Thai communities around the world. The DVD cover pictured in the slide reads “Luk Thung.”
A “pop” concert of luk thung
Luk Thung pop stars
© Taylor & Francis

21. Site 6: Javanese Court Gamelan Site 7: Balinese Gamelan Gong Kebyar
Indonesia
Though many types of gamelan music are found throughout Indonesia, we will examine two of the most prominent from the islands of Java and Bali.
The background image on the slide is of rice paddies in Bali, Indonesia.
Site 6: Javanese Court Gamelan
Site 7: Balinese Gamelan Gong Kebyar
© Taylor & Francis

22. Arrival: Indonesia More than 13,000 islands
Most populous Islamic nation
More than 300 languages
Focus for many ethnomusicologists & composers
Though there are more than 13,000 islands comprising Indonesia, the majority are uninhabited. More than half of the country’s 230 million-plus inhabitants live on the island of Java. While Islam is the predominant religion, there are many animistic traditions and Hinduism is also a great influence, especially on the island of Bali. Buddhism and other religious traditions, such as Christianity, are found as well, but are far less common.
Bahasa Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia, though Dutch and English are widely spoken due to colonization of the major islands.
The numerous islands encourage a great amount of cultural diversity. Smithsonian-Folkways, for example, has a CD series dedicated to the music of Indonesia comprising twenty volumes. Gamelan music was featured at the 1889 Paris World Exposition (along with many other world musics) and has consequently inspired many scholars and composers to study the varied traditions of this island nation. Some composers influenced by gamelan include Claude Debussy, John Cage, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and Lou Harrison. Important early ethnomusicologists studying gamelan include Jaap Kunst and his student Mantle Hood in Java and composer Colin McPhee in Bali. Gamelan music is probably the most common world music found in academic institutions throughout the United States, along with West African polyrhythmic drumming and Caribbean steel drum performance.
© Taylor & Francis

23. Site 6: Javanese Court Gamelan
First Impressions
Metallic music with “misty” interlude
Aural Analysis
Mostly metallophones
“Soft & Strong” styles
Colotomic structure
[PLAY AUDIO EXAMPLE, CD 1.14]
First Impressions: The heavy gongs and metallophones (xylo means “wood,” so metallophone is the correct term for a metal-keyed “xylophone”) give a metallic timbre during the “strong” style sections. The other instruments, e.g., flutes and fiddle, as well as voices when present, are highlighted in the “soft style” sections, which has a “misty, free-floating” quality to it.
Aural Analysis: The three basic types of metallophones include hanging gongs (i.e., gong ageng), rack gongs (i.e., bonang), and the metal-keyed instruments (i.e., gender, pronounced with a hard g). Non-idiophones, such as flutes (suling), zither (siter and celempung), and the fiddle (rebab) as well as rhythmic percussion, i.e., drums, are also part of a gamelan ensemble. These quieter instruments play a more prominent role during the “soft” style performance sections.
Music with a colotomic structure is organized into cycles defined by periodic punctuation. The instruments “collide back together” at these important melodic points, while diverging a great deal between.
Above: Metallophones of the Javanese gamelan.
Right: Gender (metallophone with bamboo resonators)
© Taylor & Francis

24. Colotomic Structure Principal Melody Periodic Punctuation
Rack gongs and large metallophones
Periodic Punctuation
Marked by Hanging Gongs
Embellishment
Small metallophones
“Mist” of the music
Examining the colotomic structure in more depth, the principal melody is most easily heard. Listen through the audio example and follow the melodic line as outlined in the notation table pictured on this slide. During a second listening, focus on the use of hanging gongs to mark the key points in the rhythmic cycle. Of these, the gong ageng is the most important, marking the end of the phrase. A third listening will reveal the heterophonic structure as the small metallophones embellish the principal melody using a greater rhythmic density. These latter instruments play a subdued role to fill in the space between main melodic pitches of the larger gongs and metallophones.
Gong ageng
© Taylor & Francis

25. Cultural Considerations
Islam
Court Music
Tranquility
Dance
Java is predominantly Islamic. Many Islamic nations have a “king,” or “sultan.” The sultan in Java is considered to have a spiritual connection, related strongly to animistic traditions. Music of the court is thus provided for the king as well as for spirits. Much Javanese gamelan music is related to court music contexts and functions not only as entertainment, but also to strengthen the connection between the material and spiritual planes of existence.
Tranquility is a key notion in Javanese spiritual matters, so the court gamelan music reflects this with a slow and stately manner that emphasizes balance. Symmetrical melodic phrases and inner groupings (four groups of four beats in two pairs of phrases) also reflect this philosophy. The use of all instruments of the ensemble sounding throughout maintains a balanced texture. While certain instruments may be highlighted during performance, their “solos” are not a pronounced separation from the rest of the ensemble.
Javanese court dance similarly reflects this sense of tranquility. Dancers move quite slowly with a focus on graceful movements and subtle gestures, such as a raised little finger or upturned toes.
© Taylor & Francis

26. Site 7: Balinese Gamelan Gong Kebyar
First Impressions
Dynamic shifts of mood
Aural Analysis
Starts and stops
Sectional solos
“Superhuman speed”
“Shimmer effect”
[PLAY AUDIO EXAMPLE, CD 1.15]
Kebyar music has many sudden musical flourishes. Abrupt silences are frequent, so the music has a constant sense of shifting mood. While the music is still based on a colotomic structure, as with the Javanese gamelan, the sense of tranquil equilibrium heard in the Javanese style is largely lost in this type of Balinese gamelan music.
Different sections of instruments in the ensemble often have solos where the remaining melodic instruments are silent. The “embellishment” element of the melody, which was subdued in Javanese gamelan, is often highlighted in Balinese performance.
The thick rhythmic density of kebyar music is produced by two performers interlocking their pitches of a melody with another performer. Thus, the resultant melody is played at a density “faster” than one person could play, i.e., superhuman. This happens most frequently on the gender (pictured) and bonang (small rack gongs).
The “shimmer effect” of kebyar music is produced by having identical instruments with keys tuned slightly apart. The overlapping sound waves produce a subtle wavering or “shimmering” sound as the volume pulsates. Thus, to produce the shimmer and the superhuman-speed there must be four performers working together, e.g., playing two pair of gender. Skilled ensembles practice many hours in order to perfect their performances.
A pair of gender wayang
© Taylor & Francis

27. Cultural Considerations
Offering to Hindu deities
Dynamic dance
Wayang Kulit
Shadow puppets
Numerous Hindu temples are found on the small island of Bali. Music is often performed as an offering to the Hindu deities. Festivals for these gods occur throughout the year and mark important dates of the agricultural cycle.
The character of Balinese dance contrasts starkly with the Javanese. Balinese dance is very abrupt and angular. Though small gestures, such as the movement of the eyes, are important, the sense of subtle grace that permeates Javanese dance is largely replaced by energetic activity in Balinese performance.
Wayang kulit (shadow puppet theatre) is a common context for gamelan performance in both Java and Bali. The Indian epic story of the Ramayana is commonly told in this medium, as is the Mahabharata, another Indian epic. The puppeteer and musicians sit behind a white screen. A light is cast from behind so that the audience sitting on the other side of the screen can only see the shadows of the puppets. In this way, the puppets act as a medium to the spirit world to bring the characters “to life” through the shadow.
A Balinese dancer accompanied by gamelan
Wayang Kulit (shadow puppet theatre)
© Taylor & Francis