1. 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

2. Arrival: Thailand Formerly Siam Cultural regions
Central (Bangkok)
North (Lanna)
Northeast (Isan)
South
Predominantly Buddhist
Thai is a tonal language

3. 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

4. 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)

5. Temple Analogy Layered Roof Pillars Foundation Melodic percussion & pi
Ching - aural conductor
Foundation
Drums, small percussion

6. Cultural Considerations
Wai Khru - Teacher Honoring Ceremony
Above: A wai khru altar with students initiated by an elder teacher
Right: A wai khru ceremony in Bangkok

7. Arrival: Laos and Northeast Thailand
Culturally Lao
Rice economy
Isan influence

8. Site 4: Northeast Thai Lam Klawn
First Impressions
Peppy poets
Happy “harmonica”
Aural Analysis
Khaen - mouth organ
Lam - poetic song
Repartee

9. Cultural Considerations
Maw lam
Professional poets
Festival and ritual entertainment
Left: Maw lam perform onstage to khaen accompaniment.
Right: Khaen (free-reed mouth organ)

10. Site 5: Phleng Luk Thung First Impressions Aural Analysis
Old-fashioned “country” pop
Aural Analysis
Mix of modern and traditional instruments
Derived from lam
saw bip (fiddle) phin (lute) khaen (mouth organ)

11. Cultural Considerations
Traditional “crossover” music
Bangkok boom
Stage shows
WMGJ: pp
Luk Thung began in response to Luk Krung popular music (“child of the city”), first popular in the 1960s in Bangkok. This modernized form of lam singing became the rage by the 1980s 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. Today luk thung “shows” involve not only musicians, but several onstage dancers in colorful costumes and huge amplification systems that draw large crowds. The DVD cover pictured reads “Luk Thung.”
A “pop” concert of luk thung
Luk Thung pop stars