Southeast

Asia

Vietnam
Thailand
Indonesia
Southeast Asia Map
 Background Preparation

• Mainland and Island

• Buddhism - Islam
• Tropical climate
• Rice
• Bamboo & bronze
 Vietnam

Site 1: Upland Bronze Gongs 高地

青锣鼓
Site 2: Tài Tử Chamber Music
 Arrival: Vietnam

• Upland - Lowland Culture

• Chinese influence
• Vietnam War
 Site 1: Upland Bronze Gongs
• First Impressions
– Repetitive ringing
• Aural Analysis
– Interlocking
construction
– Strong tonal center
– Simple duple meter
Members of the Jarai ethnic group in
Vietnam’s Central Highlands
 Cultural Considerations
• Large cooperative ensembles
• Particular to upland ethnic groups
• Often accompanies dance
• Common at festivals and funerals
 Site 2: Tài Tử Chamber Music

• First Impressions
– “Flexible” feeling
• Aural Analysis
– Small string ensemble Notice the “scooped” frets on this
– Frequent tone bending Vietnamese guitar

– Heterophony
Cultural Considerations

• “Talented” amateur music

• Entertainment settings
Thailand Site 3: Classical Piphat
Site 4: Lam Klawn
Site 5: Phleng Luk Thung
 Arrival: Thailand
• Formerly Siam
• Cultural regions
– Central (Bangkok)
– North (Lanna)
– Northeast (Isan)
– South
• Predominantly Buddhist
• Thai is a tonal language
 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
 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)
Temple Analogy
• Polyphonic Stratification
• Layered Roof
– Melodic percussion & pi
• Pillars
– Ching - aural conductor
• Foundation
– Drums, small percussion
 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
 Arrival: Northeast Thailand

• Culturally Lao
• Rice economy
• Isan influence
 Site 4: Northeast Thai Lam Klawn

• First Impressions
– Peppy poets
– Happy “harmonica”
• Aural Analysis
– Khaen - mouth organ
– Lam - poetic song
– Repartee
Cultural Considerations
• Maw lam
– Professional poets
• Festival and ritual
entertainment

Left: Maw lam perform onstage to

khaen accompaniment.
Right: Khaen (free-reed mouth organ)
 Site 5: Phleng Luk Thung
• First Impressions
– “Country” pop
• Aural Analysis
– Mix of modern and traditional instruments
– Derived from lam

saw bip (fiddle)

phin (lute)
khaen (mouth organ)
 Cultural Considerations
• Traditional
“crossover” music
• Bangkok boom
• Stage shows

A “pop” concert of luk thung

Luk Thung
pop stars
 Site 6: Javanese Court Gamelan
Site 7: Balinese Gamelan Gong Kebyar
 Arrival: Indonesia
• More than 13,000 islands
• Most populous Islamic nation
• More than 300 languages
• Focus for many
ethnomusicologists & composers
 Site 6: Javanese Court Gamelan
• First Impressions • Aural Analysis
– Metallic music with
– Mostly metallophones
“misty” interlude
– “Soft & Strong” styles
– Colotomic structure

Above: Metallophones of the Javanese gamelan.

Right: Gender (metallophone with bamboo resonators)
 Colotomic Structure
• Principal Melody
– Rack gongs and
large metallophones
• Periodic Punctuation
– Marked by Hanging Gongs
• Embellishment 点缀
– Small metallophones
– “Mist” of the music

Gong ageng
 Cultural Considerations

• Islam
• Court Music
• Tranquility 宁静的
• Dance
 Site 6: Javanese Court Gamelan
Site 7: Balinese Gamelan Gong Kebyar
 Gamelan Gong Kebyar

An ensemble type from Bali,

Indonesia, primarily
comprising metallophones
and characterized by
rhythmically dense
performance technique.
 Site 7: Balinese Gamelan Gong Kebyar

• First Impressions
– Dynamic shifts of
mood
• Aural Analysis
– Starts and stops
– Sectional solos
– “Superhuman speed”
A pair of gender wayang
– “Shimmer effect”
 Kotekan 交织
(Interlocking)

• Interlock of melody pitches

Player X (1,3,5,7)
Player Y (2,4,6,8)
Play 1-8 in consecutive order

• Create high rhythmic density,

“superhuman speed”
 Cultural Considerations

• Offering to Hindu deities 供给印度

神灵
• Dynamic dance
生动的舞蹈
• Wayang Kulit 皮影戏
– Shadow puppets

Wayang Kulit
A Balinese dancer (shadow puppet theatre)
accompanied by gamelan