| Name | Image | Description | Video |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ching |  | The ching or chhing are small bowl-shaped finger cymbals of thick and heavy bronze, with a broad rim commonly used in Cambodia and Thailand. They are made of an alloy (mixture of iron, copper, and gold) mixed with bronze. They measure about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter and are joined together with a cord, which passes through a small hole at the apex of each one of them. Each cymbal of the pair is held in one hand and the two are struck together. The ching are the timekeeper of the ensemble. While cymbals, in general, are used for various occasions (ritual, martial, theater, and at war), the Khmer people use them purely in theater, dance, and music contexts. | |
| Gong Chime |  | A gong chime is a generic term for a set of small, high-pitched bossed pot gongs. The gongs are ordinarily placed in order of pitch, placed upright with the boss upward on cords held in a low wooden frame, often in order of ascending pitch. The frames can be rectangular or circular (the latter are sometimes called "gong circles"), and may have one or two rows of gongs. They are an important instrument in a large number of Southeast Asian musical ensembles. | |
| Khene |  | The khene (also spelled "khaen", "kaen" and "khen"; Thai: แคน) is a mouth organ of Lao origin whose pipes are connected with a small, hollowed-out wooden reservoir into which air is blown. The most interesting characteristic of the khene is its free reed, which is made of brass or silver. It is related to Western free-reed instruments such as the harmonium, concertina, accordion, harmonica, and bandoneon, which were developed beginning in the 18th century from the Chinese sheng, a related instrument, a specimen of which had been carried to St. Petersburg, Russia. | |
| Khim |  | The khim is a hammered dulcimer from Thailand and Cambodia. It is made of wood and trapezoidal in shape, with numerous brass strings. It is played with two flexible bamboo sticks and is used as both a solo and ensemble instrument. It was introduced to Thailand and Cambodia from China, where a similar (though usually larger) instrument is called yangqin. | |
| Khlui |  | The khlui is a vertical duct flute from Thailand. It is generally made of bamboo. The khlui is very similar to the khloy from Cambodian, but their tunings are different. | |
| Nipple Gong |  | Nipple gongs have a raised boss or nipple in the centre, often made of a different metal to the rest of the gong. They have a clear resonant tone with less shimmer than other gongs, and two distinct sounds depending on whether they are struck on the boss or next to it. They most often are tuned to various pitches. Nipple gongs range in size from 6" to 14" or larger. Sets of smaller, tuned nipple gongs can be used to play a tune. The image shows a very large nipple gong at a Buddhist temple in Roi Et, Isan, Thailand. | |
| Saw Sam Sai |  | The saw sam sai (also known as saw samsai or sam sai; literally "three stringed fiddle") is a traditional bowed string instrument of Thailand. Its body is made from a special type of coconut covered on one end with animal skin, and it has three silk strings. Typically, the player glues a jewel onto the skin before playing, to reduce the skin's resonance. | |
| Seung |  | The seung (also spelled sueng or süng) is a plucked fretted lute from the northern region of Thailand. The instrument is made from hardwood and its strings (numbering either four or six) are most often made of steel wire. It has nine raised frets. The seung is part of a northern Thai traditional ensemble called the salaw-saw-seung ensemble, along with the salaw (3-string spike fiddle) and pi saw (free reed pipe). The image shows a 4-string (right) and a 6-string seungs displayed in a small museum of musical instruments in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. | |
| Taphon |  | The taphon (Thai: ตะโพน) is a traditional drum of Thailand. It is barrel-shaped, with two heads, and is played by the hands and fingers of both hands. It is used in the classical Thai wind-and-percussion ensemble called piphat. It is considered a particularly sacred instrument in the Thai culture, and is generally kept in a higher place than other instruments. |
Prev Top Next |
